I Was The King, I Really Was The King

by Animals That Swim

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1.	Faded Glamour 03:09	buy track
2.	A Good Xmas 02:57	buy track
3.	The Longest Road 04:15	buy track
4.	East St O'Neill 04:39	buy track
5.	The Greenhouse 02:28	buy track
6.	Shipley 03:48	buy track
7.	Kitkats And Vinegar 03:08	buy track
8.	London Bridge 03:20	buy track
9.	Bed Island 04:00	buy track
10.	Near The Moon 03:19	buy track
11.	Despatches From Lula 04:34	buy track
12.	The Good Old Way 02:37	buy track

about

Formed in London in 1989, Animals That Swim were originally a duo made up of brothers Hugo Barker and Hank Starrs. They were later joined by their other brother Al Barker as well as Del Crabtree, who was originally the band’s bassist but swapped to the trumpet soon after joining. They released their debut single ‘King Beer’ on their own Beachheads in Space label in 1992 before signing to OLI imprint Elemental Music in 1994, on which they released 2 albums.

Continuing the elegantly restrained and artistic route of Workshy but having fun with new variations as they went, the five members of Animals That Swim made a fine second album in the shape of I Was the King, I Really Was the King. Drummer/vocalist Starrs again stepped to the fore as a wryly individual singer, either collaborating with Barker on lyrics or interpreting the other's work with the appropriately dry passion suiting the band's music. Thus there's the portrait of the recuperating anti-TV crusader -- sort of -- on "Despatches From Lula" or the amazing, slow-burning feedback and fire of "The Greenhouse," about a pot grower up north forced into exile back in 1973. The key charm of the group, though, revolves around its music, still a rich combination of influences from Tom Waits' burnt cabaret and Randy Newman's barbed pop to more conventional sources such as Bob Dylan and Leonard Cohen. Crabtree's trumpet once more gives a very specific identity to the songs -- it isn't simply added on, but becomes part of it, replacing what might have been in a less inventive group go-nowhere guitar or keyboard soloing. Generally, I Was the King is more energetic than Workshy, a bit more pop-friendly all around (there's nothing quite so slow and elegiac as "King Beer" here), sometimes suggesting Marc Almond's more rock-focused solo work here and there. Fine numbers include "The Longest Road," one of Crabtree's best performances featuring on an at once brisk and melancholy song with a wonderful, subtly addicting chorus, the shimmering Euro-tinged, almost instrumental "Shipley," a bit like a classic Simple Minds track performed by a different band, and the just epic enough guitar and trumpet combination on the concluding "The Good Old Way."

credits

released January 1, 1996

Artwork By [Additional] – Betsy, Daisy, Rick ,Howard, Del, Al Hank
Drums – Hank Starrs
Engineer – Dare Mason*
Guitar – Al Barker, Hugh Barker
Harmonica – Hugh Barker
Keyboards – Hugh Barker
Lead Vocals – Hank Starrs
Melodica – Hugh Barker
Organ [Hammond] – Al Barker
Photography [Additional] – Betsy, Daisy, Rick ,Howard, Del, Al Hank
Photography By [Band] – Howard Sooley
Photography By [Of Saga] – Andrew Scroope
Piano – Al Barker
Producer – Dare Mason*
Programmed By – Dare Mason*
Trumpet – Del Crabtree
Violin – Rachel Davies
Vocals – Al Barker, Hugh Barker
Voice [Talking] – Del Crabtree

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about

Animals That Swim London, UK

Formed in London in 1989, Animals That Swim were originally a duo made up of brothers Hugo Barker and Hank Starrs. They were later joined by their other brother Al Barker as well as Del Crabtree. They released their debut single ‘King Beer’ in 1992 before signing to OLI imprint Elemental Music in 1994, on which they released 2 albums. ... more

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