Track Listing

1. Tales Of Endurance (Parts 4, 5 & 6)
2. St. Petersburg
3. Sad Girl
4. Roxy
5. Coffee In The Pot
6. Road To Rouen
7. Kick In The Teeth
8. Low C
9. Fin

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #6346 in Music
• Released on: 2005-08-15
• Number of discs: 1

Amazon.co.uk Review
What happens when rock’s young whippersnappers grow up? The last few Supergrass albums have seen a creeping maturity enter their happy-go-lucky design, but on Road To Rouen - the Oxford outfit’s fifth album – there’s little trace remaining of the wide-eyed adolescents that barrelled so madly through "Caught By The Fuzz".

The opening "Tales Of Endurance (Parts 4,5 & 6)" is a case in point: evolving from a gentle, rolling vista of warm brass and stroked piano into a rollicking rock groove over five-and-a-half minutes, frontman Gaz Coombes cooing lyrics about "commercial suicide" from the centre of the jam, it’s unquestionably the work of a band with pretensions that reach far beyond the desire to pen a tight pop single. This would be a terrible thing if the ‘Grass didn’t have the chops to pull it off, but the likes of the gently Beatlesesque "St Petersburg" and the string-augmented "Roxy" boast the sort of intuitive, on-point musicmanship that would shame a band twice their age. And pleasingly, too, there’s still room for the odd burst of eccentricity, in the shape of the peculiar, polka-tinged "Coffee In The Pot". --Louis Pattison

CD Description
'Road To Rouen' is the fifth album from Oxford indie pioneers, Supergrass. A refreshing departure from their previous efforts, the album was recorded in a converted Normandy barn,and incorporates psychedelic folk into their familiar buzz-saw pop formula with winning results. Includes the single 'St Petersburg'.

Customer Reviews

A Lovely Surprise
First off all, let's get the past out of the way. This is no I Should Coco..if you are looking to the past for an idea of the sound, you can't go far wrong with Moving and Late In The Day. The album sees Supergrass in a far more adult view of life, with songs taking on a more evolved feel. The opening track Tales Of Endurance (Parts 4,5 & 6) has an almost Beatles White album feel, with the group going from one style to another all within one track. The first single St Petersburg was again an interesting choice of single, as it clearly represents the feel of the album, but lacks that instant feel that commercial radio craves. The key tracks after this are Roxy and Road To Rouen (which cranks up the album briefly). Don't get me wrong, I like this album alot..it's just if you want the short punchy singles of the past, then this won't be for you. If you want a complete album, then don't think twice...by this album...you will enjoy it.

Armageddon coming down
I'm not going to mention how much certain tracks sound like previous Supergrass songs as a band sounding like itself is to be expected, but I reckon the boys have been listening to a lot (by which I mean A LOT) of group and solo Beatles albums since Life On Other Planets.

Tales Of Endurance (Parts 4, 5 and 6)

Starts off like a slow acoustic overture-sounding piece (making me think "concept album?"), moves into a second (part 5?) short jazzy piece, then morphs into a slow bluesy rocker with a killer riff. (What is that riff? It really reminds me of something, but I can't bring it to mind). Nice. Very nice.

St. Petersburg

Piano, acoustic guitar, jazzy drums. Builds up in to a sweeping ballad with a hint of strings. I can see this being a single (and a hit). It's incredibly infectious, immediately catchy, and I can't stop singing it. Lovely stuff. Perfect pop like this is the reason why I reckon Supergrass are the best band of the last decade or more. Quite simply, no one else is this good.

Sad Girl

This is a bit of a grower. Very, very Beatles sounding (White Album era). I didn't notice anything special about this song on first listen, but on second listen it gets in under the psyche and, sure enough, it's another pop masterpiece.

Roxy

The longest track on the album. Classic Supergrass catchy chorus. Unusual tempo changes (did someone mention The Beatles?) and Gaz singing very sweetly before it goes off into an extended jam with strings, bass and synthy swirls prominent in the mix, before building into a late Beatles psychedelic breakdown a-la A Day In The Life. Will be killer live.

Coffee In The Pot

The shortest track on the album. An instrumental latin dance swing number interspersed with the lads singing "Oi!". Lovely, slightly out of tune, guitar sound. Finishes far too soon. My second favourite after St. Petersburg. If this doesn't end up being used as the theme tune for a British TV show (maybe it already is?) I'll be very surprised.

Road To Rouen

The title track is a straight-out rocker. Yet another killer riff with a funky baseline. Definitely meant to be played and appreciated in its fullness live.

Kick In The Teeth

Begins with a killer riff that sounds like the near cousin of Day Tripper. Catchy as all hell and another one that will have the crowd jumping when it's played live.

Low C

An acoustic number with infectious almost honky-tonk piano. Sounds like something John Lennon and George Harrison might have done together after they'd gone solo (what a shame that never happened). Poppy, catchy tune. Sweet.

Fin

Gorgeous Spanish-sounding guitar intro and an also a Lennonesque song. Lovely.

Overall the album is a departure from previous efforts with the lads being adventurous and experimental without losing that essential Supergrass ear for a catchy tune with a great hook. There's only a couple of real rockers, but those that do rock will become live favourites, I'm sure. The pop tunes, especially St. Petersburg, are up to their usual very high standard. If oasis can make a career out of ripping-off The Beatles then I reckon a brilliantly original band like Supergrass have earned the right to pay tribute (by re-interpretation) to the fab four. Great album.

very much underrated - 5,5 stars
This is classical rock music in the tradition of the beatles, Lennon solo and the Who ('coffee in the pot' is typical the Who humour), that's to mention a few. All new music nowadays is getting less and less innovative and going back all the time to the great bands in the 60's and 70's. Does that mean it is annoying that it already been done before? NO... Or is it in anyway possible to be great music then? Yes. It is beautifully produced and the arrangements are perfectly done. There is a lot of hard work in here. Although it is a bit short - road to rouen the song could be made easily 5 minutes longer - every second of music on this album is very much enjoyable.