Track Listing

1. Wheels
2. Ladder To The Stars
3. Sleepy
4. Guy Who Would Carry On
5. True Love And High Adventure
6. Nobody's Song In Particular
7. Little Numb
8. My Best Side
9. One Last Parade

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #61871 in Music
• Released on: 2003-01-05
• Number of discs: 1

Amazon.co.uk Review
That True Love and High Adventure is a gorgeous album which invokes a feeling of sunny nostalgia and sweeping grandeur is a cause for celebration. That this spectacular example of Americana is the product of a band from South London is a cause for wonder. On their second release, Grand Drive have perfectly captured the wide-open expansiveness that is characteristic of this particularly American form of music. Their sound is pitched somewhere between Mercury Rev and The Byrds, as the bright harmonies of brothers Danny and Julian Wilson blend over lush orchestral arrangements. The organ that opens "Wheels" gives way to understated string arrangements punctuated by plaintive harmonica, while shuffling drums provide a backdrop to the mandolin, guitar and organ that flesh out "A Ladder To The Stars", which--along with the sprightly title track--provides the album's highlight. Elsewhere, brass, piano, flute and piccolo add to the mix without ever overtaking it, indicative of the album's skilfully restrained production. Their debut album, Road Music, was released to near-universal critical acclaim, and True Love and High Adventure is even better. Grand Drive prove that the best Americana is no longer the exclusive domain of the Americans. --Robert Burrow

Customer Reviews

Bad cover, great record!
While "Road Music", their first album, was a reasonably "lo-fi" recording, "True Love & High Adventure" shows what the guys can do with a bit more time and cash at their disposal. The band manage to keep the loose, airy feel but the production really shines on this record (not that "Road Music" reallly suffers, as the songs are superb as they are).

The arrangements are lusher, as are the vocals but without getting too cluttered - a fine balancing act and one the boys pull off admirably. Additional instruments, such as horns & flutes decorate a number of tracks, bringing a new element to an already rich sound.

If you're sitting chilling, this album is a joy to listen to...

Tour de force
Picked up on Grand Drive from the Acoustic compilations from V2/Echo - well worth a look by the way. Grand Drive have produced an album of quality here - great melodies, good vocals, well written songs. Ladder to the stars is just a great song, no two ways about it. Nobody's Song is one of those rare tracks, a real slowburn, starts of with a low bass heartbeat, and ends with a soaring guitar solo, spine-tingler for sure. Like My Morning Jacket, a band with a retro sound but definitely going beyond just that with some good songs, not just churning out stuff for 50 somethings to reminisce about. The title track goes on a bit to be true, and the last track makes me reach for the remote but put on Nobody's Song, lights down volume up, and that's as good as it gets.

An album full of moments!
What do I mean moments? That moment when a good song becomes a great song. That moment when the hairs on the back of your neck stand up and you get the urge to sing out loud. The way the title track builds to a crescendo of guitars and drums to break into what can only be described as a beautiful piano drenched finale. This is Grand Drive and I can only have sympathy for anyone who hasn't heard them yet!