[The Past Presents] Badly Drawn Boy – “The Hour of Bewilderbeast”

The Past Presents revisits revered albums from the past 20-25 years to ask the question, “Is this album still a classic, or has it lost its edge over the years?”. Was it a great record for that particular time and place, or is it something we’ll be passing on to our kids? It also looks at the “lost classics” – countless albums that should have earned more attention but for one reason or another fell through the cracks.

Debut albums are special. A theory I consider whenever I first play a debut album is when you play that album you could be getting the first-step album, the starting point album, or the big-bang album.

The first-step album is typically a solid effort that leads to bigger and better albums. The first-step record is typically considered a fairly pedestrian debut when compared to the bands future work. A perfect example of the first-step album is Radiohead’s Pablo Honey. That was a pretty good record when it came out, but listen to it now, in the context of Radiohead’s current catalog, and it’s certainly the weakest of the lot.

The starting point album is a debut that is great and leaves you wanting more. With each new album the band gives you pretty much more of the same. Some records are a little better or a little worse than the preceding efforts, but really everything is pretty status quo… see Mudhoney’s self-titled debut and their subsequent albums. Everything is pretty solid, but in the end they never really deviated off the trail set mapped out on their first record.

Then comes the most interesting and most tragic, the big-bang record. This is the debut album that is so good you can barely contain your enthusiasm. You hear this record and you want to buy copies for everyone you know and a few people you don’t know. The tragedy comes into play because typically the big-bang album is so good the artist spends the better part of their career trying to top their first record. Critics compare every new release to the first, no matter how long ago the big-bang was released. The big-bang album explodes leaving you blinded by its greatness and thereby missing the lesser albums released in its wake, even when they have quite a bit of merit. George Harrison’s All Things Must Pass…. I’m looking at you.

Damon Gough, known by most as Badly Drawn Boy, released one of the most notable big bang albums in recent memory. His 2000 debut album, The Hour of Bewilderbeast, was huge news before the album reached shelves. Critics were already dripping with praise for this album; Bewilderbeast was going to be the album of the year, album of the decade and possibly the album of the new millennium, depending on who you asked. No need for a Grammy ceremony, Badly Drawn Boy should just take them all and save every one the trouble. Upon its release it was obvious the critics were right, The Hour of Bewilderbeast was outstanding. It was clear then, as it is now, that this was one of the first classic records of the new millennium.

In 2000 indie-rock was pulling away from its infatuation with electronica and bubble-gum, Weezer-infused rock and trending toward the songwriters and rock side of things. Damon Gough was heralded as the next great singer-songwriter, a modern day Nick Drake or an English Elliott Smith. None of those descriptions really fit Badly Drawn Boy; he’s his own man with his own sound. The Hour of Bewilderbeast was one of the forefathers of the current trend of using big orchestrations in indie-rock (see Sufjan Stevens). Badly Drawn Boy wasn’t the first or the last to incorporate that instrumentation into his music, but The Hour of Bewilderbeast was one of the first records that got the sound noticed.

One of the aspects of Bewilderbeast, that still strikes me today, is Badly Drawn Boy’s ability to blend various styles and song lengths on this album. There are subtly different styles mixed throughout the album, but you only notice them if you listen to the tracks out of context. These songs blend seamlessly, to the point it seems wrong to not listen to the album in its entirety; there really are not singles here, but an album. This alone is refreshing. Then there are the short, under a minute, instrumentals between the songs. On any other album these would break up the flow of the record or seem simply superfluous, but on The Hour of Bewilderbeast they are the mortar keeping everything perfectly aligned. These short interludes work so well they’re barely noticeable.

Without a doubt, The Hour of Bewilderbeast is a finely crafted album in every respect. This record is up and down, serious, then playful; Gough’s a dreamer and a realist, and it’s all here, blended perfectly. In my opinion this is one of the best albums released in the first decade of the new millennium and it is clearly a classic. You really need to hear this in its entirety, but if you need a song or two to sell you, try “Pissing in the Wind” or the fantastic opening track, “The Shining”.

Badly Drawn Boy – “The Shining” [stream only]

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Badly Drawn Boy released several albums after The Hour of Bewilderbeast but none of them stood a chance when compared to his stunning debut. The tragic thing is all of these albums, especially the About A Boy Soundtrack, were good, solid, enjoyable albums that, if not for the enormous shadow of Bewilderbeast, would be held in much higher regard. Unfortunately albums like Have You Fed the Fish and Born In the UK just didn’t have the cohesiveness or charm of The Hour of Bewilderbeast. Fortunately, 2010 is shaping up to be a bit of a renaissance for Badly Drawn Boy. He released a new soundtrack and a new album this year. The album, It’s What I’m Thinking Part 1, sees a new creative spark in Badly Drawn Boy’s songs. While this isn’t a return to Bewilderbeast form, it is a fantastic album with its own identity, standing on its own merit.

4 comments to [The Past Presents] Badly Drawn Boy – “The Hour of Bewilderbeast”

  • welistenforyou

    RT @knoxroad: [The Past Presents] Badly Drawn Boy – “The Hour of Bewilderbeast” http://www.knoxroad.com/2010/12/20/the-p

  • Albert

    What a great choice of an album! I remember watching “once around the block” on the music channels. Back in the days when they were actually playing music videos. Darn, I’m getting old!

  • His music reminds me of travels in the UK roundabout 2000. I effing adore this record. I attended his gig at the 930 promoting it. On top of amazing songwriting and being a pianoman, he synthesized a plastic Playskool trumpet and sang through a child’s voice altering bullhorn. He was also a perfect gentleman and kissed my hand upon meeting him. I can say that this is the ONLY BDB record I own. Badly Drawn Abby? Probably.

  • Jesse

    This is really is one of those albums that holds a special place in peoples hearts. It really gets in there and doesn’t let go. Abby, you should really take some time and check out the About A Boy soundtrack and his newest one. In my opinion, all of his albums have been really good; they’re all just overshadowed by this one.