Track Listing

1. Wire To Wire
2. Hostage Of Love
3. You And The Rest
4. Tabloid Lover
5. North London Trash
6. 60 Thompson
7. Stinger
8. Burberry Blue Eyes
9. Blood For Wild Blood
10. Monster Boots
11. The House
12. Weblink

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #1017 in Music
• Released on: 2008-11-03
• Number of discs: 1
• Format: Enhanced
• Dimensions: .21 pounds
• Running time: 38 minutes

Amazon.co.uk Review
Most bands ripen and transcend their earlier selves, eventually. But for Razorlight the onset of maturity has been particularly rapid. It’s like they got on the bus with their debut Up All Night, all tight jeans and scrappy attitude, winging a child’s fare and yet by the time they sat down they were in comfy slacks, pulling a financial supplement from their jacket pocket for light reading and asking the kids at the back to pipe down. Their eponymous second record unapologetically disposed of the fervour and sense of place of Up All Night, pursuing instead a universal sense of melody and more generic themes. It is this vein that they build on with Phase 3, aka Slipaway Fires, and having already engaged the mainstream, Johnny Borrell now makes a big play to be prompted alongside some of the greats. With the sentimental piano balladry of “Wire to Wire” and “The House” he positions himself between “Don’t Look Back in Anger” and Elton John. On “You & the Rest” and “60 Thompson” he goes after Bruce Springsteen and Bob Dylan respectively. The eye-openers are exaggerated cliché “Tabloid Lover” which is like The Who, Queen and Roxette forced into a space too small for them all and “Stinger”, arching soft rock ballad with a perm. It’s an ambitious project in advancing the Razorlight template and sometimes it probably pushes too far, but a glimmer remains throughout and Slipway Fires won’t be the record to halt their ascent. --James Berry

CD Description
After releasing two of the most popular indie albums of the00s, Razorlight return for their third in the shape of 'Slipway Fires'. Typically dramatic and epic in its expressions,this release is slightly more bombastic than before, and incorporates a rawer, edgier rock dynamic. Recorded after a period of isolation and creative rest, lead singer Johnny Borrell took his band to the Inner Hebrides to fuel the renewed creative process, resulting in this anthemic collection. Features the single 'Wire To Wire'.

Customer Reviews

Up All Night anyone?
This is fairly decent return by Razorlight. Wire to wire is a great tune as are several others in this album. However some of the songs are a bit samey and there don't seem to be as many upbeat songs as there are in the two previous albums.

If you liked Razorlight's second album then this will probably appeal to you more than if you are a lover of the first like myself. To be honest Up All Night is still Razorlight's best work.

THAT 'DIFFICULT' THIRD ALBUM
Razorlight's second self titled long player gave the band a number 1 single - the modern classic and best single of 2006 'America' - and a massive shed load shifting album. The critics swooned and the public fell for Johnny Borrell and chums mix of powerpop, glitter and THAT voice.
The fact that the new record - Slipway Fires - has attracted some negative reviews and a wave of 'Borrell' backlash comes as little surprise. In all fairness, whilst the new material isn't as consistent and exciting as previous offerings, there are at least a handful of songs that should ensure that the band have another successful run in the charts and keep the masses happy in UK arena's and festivals come Summer 09.
Lead single 'Wire To Wire' is a seductive slow burner featuring a terrifc Borrell vocal, 'Burberry Blue Eyes' a Crowded House like pop rocker (with subtle harmonies and by far the record's best lyrics) & 'North London Trash' is an arch stomp that sounds suspiciously like Suede circa 95. The spritely 'Tabloid Lover' is catchy as hell but let down by some of JB's clunkiest cuplets whilst sedate closer 'The House' is actually all the better for it's stripped down arrangement and honest delivery.
The rest of the tracks often struggle to find a tune or flouder beneath the weight of over production and lack of identity. Borrell's vocals are uniformerly excellent but taken as a whole Slipway Fires pales against the bands first two releases. Still even Razorlight on cruise control put the majority of their indie rock peers in the shade.

Pretty bad
The album starts off well with 'Wire to Wire' and then goes very rapidly downhill with 'Hostage of Love'; a song about Jesus in the first person. Oh dear. I actually have to skip this track because it's too cringe-worthy to listen to. David Brent could easily have written this.

The rest of the album ambles along, yet tries to be epic. This is the music of a band caught up in it's own arrogance, but who ran out of ideas for the third album.

It's certainly not a good album, but it's not all terrible either. Compared to 'Up All Night' Razorlight are a shadow of their former selves. What happened?