Expecting To Fly - The Bluetones

My introduction to The Bluetones bugged the hell out of me. Why? Well I kept catching snippets of this great sounding song on the radio but each time either missed the DJ giving out any details or, even more annoyingly, it wasn't given at all. In the days before apps such as Shazam, I was finding almost impossible to catch the name of either the song title or the band..... until one day I was in HMV and decided to pick up the headphones on one of their listening posts. UREKA! By sheer chance I had picked up the debut album by The Bluetones.... and now knew that the song was called 'Slight Return'. I was getting somewhere....
The debut album is great - a true whole band performance. Very memorable songs, great jangly guitar riffs, excellent drumming and solid and precise bass. One of those albums that you imagine was recorded with minimal fuss and overdubs. For those new to this album try 'A Parting Gesture'. If defy you not to like it.
Unfortunately, due to their timing of coming into prominence, they were tagged as a Britpop band. Whilst this may have helped initially, I can't help but think that this labelling stymied the growth of their long term popularity. A truly underrated band. Album sales would decrease as the music got more inventive. Ah well.
At least it meant that we got to see them play in a small club in Darlington. Yes Darlington! And they were excellent, playing the debut album in its entirety along with other Bluetones 'hits'. A great gig indeed - and we could stagger home in less than 10 minutes!