Coles Corner (album)

Last updated

Coles Corner
Coles Corner cover.jpg
Studio album by
Released5 September 2005
StudioYellow Arch Studios, Sheffield
Genre
Length46:09
Label Mute
Producer
Richard Hawley chronology
Lowedges
(2003)
Coles Corner
(2005)
Lady's Bridge
(2007)
Singles from Coles Corner
  1. "The Ocean"
    Released: 22 August 2005
  2. "Coles Corner"
    Released: 31 October 2005
  3. "Just Like the Rain"
    Released: 23 January 2006
  4. "Born Under a Bad Sign"
    Released: 20 March 2006
  5. "Coles Corner (re-issue)"
    Released: 12 June 2006
  6. "Hotel Room"
    Released: 4 September 2006

Coles Corner is the fourth studio album from English pop/rock musician Richard Hawley, released on 5 September 2005 in the UK and on 6 September 2005 in the US. The title immortalises the legendary Sheffield landmark Coles Corner, a popular meeting place of old and new lovers. The album was nominated for the 2006 Mercury Music Prize for best album.

Contents

Rather than Coles Corner itself, the cover image shows the Stephen Joseph Theatre in Scarborough.

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
Metacritic 85/100 [1]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svg [2]
The Guardian Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svg [3]
Mojo Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svg [4]
NME 7/10 [5]
The Observer Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svg [6]
Pitchfork 8.1/10 [7]
PopMatters 8/10 [8]
Q Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svg [9]
Stylus Magazine A [10]
Uncut Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svg [11]

Critics were almost unanimous in their praise for Coles Corner. AllMusic said that "early rock & roll and rockabilly, country, traces of the vintage-'40s pop, jazz, and even some blues, fall together in a seamless, nearly rapturous whole... Coles Corner is glorious, magical, and utterly lovely in its vision, articulation, and execution". [2] PopMatters stated that "Coles Corner heads full-bore into the vintage sounds of five decades ago... It takes a certain flair for a modern-day artist to pull off such a retro sound, and Hawley's complete lack of irony and bombast on this record makes it work... It's certainly not uncommon for contemporary artists to mine the past and successfully corner the ever-growing adult contemporary market... but none of those youngsters can match the style and grace with which Richard Hawley crafts his music. It's achingly beautiful, disarmingly intimate, simply the best-kept secret in popular music today." [8] The Guardian called the tracks "old-fashioned, lovelorn, immaculately produced songs" and said "[Hawley's] third album follows the template of its predecessors... if there is a difference it's in the richness of the emotions and textures". [3] Mojo called it "a glorious melange of love, loss, regret, homesickness and romance". [4] Pitchfork said "Coles Corner is unapologetically retro to the max but it works... Hawley resides deep inside this material, writing songs with the melodic muscle to stand up next to standards... you realize that Hawley's music can go wherever he wants it to go. He's not stuck in the past. He inhabits his record collection because he likes it there and has a feeling we will too. He's right." [7] Describing the album as a "rare and real treat," Ewan Gleadow of Cult Following highlighted the album's connection to Sheffield, saying it "starts strong, injecting the Sheffield area with strings and a swirling tenderness which remains throughout." [12]

MusicOMH felt that if there were any reservations it was that "many Hawley songs are interchangeable" and "apart from the title track itself - which really is a cracker - there isn't anything in this album we didn't hear in the first two. It's still gorgeous, though." [13]

Legacy

The album was included in the book 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die . [14]

Track listing

All tracks written and composed by Richard Hawley, except where noted.

