Track Listing

1. Irk The Purists
2. Uffington Wassail
3. Third Track Main Camera Four Minutes
4. Nove On The Sly
5. Ballad Of Climie Fisher
6. Gubba Lookalikes
7. Mathematically Safe
8. With Goth On Our Side
9. Used To Be In Evil Gazebo
10. Slight Reprise
11. It's Cliched To Be Cynical At Christmas
12. Visitor For Mr Edmonds
13. Bottleneck At Capel Curig
14. Emerging From Gorse
15. Look Dad No Tunes
16. Twenty Four Hour Garage People

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #28653 in Music
• Released on: 2000-04-24
• Number of discs: 1
• Dimensions: .19 pounds

Amazon.co.uk Review
Half Man Half Biscuit were legendary in the 1980s for two reasons. First, for making bad puns and crusty music with a social conscience popular (accidentally later spawning both Carter USM and the Levellers). Secondly, for refusing to appear on The Tube because it clashed with a fixture for their local soccer team. The professional Northerners split in October 1986, but returned four years later. Their eighth album Trouble Over Bridgwater features more of what once made them the Most Popular Unknown Band In England. The Biscuit are still poking fun at the pompous, be they music fascists ("Irk The Purists"), techno-heads ("Twenty Four Hour Garage People") or beardy TV presenters ("Visitor For Mr Edmonds"). The Biscuit still update square dances, fuse trad English folk songs with contemporary rhythms and throw in the odd raucous singalong ("With Goth On Our Side"). And why not? --Everett True

Customer Reviews

Half Fun Half Genius
The boys from Probe have done it again with the best album since the last one. In fact the last four albums (Some call it Godcore, Voyage to the Bottom of the Road, Four lads who shook the Wirral and Trouble Over Bridgewater) are a must for any HMHB fan - if you don't own these albums, order them now . Hilarious, catchy, satirical, plain stupid without the crass element of other bands like the Mac Lads. I love this band and want their children.

Top Class Inspired Lunacy
From the ridiculous pun of the title to the last fading bars of the country rock rant of 24 hour garage people, this album offers 16 tracks of genuinely amusing tunes that speak volumes to anyone who's ever been on the dole, wasted their day watching Light Lunch or conducted a midnight excursion for Pringles. My personnel favourite, "With Goth On Our Side", even managed the unlikely task of simultaneously mocking Mr. Dylan and the pale make-up wearing blackcurrant drinking student population. Sing along tunes and genuine wit make this album a must for anyone, and if it does "Irk the Purists" then all the better.

Trouble Over Bridgwater
I think it is sometimes a mistake to get hung up on the humour side of Half Man Half Biscuit and to label them simply as a comedy rock act really does belittle their full range of attractions.

Don't get me wrong, this album is funny, the witty asides and genuinely clever insights into everyday life are fantastically good but let's not forget both the poignant and the accurate elements many of their lyrics contain. For example to describe the efforts a man will go to get and keep an attractive girl by making her "Mathematically Safe" probably is more poetically understandable by one and all than some trumped up, over flowery soppy text.

The lyrics alone though wouldn't be enough to make this a fantastic album. There are some brilliant solid rock tunes here as well, "Third Track Main Camera Four Minutes" and "Bottleneck at Capel Curig" are prime examples. Best of the bunch by a mile is "Look Dad no Tunes"

Perhaps justified musical criticism could be levelled at the slightly self indulgent tracks like "Used to be in Evil Gazebo" or "Visitor for Mr Edmonds" but there again is it really worth getting worked up over the demise of old Noel?

If you love HMHB you'll love this, if you love the quirky, the outrageous and the unique you'll love this. If you love Noel Edmonds, go away!