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Dog Man Star

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Untitled

Dog Man Star is the second album by British alternative rock group Suede, released in October 1994 on Nude Records. It was the last Suede album to feature guitarist Bernard Butler, due to growing tensions between Butler and singer Brett Anderson ending with Butler leaving the band shortly before the album's completion. Dog Man Star is more downbeat than their debut and chronicles Suede as they parted from the "Britpop pack".[1]

Although it did not sell on the same scale as their chart-topping debut Suede (1993), Dog Man Star reached number three on the UK Albums Chart. Released to a generally positive critical reception, it is considered by some to be Suede's masterpiece.

Background

In early 1994, when Suede were about to release the standalone single "Stay Together"—their highest charting single, which reached number three on the UK Singles Chart[2]—the morale within the group was at an all time low. Butler's father had died just as the band were about to begin their second American tour. The first week of the tour was cancelled, and Suede flew back to London from New York. When the tour did resume, Butler distanced himself from the rest of the band far more than before. Recently bereaved and engaged, according to Butler, "they got really resentful of the fact that they were on tour with someone who didn't want to party".[3] He even travelled separately, either alone, by taxi, or on the tour bus of support act The Cranberries. Then in Atlanta, Suede suffered the ignominy of having to open for The Cranberries,[4] who'd been given a friendlier reception than the headliners and received the support from MTV as well.[5] By New York they'd had enough and the last few dates were cancelled. According to drummer Simon Gilbert, Butler was becoming unworkable and intolerable, and the band could not function together any longer.[4]

To record Suede's next album Anderson moved to Highgate, and began to write lyrics influenced by heavy drugs while living in a secluded Victorian mansion.[6] "I deliberately isolated myself, that was the idea," Anderson later explained.[7] The album was later described by one journalist as "the most pompous, overblown British rock record of the decade",[8] which Anderson puts down to his use of psychedelic drugs. "I was doing an awful lot of acid at the time, and I think it was this that gave us the confidence to push boundaries."[8] Anderson has said that he thrived on the surreal environment he lived in at the time; next door were a sect known as the Mennonites, who would often sing hymns during Anderson's drug binges.[9]

Recording and production

After the success of their debut album, Suede were hailed as the unwitting inventors of Britpop, something they were proud of for a short while. However, Britpop soon grew to be dominated by other musical forces, as Blur, Oasis and Pulp arrived on the scene. This disgusted Anderson, who called Britpop "horribly twisted, a musical Carry On film", and he began to distance himself from the scene.[8] "We could not have been more uninterested in that whole boozy, cartoon-like, fake working-class thing." the singer said in 2008, "As soon as we became aware of it, we went away and wrote Dog Man Star. You could not find a less Britpop record. It's tortured, epic, extremely sexual and personal. None of those things apply to Britpop".[10]

The recording of Dog Man Star was very tense; Suede would inevitably split into two separate camps, i.e. Butler and the rest of the band. Butler seemed to consolidate his separation when he appeared on the front cover of Vox magazine with the tag line, "Brett drives me insane".[11] The interview went on to say how much Butler liked to improvise and how Anderson made this impossible because of his slow ways of working, and his obsession with rock stardom.[5] A despondent Anderson remembers reading the article the same morning he was recording the vocals for "The Asphalt World": "I remember trying to channel all this hurt that I was feeling and the iciness I was feeling into the vocal."[12] Butler apologised to Anderson soon after.

Musical differences over "The Asphalt World" triggered the next big argument. The version that finally made it on to the album clocks in at nine minutes 25 seconds, but according to bass player Mat Osman, Butler's initial creation was a 25-minute piece with an eight-minute guitar solo.[13] "Bernard was very determined", says Anderson. "He's always been quite stubborn and single-minded, he was determined that it would be long. I don't ever remember him saying, 'We'll edit it down.'"[14] Osman, felt that Butler's compositions were too audacious and experimental, "Lots of the musical ideas were too much. They were being rude to the listener: it was expecting too much of people to listen to them."[13]