  1. "Coles Corner" – 4:49
  2. "Just Like the Rain" – 3:17
  3. "Hotel Room" – 3:42
  4. "Darlin' Wait for Me" (Hawley, Shez Sheridan) – 3:53
  5. "The Ocean" – 5:36
  6. "Born Under a Bad Sign" – 3:41
  7. "I Sleep Alone" – 3:44
  8. "Tonight" – 4:32
  9. "(Wading Through) The Waters of My Time" – 3:48
  10. "Who's Gonna Shoe Your Pretty Little Feet?" (Traditional; arranged by Hawley) – 4:08
  11. "Last Orders" – 4:59

Singles

In the UK, six singles were released from the album:

Personnel

Certifications

RegionCertification Certified units/sales
United Kingdom (BPI) [15] Gold100,000^

^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

Related Research Articles

<i>Face the Music</i> (Electric Light Orchestra album) 1975 studio album by Electric Light Orchestra

Face the Music is the fifth studio album by Electric Light Orchestra (ELO). It was released in September 1975 by United Artists Records and on 14 November 1975 in the United Kingdom by Jet Records. The album moves away from the large-scale classical orchestrated sound of the previous album, Eldorado, in favour of more "radio-friendly" pop/rock songs, though the string sections are still very prominent. The new sound proved successful for the group, for Face the Music was the first ELO album to go platinum.

<i>Frances the Mute</i> 2005 studio album by The Mars Volta

Frances the Mute is the second studio album by American progressive rock band The Mars Volta released in February 2005 on Gold Standard Laboratories and Universal. Produced by guitarist and songwriter Omar Rodriguez-Lopez, the album incorporates dub, ambient, Latin and jazz influences, and is the first to feature bassist Juan Alderete and percussionist Marcel Rodriguez-Lopez. The album also includes contributions from future saxophonist Adrián Terrazas-González, who joined the band during its subsequent tour.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Richard Hawley</span> English musician (born 1967)

Richard Willis Hawley is an English singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer. After his first band Treebound Story broke up, Hawley found success as a member of Britpop band Longpigs in the 1990s. After that group broke up in 2000, he joined the band Pulp, led by his friend Jarvis Cocker, for a short time. As a solo musician, Hawley has released eight studio albums. He has been nominated for a Mercury prize twice and once for a Brit Award. He has collaborated with Lisa Marie Presley, Shakespears Sister, Arctic Monkeys, Manic Street Preachers, Elbow, Duane Eddy and Paul Weller.

<i>Spike</i> (Elvis Costello album) 1989 studio album by Elvis Costello

Spike is the 12th studio album by the British rock singer and songwriter Elvis Costello, and his first since My Aim Is True without the Attractions, released on vinyl and compact disc as Warner Brothers 25848. It was his first album for the label and peaked at No. 5 on the UK Albums Chart. It also reached No. 32 on the Billboard 200 thanks to the single and his most notable American hit, "Veronica", which reached No. 19 on the Billboard Hot 100 and No. 1 on the US Modern Rock chart. In The Village Voice's annual Pazz & Jop critics poll for the year's best albums, Spike finished at No. 7.

<i>Chaos and Creation in the Backyard</i> 2005 studio album by Paul McCartney

Chaos and Creation in the Backyard is the thirteenth solo studio album by Paul McCartney, released on 12 and 13 September, 2005. Some 18 months in the making, the album was produced by Radiohead and Beck collaborator Nigel Godrich at George Martin's suggestion.

<i>Here Be Monsters</i> 2001 studio album by Ed Harcourt

Here Be Monsters is the debut album by Ed Harcourt, released in 2001. It was nominated for the Mercury Music Prize in 2001. Tim Holmes, one-half of British dance music duo Death In Vegas, co-produced the album. The singles "Something in My Eye" and "Apple of My Eye" charted in the UK. The album reached 84 in the UK album chart.

<i>John Denver and the Muppets: A Christmas Together</i> 1979 American TV series or program

John Denver and the Muppets: A Christmas Together is a 1979 Christmas television special starring Jim Henson's Muppets and singer-songwriter John Denver. The special first aired December 5, 1979, on ABC. It has never been released on any standard home video format but the special is available for viewing at the Paley Center for Media, alongside other Muppet specials.

<i>Girls with Guns</i> (album) 1984 studio album by Tommy Shaw

Girls with Guns is the debut solo album from Styx guitarist/vocalist Tommy Shaw. It was released in October 1984 by A&M Records.

