Supergrass – In It For The Money

It’s time, once again, to visit one of my very favorite English rock bands, Supergrass, and their amazing second album, In It For The Money:

Now, if you remember my previous Supergrass writing, for I Should Coco, and I know I don’t, you may know that the band started out doing some silly, spastic, and quite fast music, which is no surprise since they were basically kids back then. Well, in only 2 years’ time, they suddenly went collectively from being a bratty teenage boy just acting up for attention to a manly man with piercing blue eyes and uncontrollable sideburns who is bedding all your women. It’s the fastest case of musical maturity I’ve ever seen, to tell you the truth, and the fact that they were able to refine the sound even further to a serious yet still whimsical rock sound that permeates bits of this album and most of the band’s self-titled third album (which I have also apparently already covered) is a mark of true blue musical mastery.

Don’t be too fooled by the darker, more serious sound of this album, it still has the same eccentric themes and unique word-play that made I Should Coco so interesting. The title track, which starts up the album but hardly even starts itself before bleeding into the next track, is a strange juxtaposition of words like “All I can see is our love, all I can hear is her” and of course, the chanting “We’re in it for the money”. The chord progression, which I really must get the recipe for, is a hallmark progression for this trio, and really the roots of it are hidden in popular British music somewhere. Maybe if I can tap into that, I too can be in it for the money!

The second song, “Richard III”, is one of the harder songs on the album. It’s got some great fuzz bass and the distorted pounding of that beautiful, beautiful Gibson SG that singer/guitarist/sexy guy Gaz plays throughout most of the album. Of note in this song is the use of a Theremin, which is an instrument I have paper-thin patience for, as so many people have no idea what to do with one, since playing it only requires waving your hands around a thing (as illustrated in an old-tymey video clip in the song’s video). The use of a theremin is something I consider morally wrong, but in this song, it works too well to really bring the hammer down on it. I approve, is what I’m largely getting at.

“Tonight” is a lovely “back to the old days” type quick and eccentric little number built around a distinct blues riff that opens the song all by itself. Horns back up this song, as well as the first one, now that I think about it, but this is probably the best song on the album for fans of I Should Coco, and even though it talks about parties, it still exudes more maturity than that whole previous album. Not bad at all!

My favorite song on the album, I’m convinced, is “Late In The Day” (the video for which inspired me to write this whole thing so I decided to link it like in the deal). It starts with a well-orchestrated series of acoustic guitar chords and Gaz’s simple sonnet about the lateness of the day and thinking about you, the “you” in this story being one of the hundreds of women who have fell in love with him, the bastard. The song builds up into a pounding chorus, built on top a solid piano chord, and decorated with the guitar and organ and bass, which then give way for a synthesizer solo (which sounds a lot like a theremin but is perhaps something closer to an Ondes Martenot and that’s my last word on obscure instruments today). The song is beautiful and the video is the best pogo-sticking music video I’ve ever seen, for what it’s worth.

“G-Song” has a much more alternative-rock feel, but with the punchiness of a Supergrass song, and some riffy parts that are just cool, no matter where they come from. The voice is more pushed back and sounds like it’s being recorded through a karaoke machine from the pizza parlor across the street or something. It’s clearly intentional, though, this band is really on top of their production quality. The song occasionally goes into differently-timed jamming sections, and I am very pleased with that.

“Sun Hits The Sky” is another “hit” from this album, and it deserves to be. On top of having a really cool music video (!!!) This song conveys, better than most, the awesome “lead” drumming skills of Danny Goffey, in fact not only are his amazing (my guess: Mitch Mitchell-inspired) drumming skills the centerpiece of this fast-paced piece, but Mick Quinn’s bassing is at its most distinct in the chorus and ending to this song. I will admit that Mick is something of a hero of mine, even if it’s Gaz I am the most jealous of. Another instrumentalist this song features in solo is the keyboardist Rob Coombes, who gets a kickin’ synth solo. He only JUST became a permanent member of the band, despite having played, recorded, and toured with them for years and years, and he’s Gaz’s brother, talk about unwilling to change the lineup!

“Going Out” is a wonderful bluesy song that seems to be built around a circus organ theme. What else can I say about that?

“It’s Not Me” is the second acoustic-guitar-based song on the album, and in fact is a little more refined than “Late In The Day”. Not that that’s automatically a good thing, in fact this song takes a bit to pick up. If you are a fan of flanged, almost synth-like bass guitar, then this is the song you’ve been waiting for!

“Cheapskate” is a kind of disco-inspired track with a bit of a hard-rock edge. Still, despite the fact that it’s close to being a regular Supergrass song, I could see shakin’ your groove-thing to this. The bass really gives it away.

“You Can See Me” starts with some hollow-sounding keyboards and then brings in the acoustic guitars and other keyboards as well and Gaz sings about… I have no idea. The vocals start pushed back, and by the chorus, they’ve thrown so much distortion on his whiny vox that it’s hard to tell what’s what anymore. Despite all this, I love this song.

Then we have “Hollow Little Reign” which features acoustic piano and porno-sounding wah guitar. The song’s got a bit of a lounge feel to it, but that’s not to its detriment. Of course, as is the case with songs like this that aren’t just simple jams, the chorus changes the song radically and then it changes right back. I kind of dig that about Supergrass, those dudes really know how to do a chorus.

“Sometimes I Make You Sad” is one of those songs that I am glad is around. It’s entirely weird, the whole thing is a crunchy, distorted organ, and what sounds like humans going “Ohhmf” in the background for percussion. There is very little other than that going on in the song, except for the lyrics proper, until it gets to one section with an absolutely smoking acoustic guitar solo that actually might be a different acoustic stringed instrument, but I promised I wouldn’t get into obscure instruments any more today.

Either way, that song wraps up the album nicely, unless you spring for the out-of-print CD version like I am planning on. Still, whether Supergrass is really In It For The Money or not, they are certainly worth every penny.