The second full-length by Manchester quartet James found them still struggling for their own identity as the overall sound of Strip-Mine continued to be deeply influenced by the Smiths.
Songs like the jangling "What For" and the upbeat stomp of "Are You Ready" have the same blend of breezy melody and lyrical discontent as Morrissey and company.
There's more than enough worth listening to on Strip-Mine as, along with the aforementioned, tracks like the horn-driven "Charlie Dance"; the spry, folk-pop of "Fairground"; and the perky "Ya Ho" are catchy, if not exactly memorable.
Everything has a crisp, clean feel, without being distant, thanks to the hand of noted producer Hugh Jones and, although not essential listening, Strip-Mine is of interest to fans of late '80s British alternative rock.
| Title/Composers | Performer | Listen | Time | Size | Size | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | What ForTim Booth, Jim Glennie, Larry Gott, James, Gavan Whelan | James | Play | 04:31 | 10 MB | 0 MB |
| 2 | Charlie DanceTim Booth, Jim Glennie, Larry Gott, James, Gavan Whelan | James | Play | 02:28 | 5 MB | 0 MB |
| 3 | FairgroundTim Booth, Jim Glennie, Larry Gott, James, Gavan Whelan | James | Play | 03:45 | 8 MB | 0 MB |
| 4 | Are You ReadyTim Booth, Jim Glennie, Larry Gott, James, Gavan Whelan | James | Play | 02:34 | 5 MB | 0 MB |
| 5 | MedievalTim Booth, Jim Glennie, Larry Gott, James, Gavan Whelan | James | Play | 03:56 | 9 MB | 0 MB |
| 6 | Not ThereTim Booth, Jim Glennie, Larry Gott, James, Gavan Whelan | James | Play | 03:41 | 8 MB | 0 MB |
| 7 | Ya HoTim Booth, Jim Glennie, Larry Gott, James, Gavan Whelan | James | Play | 04:25 | 10 MB | 0 MB |
| 8 | RidersTim Booth, Jim Glennie, Larry Gott, James, Gavan Whelan | James | Play | 03:17 | 7 MB | 0 MB |
| 9 | VultureTim Booth, Jim Glennie, Larry Gott, James, Gavan Whelan | James | Play | 04:09 | 9 MB | 0 MB |
| 10 | StripminingTim Booth, Jim Glennie, Larry Gott, James, Gavan Whelan | James | Play | 03:13 | 7 MB | 0 MB |
| 11 | RefrainTim Booth, Jim Glennie, Larry Gott, James, Gavan Whelan | James | Play | 02:09 | 4 MB | 0 MB |
| 38 mins | 87 MB | |||||
| 0 mins | 0 MB | |||||
| Artist | Job | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Tim Booth | Composer, Speech/Speaker/Speaking Part, Vocals |
| 2 | Richard Evans | Keyboards |
| 3 | Jim Glennie | Bass, Composer, Guitar (Bass), Vocals |
| 4 | Larry Gott | Composer, Flute, Guitar, Keyboards, Vocals |
| 5 | James | Composer, Primary Artist |
| 6 | Hugh Jones | Engineer, Mixing, Producer |
| 7 | The Kick Horns | Brass |
| 8 | Steve Lovell | Producer |
| 9 | Clive Mellor | Maracas |
| 10 | Mark Osborne | Photography |
| 11 | Steve Power | Mixing, Producer |
| 12 | Gavan Whelan | Composer, Drums, Piano, Vocals |
| Quality | Format | Encoding | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Standard | MP3 | 320kps 44.1kHz | MP3 is an audio coding format which uses a form of lossy data compression. The highest bitrate of this format is 320kbps (kbit/s). MP3 Digital audio takes less amount of space (up to 90% reduction in size) and the quality is not as good as the original one. |
| CD Quality | FLAC | 16bit 44.1kHz | FLAC is an audio coding format which uses lossless compression. Digital audio in FLAC format has a smaller size and retains the same quality of the original Compact Disc (CD). |