<i>Peggy Suicide</i> 1991 studio album by Julian Cope

Peggy Suicide is the seventh album by Julian Cope. It is generally seen as the beginning of Cope's trademark sound and approach, and as a turning-point for Cope as a maturing artist.

<i>Red Dirt Girl</i> 2000 studio album by Emmylou Harris

Red Dirt Girl is the nineteenth studio album by American country artist Emmylou Harris, released on September 12, 2000 by Nonesuch Records. The album was a significant departure for Harris, as eleven of the twelve tracks were written or co-written by her. At the time, she was best known for covering other songwriters' work. Prior to this album, only two of Harris' LPs had more than two of her own compositions. Her next album, Stumble into Grace, was also written by Harris. The album contains "Bang the Drum Slowly", a song Guy Clark helped Harris write as an elegy for her father. The album peaked at number 3 on the Billboard country album charts and won the Grammy Award for Best Contemporary Folk Album in 2001.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">A Little Respect</span> 1988 single by Erasure

"A Little Respect" is a song written and recorded by English synth-pop duo Erasure, released in September 1988 by Mute. It was written by Vince Clarke and Andy Bell. The lyrics are a plea to a lover to show compassion and respect. The heavily synthesized instrumentation is accentuated by acoustic guitar and Bell's vocal falsetto in the chorus. It was their tenth single and was taken from their third studio album, The Innocents (1988). Known as one of their signature songs, the single reached number four on the UK Singles Chart and was Erasure's second consecutive top-20 hit on the US Billboard Hot 100, where it made number 14, and reached number two on the US Hot Dance Club Songs chart.

<i>Down with Wilco</i> 2003 studio album by The Minus 5

Down with Wilco is the fifth album by American rock band The Minus 5. Produced by Scott McCaughey and Jeff Tweedy, it is a collaboration between McCaughey and Wilco, recorded at SOMA Studios Chicago in September and December 2001. Released on Yep Roc in 2003, it also features contributions from Peter Buck of R.E.M., Ken Stringfellow of The Posies, Sean O'Hagan of The High Llamas, with Jessy Greene providing strings. The double-vinyl version adds five songs not included on the CD.

<i>Our Shadows Will Remain</i> 2004 studio album by Joseph Arthur

Our Shadows Will Remain is the fourth studio album by Joseph Arthur. The album was released in the US on September 28, 2004, on 12" vinyl and October 12, 2004, on CD, then in the UK on July 11, 2005, on CD and double 12" vinyl. The recording sessions also spawned the companion EP, And the Thieves Are Gone. There were four singles released when the album was picked up for UK distribution by 14th Floor Records. An extensive nationwide tour of the US followed the album's release, including dates with Joan Wasser. In 2005, Arthur went on a brief tour throughout Europe with R.E.M.

<i>Dlectrified</i> Album by Clint Black

D'lectrified is the eighth studio album by American country music singer Clint Black, released on September 28, 1999. It is also the first album in Black's career that he produced by himself.

<i>Ladys Bridge</i> (album) 2007 studio album by Richard Hawley

Lady's Bridge is the fifth studio album from musician Richard Hawley, released on 20 August 2007 in the UK and on 9 October 2007 in the US. The album follows his 2005 Mercury Music Prize-nominated album Coles Corner. It is named after the landmark location of Lady's Bridge in Hawley's hometown of Sheffield, an old bridge over the River Don that historically connected the rich and poor parts of the town. Hawley told Uncut magazine that "the title is a metaphor too; it's about leaving the past behind". The cover features a photograph, taken by Martin Parr, of Hawley and his guitar at the Club 60 music venue in Sheffield as a tribute to his father Dave who had died of lung cancer earlier that year: Dave Hawley had been a blues guitarist at the club in his youth, playing alongside Muddy Waters and John Lee Hooker.

<i>Late Night Final</i> 2001 studio album by Richard Hawley

Late Night Final is the second studio album from musician Richard Hawley, released in the UK in October 2001 by Setanta Records. Named after the cry of vendors selling the Sheffield Star evening newspaper on the streets of his home city, it was released to positive reviews. A single, "Baby, You're My Light" was released from the album in February 2002, reaching #81 in the UK Singles Chart.

