Track Listing

1. Can’t Stand Me Now
2. Last Post On The Bugle
3. Don’t Be Shy
4. The Man Who Would Be King
5. Music When The Lights Go Out
6. Narcissist
7. The Ha Ha Wall
8. Arbeit Macht Frei
9. Campaign Of Hate
10. What Katie Did
11. Tomblands
12. The Saga
13. Road To Ruin
14. What Became Of The Likely Lads

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #8407 in Music
• Released on: 2004-08-30
• Number of discs: 1

Amazon.co.uk Review
Rock'n'roll can pretty much burn off pure mythology alone, but what happens when the soap opera of drug abuse and broken friendships threatens to overwhelm the music? That's the problem the Libertines' eponymous second LP must face up to – and while it sometimes struggles to live up to the magic of its predecessor, 2002's Up The Bracket, it's still peppered with enough inspiration to explain why people still care about this band. Co-frontmen Carl Barat and Pete Doherty tackle their problems head on with the opening "Can't Stand Me Now", an anthemic, harmonica-accompanied number with echoes of The Cure's "Lovecats", that sees Barat sum up The Libertines' troubled history in the album's most quotable line: "The boy kicked out at the world/ The world kicked back a lot fucking harder". Further rollicking moments come on the Barat-sung "Narcissist" and knockabout closer "What Became Of The Likely Lads?" But there's some workmanlike moments, and almost inevitably, they feature Pete at the helm: see the hoarse, off-key "Don't Be Shy". All told, a merely good record. If The Libertines truly want a place in rock history, they'll have to prove they have the discipline to channel their undeniable inspiration. --Louis Pattison

From the Label
In the late nineties in the East London squat scene, two troubadours and dreamers Peter Doherty and Carl Barat met and bonded over music and a common romanticism. They resolved to form a band with a name that reflected their attitude: a libertine is someone who is unrestrained by convention or morality. The Libertines are born.

Their songs have become anthems: "What a Waster", "I Get Along", "Up the Bracket", "Boys in the Band", "Time for Heroes" and "Don't Look Back into the Sun". They sing and play and live this life that sits in the previously unexplored point halfway between the urban assault of The Clash and the arch romanticism of The Smiths. The new album is produced by Mick Jones and engineered by Bill Price (who worked on London’s Calling, and with Guns n’ Roses).

CD Description
Recorded over a period of intense media scrutiny due to weakening relationships between main-men Barat and Doherty the band re-recruited ex-Clash guitarist Mick Jones to produce their follow up to 2002's 'Up The Bracket'. With lyrics openly discussing the band's personal problems the band stay to the format set on their debut. This time there is more of a nod towards 70's punk, but the band retain their huge sense of melody throughout the record. The album contains the single 'Can't Stand Me Now'.

Customer Reviews

The Libertines
The Libertines prove they are possibly the best band of the 21st century. This album is inspiring. There is no other word for it. While often quieter than Up the Bracket, the Libertines is an album that you can listen to again and again, without tiring of it.

It starts with the modern classic `Can't Stand Me Now', a great song until you realise that it's about the band's troubled relationship, when it becomes a brilliant song. The lyrics are to the point yet full of emotion, and the harmonica solo at the end is inspired.

Another potential classic is `Music When the Lights Go Out', which is one of the finest acoustic songs I have ever heard. The song has a bittersweet, catchy tune and Barat's electric guitar accompaniment complements Doherty's strumming perfectly. This is followed by `Narcissist', which has a completely different upbeat cockney working class feel to it.

The album is concluded ironically with `What Became of the Likely Lads', a tale of forgiveness between the two frontmen, which could quite easily bring a tear to the eye of the knowledgeable music fan. It leaves you wondering whether they knew the end was soon.

An album unique, not just in its music, but in the heart and emotion which has been poured into it. In a world filled with sometimes seemingly pointless love songs, this album is a refreshing change that should be treasured.

Diamonds in the rough
The first single from this album seemed to sum up the fractured state of the libertines as they appeared to be falling apart at the seams but this album would be a sad end if it were their last. Returning to what must be the most brutally honest production ever, the songs remain as vibrant and alive the fiftieth time you hear them. Even the initially dull "Don't be shy", which sounds like little more than a demo of a jam takes on a new life after repeated listens. "Music when the lights go out" is one of the most evocative "end of the night" songs I've ever played as a D.J. and there are storming rock 'n' roll chunks in the likes of "Tomblands" (particularly notable for what the Libs do best i.e. blur the lines between archaic music and lyrics and a cynical view of the state of the nation). It's not quite as punchy as the first but shows the first few steps towards progression. I only hope for us all that they continue to use the blueprint of Clash/Smiths and deliver on their potential. They have finally proven worthy of being more than just the london strokes and if Pete can make it through they could produce a canon of work to rival any English band.
Buy it, if only to encourage them to keep going.

the arcadian dream has fallen through
This album grows on you everytime you listen to it and it is possibly even better than Up The Bracket! The Libertines have matured not only in their music but also as people since the release of their debut album. Cant Stand Me, their first single off the album is catchy and in the classic libertines style and it is about the spiky relationship between Peter and Carl ("You shut me out and you blamed it on the brown") which is what most of this album is about with songs such as Campaign of Hate, What Became of the Likely Lads and The Saga. What Katie Did is one of the catchiest pop tunes i have ever heard but it is full of heartache as it is based on a girl who got lost in drugs, which has lots of references in this album, as it did in Up the Bracket.
Im just glad that Pete and Carl managed to put their problems behind them to finish this amazing album!