Catherine Wheel - Chrome

Long before groups like Oasis and Blur provoked cross-Atlantic media hype, Catherine Wheel were evolving the Brit-Pop style that typifies the genre's distinction. With the release of Chrome in 1993, they advanced their whispered-wall-of-sound approach to rock amalgamation. Underneath the rust and steel exterior, Chrome exhibits the confidence and sonic rhapsody of its creators. Beyond such fortitudes, the vocal and lyrical arrangements are perhaps the truest accolades of the album with lyrical themes which accompany the listener to the heart of tranquilized and love-inflicted fantasies. The fuzzy solos and vibrato accord further complement the songs aided by crystalline guitar melodies. Jaded with growing pains, singer Rob Dickenson croons with perfect tenor appeal on tracks like "Kill Rhythm" and "Crank," highlighting the personal temperaments which shape the album. Turning experiences into 12-step chromatic conclusions, Catherine Wheel polish the metallic spirit in any latent rocker. --Lucas Hilbert Amazon.com

Pa-a-a-a-ain! Here it comes again! This album rules!

There have been some great reviews of this cd here, but I'll chime in regardless.

It's funny how sometimes you get introduced to a band. Catherine Wheel opened up for an INXS show I went to in Cleveland, OH, in 1993 or 1994 (sorry I forget the year, it was the "Full Moon, Dirty Hearts" INXS tour!!). I caught the empty bottle of Evian that Michael Hutchence threw into the audience, kept it for a few years in my bedroom and bragged, and had a fine time with INXS, but you know, the most vivid memory I have of that show that still remains is how impressive Catherine Wheel was during the opening set. I etched the memory of this band in my head and I stood there captivated, and made a note to run to the record the next day to pick up Chrome.

So much so that here I am, almost 15 years later (gawd, that is scary) writing a review of this album that nobody knows about anymore and hardly did when it came out, and is largely forgotten by time and history. It's the third time tonight, now, that I go back and play "Pain," 'a palla' as the Italians say -- full blast, baby!

Through the years, I have found few things as sonically pleasing at times, than to close my eyes, and when home alone, play this cd at high volume, or in the car screaming my lungs out ("Mary took a dive, when it suited her -- most!) and earning strange looks from drivers, or when people are sleeping here at home through headphones. Listening to "Pain," and just getting pummeled in the most incredible way, makes you think you can conquer the world.

Catherine Wheel is one of the most interesting bands in my cd collection. It is hard, guitar rock, but not stereotypical. Melodic, yet hard as anything I have. Bass and rhythm guitar that just kill, and it's like another reviewer has noted, the perfect lead guitar that never gets "masturbatory," but just complements the song perfectly. It's strange, they never really got any attention in the States, and I consider myself fortunate to be one of the relatively few who got to hear about them and get into their music.

On this cd in particular, if for some reason anybody is actually reading this, and debating which CW album to start off with, I have to argue that this is it. More consistent throughout than Ferment, and more mature than "Happy Days" (although Happy Days came later), the only other CW recording I would argue competes with this one is Adam and Eve (with the cover hilariously banned in the U.S. -- can't well have female nips on the cover of a cd now, can we!?) Rather than do a blow-by-blow of songs, I'll just opine that "Kill Rhythm," "I Confess," and "Crank" are probably the best 3-song intro to any cd I own with the exception of The Joshua Tree, "Pain" is one of the best songs ever, and "Show Me Mary," though borderline poppy, is a rousing close to the cd.

If I had to recommend an order to buy CW albums to get into the band, I would say Chrome, Adam and Eve, Ferment, Happy Days, then Cats and Dogs.

Enjoy! August 24, 2007

Catherine Wheel: Chrome

This is an awesome CD and an awesome band. The 90's were definitely the decade where I became musically aware, and most of my favorite bands are from that decade, but somehow I never heard - or even heard of - Catherine Wheel until 2007. Man, I was missing out. If you want a preview before buying, just download the song "Crank" and listen to it a few times. It'll make you a believer.

If you have always wished that Radiohead would make a sequel to The Bends, then check out Catherine Wheel. And after going through Catherine Wheel's catalog, you might check out The Autumns for a current band that makes this (EXACT!) kind of music. Also, obviously, get The Bends if you don't have it yet. Enjoy. March 31, 2007

Broken Head

I've purchased this album three times, lost it three times, and am about to purchase it again. It's that good. I've got 40 GB of music on my ipod and there's a gaping hole without Broken Head, The Nude, etc. Incredible. If you've come this far to read a review, you owe it to yourself and friends to pick this up. October 15, 2006

This was my introduction...

I was a music director at a college radio station when this came out, and along with a ton of other albums this one commanded my attention.
Shoegazers??? I am sure all the label slinging yahoos are still wiping the egg off their faces. Its as if the band heard they were pigeonholed and gave them all the big finger.
Just buy it...and all the rest. November 6, 2005

Just a great guitar driven record

Perhaps AMAZON will link Coldplay, Blur, and Oasis search hits with this record and inspire a new generation to discover the source that those bands ripped off and do a poor imitation of. Buy this album and get the real thing, for this is a Catherine Wheel masterpiece.

The standout songs here are "Crank" and "The Nude," while "Ursa Major Space Station" also has its hypnothrob charm. This is a fantastic wall of fuzz guitar, and is the most innovative use of the fuzz box since Neil Young's "Rust Never Sleeps." But the whole album is truly the first, best, and original of the shoe gazer genre, and owning it and "Ferment" marks you as "us" versus "them" in the hierarchy of music aficionados. October 17, 2005

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