Search - Teenage Fanclub :: Thirteen

A very solid album...

llllloyd | minnesota,usa | 07/02/2002

(4 out of 5 stars)

"This price for 19 songs by one of the best bands of the last 10+ years? A steal! Only Bandwagonesque obsessives (it's my favorite too but there's a life outside of it) and those who avoid interesting music and anything not sold at departmetn store could pass this one up. It's unjustly underated and deserves your attention. A cover of Older Boys by Gram Parsons and a few other tracks reveal a love of country/rock(including the excellent song titled for pioneering ex-Byrd Gene Clark)and the influence of Neil Young is noticed on the tracks that feature long passages of distorted guitar (any fan should try to track down their rare cover of Young's Don't Cry No Tears). I'm not saying it's derivative just influenced by these and other folks. I'm obviously not one of the people who writes them off as a bunch of soundalikes. After all,if a band is just a cold copy could it really last as long as the Fanclub has? There is primo power pop to be had in Radio,Fear of Flying and The Cabbage plus Tears Are Cool is one of the most beautiful things the band has ever recorded. The rest has fine moments spilt through out,even if a few tunes do sound similar(there's not too much of that though).Sure,there are a few songs that don't fulfill their potential but they are a tiny minority. Thirteen is a fine part of this bands history and fits nicely along side their other albums. It dosen't have the immediate thrills that made Bandwagon a cult classic but it is a very solid record by a great band that's stretching it's wings a bit. The band has made a distinctive place for themselves and kudos to them for continuing to do so. I could think of a few billion bigger crimes against humanity than baring a slight resemblence to Big Star,Neil Young or the Byrds(or their individual parts)."

The argument rages!

Michael Hann | London United Kingdom | 08/25/2000

(4 out of 5 stars)

"The best part of seven years on from its release, and the world is still squabbling over whether 'Thirteen' is any good. I listened to it the other day for the first time in four or five years and was astonished - it's far, far better than I remembered. I'd say it's actually rather better than 'Bandwagonesque', though not in the same realm as the sublime 'Grand Prix'. Perhaps the problem is that while 'Bandwagonesque' was an enormous progression on what had come before, this was an incremental step. But still it repays repeated listening. The sad thing is, the band seem to have disowned it - they have disparaged 'Thirteen' in interviews and it's a long time since I've heard them play anything from it live. For those who've not heard it, it's rockier than Grand Prix - 'Hang On' kicks off with the growling riff from T-Rex's '20th Century Boy' before hitting normal Fanclub territory (though it could do without the string coda, arranged by Joe McAlinden of Superstar). In fact, the album sounds like a band at a cusp: do they continue being drunken Indie darlings, or do they knuckle down and apply their collective talents? History tells us they took the latter course, and this was their last drunken fling. But if only we could all have drunken flings that produce music as good as this. Don't expect consistent perfection: there are glitches on this record. But there are also the moments of gorgeousness we've come to expect. And for seven bucks you can't really go wrong."

A superb album totally underated

Julio Cobas | A Coruña, Galicia, Spain | 02/25/2001

(5 out of 5 stars)

"'Thirteen' is a real gem and a very underated album. TFC can't make a bad record, and 'Thirteen' isn't a exception. How can people say that an album that contains songs like 'Hang On', 'The Cabbage', 'Gene Clark', 'Fear of flying', 'Escher', Ret live dead'or 'Song to the cinyc' is a flop? You're blind and you need to listen again. Buy this CD and you'll enjoy this wonderful music with influences from Beatles, Big Star, Byrds and Neil Young. Although 'Bandwagonesque' is their best."