Disowned By the Band, Ocean Colour Scene DEBUT (1992) Was Not A Bad Album.
It was Madchester and Psychedelic music, not Britpop ! ✌🏽But it’s a good album.
But it was disowned by the band. Paul Weller and Oasis came to help them, you know the story.
Anybody a fan from the start ?
Ive only realised how hated they are here on reddit in real life most people love a bit of ocs. A proper band with some really class musicians who have wrote some of the most iconic songs of the 90s.
This can be said for any band. Oasis is a great example you either loved them or hated them and still many people absolute hate oasis while millions still happily pay threw the nose to see them live. Steve craddock is an unreal guitar player and made sone of the most iconic riffs of the 90s including his playing with Paul weller. Like I say its all personal taste and pepple hate any band they want but ocs at least are very good at what they do wether you like there songs or not
“A proper band with some really class musicians” sums up why people hate them. They’re a little too worthy for most people. Being a great musician isn’t a guarantee of great music.
You cant deny they didnt write great music though. Obviously its all just personal taste but there music wouldn't appear on so many things if they didnt write good music.
Id say it is more of a reddit thing but also could just be my interpretation from what I see or saw. In the 90s most of my friends were into ocs oasis the charlatans the verve and barely anyone like pulp or suede or menswear or so many classic britpop bands. Back in the day britpop had a massive divide and you were either in the working class group or the students middle class group. Having lived in a kinda rough working class area nearly everyone enjoyed the working class britpop bands and barely anyone listened to the middle class student stuff. People seen to forget that when they look back on britpop.
I think that was probably just true of more working class areas though. I grew up in a more middle class background and people listened to Suede and Oasis.
I guess I'm trying to say, what you experienced was possibly more unusual, lots of people listened to both 'sides'
Well i knew many people in and around the scene and what you say is correct middle class people liked both sides but working class kids mostly prefered the wotking class lad bands like oasis ocs etc and many didn't like suede (too gay lol).
I knew a few working class girls (!) and they were more into Suede and Blur. I think some men just need their music to be more blokey, and that's probably more so on a working class estate.
They were always a devide between Oasis fans and NME fan back in the day. My mates in to Oasis loved OCS and Cast. Then oddly non of the southerners I lived with at uni had heared of them at all! So I dont know if they were bigger in the midlands and north or if i lived with a bunch of gonks.
The album is really like a Temu version of “Leisure”. A couple of good tracks but really the sound of a young band being pressured by the record label to make its sound fit a genre that was already dying.
I get that OCS is generally derided around here, but their albums moving forward seemed to be genuinely the type of music they wanted to make.
Just listened to it for the first time in 3 years and "Temu version of “Leisure”." is a pretty good description. Leisure is more gritty and chaotic and this is all a bit clean. But its enjoyable enough.
What!?! I did not know about this album. I thought I was a fan from the start, but clearly not, it turns out! Seen them twice, awesome both times. My favourite "album" is the lovely "B-Sides, Seasides and Free Rides". Now I need to find this one and give it a listen...
Happy memories from the 'summer of 1999' hunting for that B-sides CD in Manchester record shops! I've still got it in my loft and a ripped copy on mp3 ..
I remember a mate at school playing me this and telling me it was better than their newer stuff. He'd become a massive fan and dragged me to the Aston Villa Leisure centre to see them. I was ambivalent at best, mainly because I just never liked their name. But when I hear them now they do seem really good. Always mean to revisit this album so maybe its time...
I loved this band, saw them at Newcastle arena in 1998? With pp Arnold, supported by the crickets!! I think that because the riverboat song was the walk in theme to tfi Fridays with chris evans, it stopped getting play and it was their best song imo.
Saw them this summer at local festival. Singer has definitely been enjoying the beers and cigs since the 90s. But still held it together and band was tight with lead guitarist driving the sound.
They were chancers. Rode the crest of trends. Saw them in their baggy phase in a nightclub in Portsmouth around 1990..entry £1. They played sway twice.
I don’t think that’s why they were chiefly derided, they weren’t exactly doing free jazz, were they. Being slightly dull ‘real rock, man’ traditionalists riding on Weller’s coat tails would have been why they were derided..
I've always thought of them as a blues band at heart. I'm not their biggest fan or anything but listening back now they were probably better musicians than a lot of the bands of the time.
Edit to add that I say that as someone who finds Paul Weller dull as f***
I haven't heard it but I don't blame them for disowning it, much as I disliked their music. Shoehorning guitar bands into dance music was all the rage after it was done with Primal Scream and this was a particularly bad fit. They wanted to tap into the trad dad Weller revival that coincided with indie becoming Britpop
I preferred this stuff to their later stuff. I think I first saw them playing Sway on “Eggs and Baker” — Cheryl Baker’s show which had some decent indie bands now and again I seem to recall.
Edit. It was a different song but still Eggs and Baker.
Yesterday Today, the single after Sway. I love those first two singles thought they had huge potential. Did didn’t get into them at all when they came back.
I could easily see half a dozen of these fitting straight in with their later stuff if re-recorded the same way. And I’ll happily admit to loving Blue Deep Ocean - I get nice flotation tank vibes.
For me, it's their best record. Saw them tour it on the Spin/Fontana tour, with them first on, Catherine Wheel in the middle, and House of Love headlining. FanTASTIC.
Same! I bought it used at a shop even though I had all the tracks but it wasn’t offered at the gig. Wonder if it was a cover mount cd? Regardless, excellent collection of tunes!
Not an OCS fan beyond the singles but thought I was reasonably well informed on Brit Pop. Had never heard of this and first thought was it was the soundtrack of a film that happened to share the same name!
Interesting to read that it was remixed by the studio against the bands wishes. Will give it a blast tonight out of curiosity.
Was a big fan, it wasn't my favorite, but the others here are my favorites from what they released.
Cool band, used to open up their soundchecks for fans, played the songs you wanted them to, and then used to come off stage for a natter and sign stuff.
Remember them getting bigged up by local BBC radio in the Midlands when there was no real interest in them and thinking it didn’t sound special. Though that would be the end of them until Mr Weller decided to dad rock.
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u/whoarethoseguys 4d ago
Not their best album, but there's definitely a couple of good tunes on here.
Ps. I don't get the OCS hate. Moseley Shoals, Marching Already and One From the Modern is a really good run of 90s albums