Track Listing

1. Everything Is Borrowed
2. Heaven For The Weather
3. I Love You More (Than You Like Me)
4. Way Of The Dodo
5. On The Flip Of A Coin
6. On The Edge Of A Cliff
7. Never Give In
8. Sherry End
9. Alleged Legends
10. Strongest Person I Know
11. Escapist

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #1716 in Music
• Released on: 2008-09-15
• Number of discs: 1

Amazon.co.uk Review
So, what to do once you’ve pushed things forward, had a song and a little dance about it and sold the t-shirt? Push things back? Mike Skinner, aka The Streets, faced such a quandary following the comparatively aimless shambles that was third album The Hardest Way to Make An Easy Living which hobbled with neither a clear style or sense of self; a significant problem when he’d justified his existence on incisive social narrations, a unique voice and sharp musical intuitions. He was in need of either a hark back to the glory of his debut (2002’s Original Pirate Material) or a full reinvention. As chances of him having enjoyed a rubbery kebab from a plastic tray in a town-centre gutter at 4am of late are slim, a reinvention it is then. Everything Is Borrowed concentrates squarely on the feel-good vibe that has driven his celebrated live shows, staying optimistic even when low-key, an intention emphasised by his accrual of a live band to record with in the studio for the first time and fire the tone. And to go with big production ideals come bigger ideas and his transformation from commentator to pub philosopher, putting the world to rights. Ok, so that may only be a moderate success--his ponderings aren't especially progressed and his vocabulary disappointingly stumpy--but bright summer sing-along "Heaven for the Weather", speakeasy jazz 2-step "I Love You More" and chill-out rambling gospel anthem "The Escapist" more than justify the gamble. --James Berry

CD Description
The fourth and, reputedly, penultimate LP from Mike Skinner(AKA The Streets) is a much more positive affair than previous, darker efforts. After coming to prominence as a pioneering voice in British hip-hop and garage, Skinner has amassedplenty of critical acclaim, making 'Everything Is Borrowed'an eagerly-awaited release. Musically not as grime-ridden as its predecessors, this release showcases The Streets at his most contemplative and allows the more romantic impulses of older material to come to the fore. Features the single 'Everything Is Borrowed'.

Customer Reviews

A Solid Little Effort
Young Mr Skinner done good.

With 'Everything Is Borrowed' he delivers a
solid and perfectly respectable little album.

On the whole it's a more grown-up affair than some
of his earlier work but retaining flashes of the
cheeky-monkey antics that we have come to know and love.

Things kick off in fine style with the eponymous
opening track. The cheesy keyboard and four-square
rhythm support our hero's familiar sprechgesang,
here expounding a gentle and accessible philosophy.
Despite Ms Vane's supporting vocal in the chorus
bringing us perilously close to Lily Allen territory
the song survives intact.

The upbeat 'Heaven For The Weather' gives hell
an amusing tourist board endorsement. It's a hoot.

The instrumental arrangement on 'On The Edge Of A Cliff',
especially Mr Painter's concise trumpet and Mr Bennett's
limpid guitar, frames one of Mr Skinner's most mature compositions.

Likewise 'Alleged Legends', whose historical reflections
are evidence of a growing ability to think outside of the
boy-next-door box. A real highlight.

'The Strongest Person I Know' has a lightness of touch
which is utterly charming. The inclusion of the harp,
mandolin and clarinet is delightful.

'The Escapist' brings the project to a soulful
and satisfying conclusion.

Not music to change the world but with some capacity
nonetheless to make it a slightly better and brighter place.

Recommended.

Everything Else Is Just Rubbish!
'Everything Else is Borrowed' is a truly fantastic album; Mike Skinner rejects the grimy nihilism that plagued the last two outings and offers up instead a slice of orchestral bliss. The Combination of Skinners 'romantic poetry' with the use of 'real' instruments culimantes in a fantastic Hip-Opera - The Song "Heaven for the Weather" will get you bouncing off the walls, while the "Escapist" and title track will chill you out and make you want to call your loved ones.
"Flip Side of the Coin" and "Stongest Person" are both heart warmingly awesome and are the "Dry Your Eyes" and "Never Went to Church" of the album. However, personally "Way of the Dodo and "Edge of the Cliff" are pointless filler tracks which do spoil the flow, however these are only minor greivences of mine.

All in All this Album is BRILLIANT, A definate purchase for i believe anyone and a perfect accompaniment to a rainy or bad day at the office.

Thought-provoking music
Mike Skinner's fourth album is far better than its immediate predecessor while not reaching the heights of his first two.
What I deduce from it is that Skinner has much mellowed and matured and is spending a good deal of his riches on books, particularly ones by Richard Dawkins and Bill Bryson's A Short History Of Nearly Everything. I say this because of the rational, secular, scientific outlook of songs such as Heaven For The Weather ('let's rely on our minds', rather than theology, he pleads), The Way Of The Dodo (which astutely points out that 'it's not earth that's in trouble, it's the people who live on it - earth will be here long after we've gone the way of the dodo', cocking a snoot at the absurd and over-publicised global warming brigade who ignore all the larger threats to humanity to promote something based on dodgy science), On The Edge Of The Cliff (which echoes Dawkins' inspirational words that 'for billions of years every single one of your ancestors survived... successfully looked after and passed on to you life') and Alleged Legends (which is pure Dawkins/Hitchens with lines like 'do you what you think's right and you will feel alright, cause when you're bad you will feel sad - that's the religion I live by' and many other thoughtful ones). Great stuff, very laudable.
Skinner is a fascinating character, a person with a brain that you can almost see the cogs turning in. Watching him is like watching a previously callow youth discovering the meaning of life, or at least trying to. He's modern pop music's Larry Darrell. His innocent, stumbling delivery adds to his wide-eyed, little-boy appeal. He gives you faith in the youngish generation's attempts to see beyond the time-wasting drivel of reality TV, lager and texting 'lol' to your mates.
Musically it's varied and experimental (check out I Love You More and the title track for salient evidence) while rarely packing a knockout punch (although Strongest Person I Know is very strong). Okay, so a few tracks are average but it's definitely worth listening to, as Skinner is a unique British talent we should cherish (and he hardly swears on this album! Only thrice I think).