ALBUM REVIEW - The Streets - A Grand Don't Come For Free (679)

ANYONE WHO ENJOYED ”Original Pirate Material” will know what to expect with this new release. There are no real changes of direction here, but a lot of improvement. What’s particularly nice about “A Grand Don’t Come For Free”, is that it’s an old fashioned concept album, where each track reveals part of a story.
As usual, Mike Skinner's word play can be hilariously funny while at the same time being delivered in quick fire rhymes so forced they would make Pam Ayres wince.

“Rushing to the cash machine, still a bit mashed and lean
Then of course a mandatory car, drives by and splashes me
Get there the queue's outrageous, ladies taking ages
My rage is blowing gauges, how longs it take to validate your wages?
At last my turn comes, press the 50 squid button - Insufficient funds “

The story – You’ve lost a grand, which means somebody has taken it from your flat. And that can only mean that one of your mates must have pocketed it. Who do you trust? During the course of the Album, Mike finds time to fall in love, get mashed, have a holiday fling and get dumped. “Dry Your Eyes, Mate” is simply heartbreaking.
There is no shortage of urban beat and funky loops to keep your foot tapping, but it’s the detail that makes this work great. The whole story is presented as a series of incidental clues that you can either use to work everything out or ignore. The small snippets of observation about his friends, what he’s thinking, signs that he almost notices but doesn’t pick up on. It’s not easy to write so with such subtlety about the complexities of life while at the same time pretending you haven’t noticed them.
Buy this CD – or at least borrow it. Either way, you really should hear to it. If only for the brilliant twist at the end of the last track.

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