My first exposure to James was the Sit Down single, which I always associate with it blaring out late at night from a college summer ball, which shared a venue at which I was on a course. I might have a drink.
This album seemed to be everywhere during the following year. My CD copy is definitely a quid at a boot fair one, since the cover has seen much better days.
This is the 1991 UK remix, which added Sit Down and Lose Control, replacing Crescendo and Hang On. From the first notes, this screams 1990s Manchester - Come Home is a fine start, but the following Lose Control is fairly ordinary. Government Walls feels stronger and more serious, while God Only Knows continues this feel, into You Can't Tell How Much Suffering and How Was It For You, both rocking along brightly. They're followed by the big hit single, Sit Down, always a welcome, anthemic earful, however that leads us to the dreary Walking The Ghost, a dirge which seems to go on and on. About three minutes into the title track, Gold Mother, I was ready to say much the same about that, but it started to grow on me, and on second listen, I rather like it, an eight minute piece of madness. Unfortunately, there's another dreary song On Top Of The World, to finish the album, which really deserves a more upbeat finish.
I enjoyed this more than I expected, thinking that it would be a couple of good tracks and lots of filler. it deserves better than the upstairs drawer!
3* - lots to enjoy on this album, the livelier songs working far better than the more reflective.
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