The arguments over "The Asphalt World" spilled over on to the rest of the album, as Butler became progressively more dissatisfied with Ed Buller's production. In a 2005 interview, the guitarist maintained his position on the matter, stating that Buller "made a terrible shoddy job of it".[15] Butler wanted Buller dismissed, allowing him to produce the record by himself, although it was later revealed that Butler had recommended Chris Thomas as their producer. Thomas was more experienced and had previously worked with punk rock bands The Pretenders and the Sex Pistols; however Suede's label Nude Records declined Butler's request, saying Thomas was too expensive.[16] Nude's owner Saul Galpern claimed that the guitarist became impossible to reason with and also made threats to him and Buller. Buller claims he received phone calls where there was the sound of scratching knives on the phone.[17]

Butler issued the band and their management an ultimatum: either they discharged Buller, or he would leave Suede.[13] The rest of the band, however refused to comply with Butler's demands and decided to let him walk out before the completion of Dog Man Star. Butler insisted he was kicked out the band, that when he turned up to the studio to find he wasn't allowed in. He went back the following day to find his guitars lying out in the street.[18] According to The Last Party by John Harris, the band's manager Charlie Charlton made a final attempt to reach consensus between the two parties, however during a tense phone conversation the final words Butler uttered to Anderson were along the lines of "you're a fucking cunt".[15]

Among the post-Butler additions was a reworked ending to "The Wild Ones", an orchestral coda on "Still Life" and an electric guitar part, copied note for note from Butler's original demo of "The Power", which he strongly criticised.[19] Butler became a harsh critic of Dog Man Star, not just from a production standpoint, but the overall musicianship as well. He cites lack of commitment in the studio, along with Anderson's partying antics, and the band's unwillingness to challenge his elaborate ideas as his main criticism, "I just heard too many times, 'No, you can't do that'. I was sick to death of it. I think it's a good record, but it could have been much better."[20]

Music and lyrics

British journalists wanted this album to be this standard-bearer for British rock, but I'm not anyone's pawn. People always expect me to write songs about council flats and corned beef and living in Leyton in 1945 and other very British stuff. I just decided, well, I'm going to write about James Dean and Marilyn Monroe, which are the last things anybody expected me to write about.

Brett Anderson detailing his lyrical intentions on Dog Man Star[21]

Writing for The New York Times, Neil Strauss said, "Dog Man Star looks back to the era when glam-rock met art-rock, with meticulously arranged songs sung with a flamboyance reminiscent of David Bowie and accompanied by anything from a 40-piece orchestra to an old Moog synthesizer."[21] The Bowie influence was still a major element of Suede's sound, however, unlike their debut, Suede focused on a more darker and melodramatic sound.[6] As they were on Suede, Anderson's lyrics were influenced by his heavy drug use, citing William Blake as a big influence on his writing style.[8] He became fascinated with his use of visions and trance-like states as a means of creation.[7] Anderson claims that much of the torn, fragmented imagery on songs like "Introducing the Band" and B-side, "Killing of a Flashboy" were the result of letting his subconscious take over.[7]

Anderson's imagery can also be heard on "Daddy's Speeding", a eulogy to the late American actor James Dean,[22] which transcends into a loud finale of white noise and feedback effects. Lead single "We Are the Pigs" depicts Anderson's visions of Armageddon and riots in the streets,[7] sampling Peter Gunn style horns to illustrate this.[23] The song fades with the sound of a children's choir singing the words "We will watch them burn". The track "Heroine", with the refrain, "I'm aching to see my heroine", also has a celebrity influence, paying homage to Marilyn Monroe. , while evoking Lord Byron. "She Walks in Beauty", the song's opening line, is the title of a Byron poem.[22]

Dog Man Star explores themes such as solitude, paranoia and self-loathing.[1] The latter theme being reflected in the ballad "The Wild Ones", a tender ode to a relationship being slowly lost.[24] Anderson's girlfriend Anick was the inspiration behind the song, along with "The Asphalt World" and "Black or Blue".[25] The latter would not be performed live until Suede's five night residency at the London ICA in 2003.[26] "This Hollywood Life" is the most aggressive song on the album, the NME wrote that "a record so couched in earth-shacking drama probably needs at least one spittle-flecked tantrum."[23]

