Saw James with the Smiths in Stoke, 1984. I prefer the early stuff.

Track Listing

1. Skullduggery
2. Scarecrow
3. So Many Ways
4. Just Hip
5. Johnny Yen
6. Summer Songs
7. Really Hard
8. Billy's Shirts
9. Why So Close
10. Withdrawn
11. Black Hole

---

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #34654 in Music
• Released on: 2007-06-25
• Number of discs: 1
• Dimensions: .20 pounds

---

Customer Reviews

It's like a personal friend
I had to write as I passed, saw the three stars this album had been given and thought it a little remiss not to respond. Yes it's early James stuff, but there's still some great sing along stuff. "Scarecrow" with it's bass and swing along, "So many ways" & "Why so close" (A different, slower and less chaotic version of the early B side) with the harmonies going on, and "Johnny Yen" - good enough for them to keep playing right until the end. It's music from another era of James - before they lost some of their soul in some god forsaken stadium in America. It's James at the International, the Hacienda, an album intimate and fitting for that smaller gig - Come home?!?!?

PS: Also try the James Book - by Stuart Maconie, never thought I'd get into it but it is a great read, perhaps 'cos I'm from Manchester (hey, and that's with out the "d") and there's lots of focus on early events but it is good.

Cheers

John

Idiosyncracy in a nutshell...
...and yet...

Yes, it is true that this is a different James from the current (most recent, whatever) line-up. For the purposes of clarity and decency, the line-up of James during the Stutter era was Tim Booht (frontman, vocals), Jim Glennie (bass, backing vocals), Larry Gott (guitar) and Gavan Whelan (drums).

It is also true that the modern James, with a violinist and keyboards (not to mention more guitars), does have a diffeent sound.
Yet Stutter remains defiantly a James album. It was, after all, their very first. Their folk roots are also very, very clear in this album - the exultant "Scarecrow" starts with a bass line which almost sounds as if it could be something by Bob Dylan. There are many, many tracks like this in Stutter - bland, one may think, on first listening.

But there is something in Stutter which puts one into a slight sense of unease. "So Many Ways" is a fast, racing track with a repeated, addictive chorus. "Skullduggery" is an odd track with insane lyrics (the entire album starts with "An earwig crawls into my ear / makes a meal of the wax and hairs") - indeed, Tim Booth is, apparently, still worried about his state of mind at the time of recording.

There are, I believe, shades of future James tracks - and indeed entire albums - in Stutter. The aforementioned So Many Ways could even be a premonition of equally fast and addictive single "Sometimes". In fact, throughout the whole album there is something beautiful there - struggling to be set free; to burst out, perhaps. James' music will always be like that.

The best example to demonstrate this is a little track named "Johnny Yen" - compare it to a modern live recording of the same. It is starkly different. Yet it is the same track - all the way through. James is James, let us remember that.

This album, while it may always be different, is the start of something oddly provocative and brilliantly idiosyncratic. And who cares what it is, exactly?

It's James. Enjoy James - that's what they're here for.

Idiosyncracy in a nutshell...
...and yet...

Yes, it is true that this is a different James from the current (most recent, whatever) line-up. For the purposes of clarity and decency, the line-up of James during the Stutter era was Tim Booht (frontman, vocals), Jim Glennie (bass, backing vocals), Larry Gott (guitar) and Gavan Whelan (drums).

It is also true that the modern James, with a violinist and keyboards (not to mention more guitars), does have a diffeent sound.
Yet Stutter remains defiantly a James album. It was, after all, their very first. Their folk roots are also very, very clear in this album - the exultant "Scarecrow" starts with a bass line which almost sounds as if it could be something by Bob Dylan. There are many, many tracks like this in Stutter - bland, one may think, on first listening.

But there is something in Stutter which puts one into a slight sense of unease. "So Many Ways" is a fast, racing track with a repeated, addictive chorus. "Skullduggery" is an odd track with insane lyrics (the entire album starts with "An earwig crawls into my ear / makes a meal of the wax and hairs") - indeed, Tim Booth is, apparently, still worried about his state of mind at the time of recording.

There are, I believe, shades of future James tracks - and indeed entire albums - in Stutter. The aforementioned So Many Ways could even be a premonition of equally fast and addictive single "Sometimes". In fact, throughout the whole album there is something beautiful there - struggling to be set free; to burst out, perhaps. James' music will always be like that.

This album, while it may always be different, is the start of something oddly provocative and brilliantly idiosyncratic. And who cares what it is, exactly?

It's James. Enjoy James - that's what they're here for.