Track Listing

1. Woman I Know
2. You Just Know
3. People Move On
4. Change of Heart
5. Autograph
6. You Light the Fire
7. Not Alone
8. When You Grow
9. You've Got What It Takes
10. Stay
11. In Vain
12. I'm Tired

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #76439 in Music
• Released on: 1999-07-11
• Number of discs: 1

Amazon.co.uk Review
Following abortive collaborations with David McAlmont and Richard Ashcroft, ex- Suede guitarist Bernard Butler finally heeded his wife's advice and took centre stage for his solo debut. Not surprisingly, wide-eyed positivism is the presiding sentiment here--so much so, that, at times, People Move On seems to be about little more than itself. Save for that melodically slight Top 10 hit "Stay" though, it's hard to raise much objection in the face of such sustained inspiration. Highlights? Well, "You Just Know" will be better known to football fans as the plaintively catchy riff used during the 1998-9 season on Match Of The Day. "Change Of Heart" crashes along some beautiful George Harrison-style playing. Best of all though are "Autograph" and "Woman I Know"--not least for the way their gothic grandeur exposes the limitations of Butler's old band. --Peter Paphides

Customer Reviews

People move on...and on.
Bernard Butler's solo career was extremely brief, two years and two albums at Creation, bookended by collaborations with David McAlmont. People Move On is a laid back album in general, and thi was Butler setting his musical stall out; producing, writing, and arranging the whole thing, as well as mixing and recording, he also plays most of the instruments himself bar drums.

The music is expansive, the songs are huge; take, Woman I Know and Autograph, the first pastoral, the other epic. There are upbeat rockers here too, check out You Just Know with it's circular sub Paul Weller rhyff, and the anthemic Not Alone. There are a lot of slower accoustic numbers with big arrangements, People Move On itself, A Change Of Heart and In Vain being the most obvious. There is the huge tidal wave of Spectoresque sound When You Grow, with an impossibly massive sounding guitar solo, and the huge hit, the subtly layered and deeply beautiful, Stay. The only real stripped down moment is the warmly crafted accoustic song You Light The Fire, just guitar voice and harmonica, gently played and well judged.

Anyone expecting a Suede album will be disappointed, Bernard had truly moved on by this point, but listen carefully and what you have is the other half of what he was to do with ex-Suede front man Brett Anderson in The Tears, one half Suede rockers, other half sound paintings. Have a listen...

Neil Young meets Jeff Buckley
After splitting from Suede, who were then touted as new superstars but have now faded after two fairly middling albums, and briefly working with unlikely colleague David McAlmont, a collaboration which produced the amazing Yes and You Do, plus lots of filler, Bernard Butler signed to Creation and came up with this album owing much to Neil Young's brand of midtempo AOR.

The lead single Stay proved to be the only significant hit, and while the tune is alright, it suffers from laughably juvenile lyrics- "Don't go. Stay, this time", a bit of a waste of the 5 minutes it porbably took to write.

Thankfully there are stronger moments, my faovurite being the string-drenched A Change Of Heart. The mellow title track stands out as well, and it finishes on a high with a couple of highly charged numbers relating to his darker times. The album's lyrics talk of change a lot, highy appropriate given the events of the time.

Arguably though, this doesn't show Bernard in his best light, featuring too many forgettable numbers and not enough of his virtuoso guitar skill, as well as a weak voice, especially compared to David McAlmont's falsetto range. I'd stick to McAlmont & Butler's work, or Neil Young's albums.

Move On - You Wont Want To!
I got bought this album for my B-day, and I can quite honestly say its the best present ive got in a while! A total chillout album, very relaxing, and still manages to keep a rocky edge. A must buy for any fan of mild rock!