"New Generation" is an upbeat affair and, according to The Independent, "a reminder that they can still play sleek rock'n'roll".[27] One writer noted that "few bands could make such a sexual, illicit poem appear to bounce like a pop anthem".[24] The melancholic piano ballad "The 2 of Us" explores similar themes of regret and doubt and features a bawu solo before the song's crescendo. David Sinclair of Q described how the sad, bored housewife from Suede's earlier song "Sleeping Pills" reappears in "The 2 of Us" as well as Dog Man Star's closing track "Still Life".[28] An early concept that was originally planned for Suede,[29] "Still Life" features the 72-piece Sinfonia of London orchestra.[30] It was notable for its premiere at the 1993 Glastonbury Festival,[31] though this rendition was a stripped down version comprising of vocals and acoustic guitar.[32]

Packaging

The back cover of the album featuring the photograph "Lost Dreams".

Anderson spoke of the album's title as a kind of shorthand Darwinism reflecting his own journey from the gutter to the stars. Fans noted the similarity to experimental film-maker Stan Brakhage's 1964 film, Dog Star Man. "The film wasn't an influence but I obviously dug the title,"[33] he now confesses. The title is intended as a proud summation of Suede's evolution. "It was meant to be a record about ambition; what could you make yourself into."[9]

The artwork, which features a naked man sprawled on a bed were lifted from another of Anderson's old photo books. Taken by American photographer Joanne Leonard in 1971, the front cover picture was originally titled "Sad Dreams On Cold Mornings" and the rear photo "Lost Dreams,"[33]

Release and reception

Dog Man Star entered the charts two places lower than its predecessor, held off the top by R.E.M.'s Monster and Bon Jovi's Greatest Hits. "It didn't sell as well as I thought it deserved," says Anderson. "I felt that it didn't get the commercial success it deserved, it got the critical success. I think a lot of people thought the band had split up because Bernard had left."[34] Suede's lead single from Dog Man Star, "We Are the Pigs", peaked at a disappointing 18,[2] plunging to 38 the following week. The choice of single had been a subject of heated debate, with Sony wanting to release "New Generation" as the first single, which would have made more commercial sense, however, Anderson disagreed as he did not feel it had the drama and the power that represented Dog Man Star.[35] Even the release of "The Wild Ones", the ballad that Anderson still thinks may be the best song Suede have ever recorded,[36] did not seem to help, like "We Are the Pigs", it stalled at number 18. The third single "New Generation" charted even lower, peaking at number 21.[2] "The Power", the only song on the album Butler did not play on,[37] was the proposed fourth single, set for release on May 1 1995, however this never happened.[38]

The music press were more enthusiastic about Suede's new record. In his full page review for NME, John Harris gave Dog Man Star a rating of nine out of ten, and called it "a startling record: an album surrounded by the white heat of something close to genius".[23] David Sinclair of Q magazine gave the album a full five stars; in his review he said. "With Dog Man Star the group has vindicated just about every claim that was ever made on their behalf...It will be hailed in years to come as the crowning achievement of a line-up that reinvented English, guitar-band rock..."[28] Nicholas Barber of The Independent complimented Butler's musicianship, "The follow-up to Suede's Mercury-Prize-winning debut is a larger-than-life blend of pop hooks and theatrical gestures. The music is a testament to the talent of its composer, Bernard Butler, whose lurid guitar curls notes into the mix exactly where they are needed." He added that, "at times Dog Man Star is messy and preposterous. But no record collection is complete without it."[27]

Despite Suede's problems in the US, such as the short-lived tour and the lawsuit over the band's name, Dog Man Star sold about 36,000 copies there as of 2008, per Nielsen SoundScan figures. However, this is about a third of the sales of Suede, which shifted 105,000 units in the US.[39] Critical reception was mixed. Simon Reynolds of the The New York Times wrote that while Suede's "self-titled debut was too steeped in glam rock and mope rock [that] connected with only the most devout Anglophiles", on their second record "the group soars to new heights of swoony hysteria". He concluded by stating that "Dog Man Star deserves attention, if only for its absurd ambition".[40] One negative review was by music journalist Robert Christgau, who labelled the album a "dud" in his consumer guide review.[41] In 1995, the Spin Alternative Record Guide stated that Dog Man Star "...proved a massive flounce forward... Gone are the endless I'm-shocked-that-you're-shocked ruminations on sexual identity, drugs and decay".[42]