<i>Trueloves Gutter</i> 2009 studio album by Richard Hawley

Truelove's Gutter is the sixth studio album from musician Richard Hawley, released on 21 September 2009 in the UK and on 22 September 2009 in the US. The album title refers to an ancient street in Hawley's native Sheffield, now thought to be the location of present-day Castle Street, which was allegedly named after 18th-century innkeeper Thomas Truelove, who used to charge local people to dump their rubbish in the gutter in the street that then flowed down to the River Don. Thematically, Truelove's Gutter is Hawley's darkest album to date. Hawley told the BBC that the album was inspired by particularly dark periods in his life and those of others. The album features some uncommon instrumentation, such as the waterphone, megabass, and cristal baschet.

<i>The Olympus Sound</i> 2011 studio album by Pugwash

The Olympus Sound is the fifth studio album by Irish power pop band Pugwash. It features contributions from Ben Folds, Neil Hannon of The Divine Comedy, and Dave Gregory and Andy Partridge of XTC. Frontman Thomas Walsh wrote the track "Dear Belinda" as a birthday present for British actress Belinda Stewart-Wilson, and claimed Stewart-Wilson had requested to sing vocals on the final version of the song but she does not appear on the album.

<i>Standing at the Skys Edge</i> 2012 studio album by Richard Hawley

Standing at the Sky's Edge is the seventh studio album from English musician Richard Hawley, released in the UK on 7 May 2012 and in the US on 28 August 2012. The album is markedly different from Hawley's previous efforts, often relinquishing softer instrumentation in favour of squalling guitars. As with all of Hawley's previous albums, the title obliquely refers to a location in his native city of Sheffield, in this case Skye Edge, a hillside area with views over the city centre and formerly known for its crime-ridden estates but largely redeveloped in the mid-2000s.

<i>Silver/Lead</i> 2017 studio album by Wire

Silver/Lead is the sixteenth studio album by British post-punk band Wire. It was released on 31 March 2017.

References

  1. "Reviews for Cole's Corner by Richard Hawley". Metacritic . Retrieved 31 October 2012.
  2. 1 2 Jurek, Thom. "Coles Corner – Richard Hawley". AllMusic . Retrieved 31 October 2012.
  3. 1 2 Costa, Maddy (2 September 2005). "Richard Hawley, Coles Corner". The Guardian . London. Retrieved 31 October 2012.
  4. 1 2 "Richard Hawley: Coles Corner". Mojo . No. 142. London: EMAP. September 2005. p. 86.
  5. "Richard Hawley: Coles Corner". NME . London. 3 September 2005. p. 74.
  6. O'Hagan, Sean (21 August 2005). "Richard Hawley, Coles Corner". The Observer . London. Retrieved 31 July 2019.
  7. 1 2 Richardson, Mark (28 September 2005). "Richard Hawley: Coles Corner". Pitchfork . Retrieved 31 October 2012.
  8. 1 2 Begrand, Adrien (6 September 2005). "Richard Hawley: Coles Corner". PopMatters . Retrieved 31 October 2012.
  9. "Richard Hawley: Coles Corner". Q . No. 230. London: EMAP. September 2005. p. 119.
  10. LaBrack, Jill (29 September 2005). "Richard Hawley – Coles Corner – Review". Stylus Magazine . Archived from the original on 13 January 2006. Retrieved 31 July 2019.
  11. "Richard Hawley: Coles Corner". Uncut . No. 101. London. October 2005. p. 110.
  12. "Richard Hawley – Coles Corner Review". CULT FOLLOWING. 1 January 2024. Retrieved 9 January 2024.
  13. Wright, Helen (5 September 2005). "Richard Hawley – Coles Corner". MusicOMH . Retrieved 31 October 2012.
  14. Robert Dimery; Michael Lydon (2014). 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die: Revised and Updated Edition. Universe. ISBN   0-7893-2074-6.
  15. "British album certifications – Richard Hawley – Coles Corner". British Phonographic Industry.