Legacy

In 2006, the British Hit Singles & Albums and NME organised a poll of which, 40,000 people in the U.K. voted for the 100 best albums ever and Dog Man Star was placed at number 75 on the list.[43] In 2000, the now-defunct weekly magazine Melody Maker placed Dog Man Star at number 16 in a list of all time top 100 albums.[44] The album is included in the book 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die.[45]

With the exception of A New Morning, Dog Man Star is Suede's least commercially succesful album, yet it remains arguably the band's most acclaimed and celebrated piece of work to date.[26] Many critics are keen to emphasise the band's split as the main reason for their slow downfall. John Mulvey was the first journalist to write about Suede for the NME in 1991 at the ULU, when Suede were still relatively unknown.[46] Over a decade later and in sharp contrast to his emphatic review in 1991, Mulvey now of The Times wrote about Suede's final output, Singles. He felt that if the band "had split up in 1994, following the release of the majestic Dog Man Star album, Suede might now be celebrated as one of the great bands." He then added, "as the bulk of Singles proves, over the past nine years Suede have sounded like a parody of their formative selves."[47]

Jon Monks of Stylus Magazine said that "Suede will never make a record this good again, whether it is because Butler left or merely it was a such a perfect time for Brett to be writing, they have failed to make anything nearly so encompassing as this."[24] A significant review came from Nicholas Barber of The Independent, shortly after the release of their platinum-selling album Coming Up. Watching them perform live at Glasgow's Barrowlands with their new line-up, he questioned their forceful sound and reluctantly alluded Butler's absence. "When he left, he took with him the heart of the band, leaving behind the pelvis and the guts." He added, "Suede deliver the goods, all right. It's just that they no longer, as it were, deliver the greats."[48]

In an interview preceding the release of his second solo album Wilderness, Anderson described the making of Dog Man Star as one of the proudest moments of his career. "Of all the records we [Suede] made, I’m incredibly proud of Dog Man Star - it’s probably the best thing we produced and at the time we felt untouchable. I had a fantastic time making the record and it still stands up well, it’s just full of great songs."[49]

In September 2003, Suede played five nights at London's Institute of Contemporary Arts, dedicating each night to one of their five albums and playing through an entire album a night. Tickets sold fastest for Tuesday's Dog Man Star night,[50] and were selling for over a £1,000 a pair on eBay,[51] in contrast to A New Morning, which, went for merely £100.[52]

Track listing

All songs written by Brett Anderson and Bernard Butler.

No.TitleLength
1."Introducing the Band"2:38
2."We Are the Pigs"4:19
3."Heroine"3:22
4."The Wild Ones"4:50
5."Daddy's Speeding"5:22
6."The Power"4:31
7."New Generation"4:37
8."This Hollywood Life"3:50
9."The 2 of Us"5:45
10."Black or Blue"3:48
11."The Asphalt World"9:25
12."Still Life"5:23
American release
No.TitleLength
13."Modern Boys"4:49

Personnel

References

  • Barnett, David: Suede: Love and Poison. Carlton Publishing Group, 2003. ISBN 0-233-00094-1
  • Weisbard, Eric; Craig Marks (1995). Spin Alternative Record Guide. Vintage Books. ISBN 0679755748.
  • Harris, John. Britpop!: Cool Britannia and the Spectacular Demise of English Rock. Da Capo Press, 2004. ISBN 0-306-81367-X

Notes

  1. ^ a b Jones, Chris. "Brett and Bernard's big bust-up album. Lovelier than ever...". BBC Music. 21 September 2007. Retrieved on 21 January 2010.
  2. ^ a b c "Suede". Chart Stats.
  3. ^ Harris, p. 169
  4. ^ a b Barnett, p. 131
  5. ^ a b Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "The London Suede: Full Biography". MTV. Retrieved on 25 January 2010.
  6. ^ a b Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "Dog Man Star Review". Allmusic.
  7. ^ a b c d Barnett, p. 132
  8. ^ a b c d Duerden, Nick. "Brett Anderson: 'I was a very strange human being indeed'". The Independent. 18 October 2003. Retrieved on 25 January 2010.
  9. ^ a b Harris, p. 170
  10. ^ Bracewell, Michael. "I'm surprised I made it to 30". The Guardian. 2 September 2008. Retrieved on 25 January 2010.
  11. ^ Barnett, p. 145
  12. ^ Barnett, p. 146
  13. ^ a b c Harris, p. 171
  14. ^ Barnett, p. 147
  15. ^ a b Petridis, Alexis. "Frankly I hated Suede". The Guardian. 22 April 2005. Retrieved on 25 January 2010.
  16. ^ Fulton, Rick. "Full Suede Ahead". Daily Record. 8 July 2005. Retrieved on 25 January 2010.
  17. ^ Barnett, p. 148
  18. ^ Harris, p. 172
  19. ^ Barnett, p. 155
  20. ^ "The guitar man finds his voice". The Daily Telegraph. 8 October 1998. Retrieved on 25 January 2010.
  21. ^ a b Strauss, Neil. "The Pop Life". The New York Times. 9 February 1995. Retrieved on 25 January 2010.
  22. ^ a b Evans, Paul. "Music Reviews: Suede, Blur, Oasis". Rolling Stone. 2 Febraury 1998. Retrieved on 25 January 2010.
  23. ^ a b c Harris, John. "Diamond 'Dog'!". NME. 1 October 1994.
  24. ^ a b c Monks, Jon. "On Second Thought, Suede - Dog Man Star". Stylus Magazine. 1 September 2003. Retrieved on 25 January 2010.
  25. ^ Barnett, p. 133-134
  26. ^ a b Price, Simon. "I was right all along, they're a work of genius". The Independent. 28 September 2003. Retrieved on 21 January 2010.
  27. ^ a b Barber, Nicholas. "ARTS/Records: Dog Man Star". The Independent. 9 October 1994.
  28. ^ a b "Dog Man Star Review". Q. November 1994.
  29. ^ Barnett, p. 117
  30. ^ Barnett, p. 156
  31. ^ "Glastonbury 2005 - Line-up and Artists: The Tears ". BBC Online. Retrieved on 25 January 2010.
  32. ^ Barnett, p. 124
  33. ^ a b Barnett, p. 167
  34. ^ Barnett, p. 169
  35. ^ Barnett, p. 165
  36. ^ Harris, p. 187
  37. ^ Future, Andrew. "Review: ICA London". Drowned In Sound. 5 October 2003. Retrieved on 25 January 2010.
  38. ^ Barnett, p. 178
  39. ^ Caulfield, Keith. "Ask Billboard: Blue Suede Shoes". Billboard. 26 September 2008. Retrieved on 25 January 2010.
  40. ^ Reynolds, Simon. "Pop Brief: The London Suede: 'Dog Man Star' Nude/Columbia". The New York Times. 27 November 1994. Retrieved on 25 January 2010.
  41. ^ Christgau, Robert. "The London Suede, Consumer Guide Reviews". RobertChristgau.com. Retrieved on 25 January 2010.
  42. ^ Weisbard & Marks, 1995. p.379
  43. ^ "List Of 100 Top Albums In New Poll". Sky News. 2 Jun 2006
  44. ^ "All Time Top 100 Albums". Melody Maker.
  45. ^ "1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die"
  46. ^ Leith, William. "Now you see them:". The Independent. 21 Mar 1993
  47. ^ Mulvey, John. "Review: Suede, Singles". The Times. 18 Oct 2003
  48. ^ Barber, Nicholas. "What Bernard Butler didn't see". The Independent. 6 October 1996. Retrieved on 25 January 2010.
  49. ^ Took, Michael. "Into The Wilderness: Brett Anderson". Gigwise.com. 1 Sept 2008
  50. ^ Sullivan, Caroline. "Suede ICA London". The Guardian. 24 Sept 2003
  51. ^ Womack, Andrew. "Suede, Dog Man Star Live at the I.C.A.". The Morning News. 20 Jan 2004
  52. ^ Thornton, Anthony. "Suede : London ICA". NME.com. 8 Oct 2003
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