In hindsight, it’s easy to see why Gene stood out amongst all the other British guitar bands that emerged in the mid 90’s, but it would also be a lie to claim that they had nothing to do with Britpop. Some who dismiss the genre as homogenised and derivative forget that as a whole the scene consisted of a variety of groups with their own individual styles. After all “Britpop” is an abbreviation of British Pop, a term that hardly narrows things down. Gene may have had their own sound but they arrived when Britpop did, and were one of the groups who were able to break through to a wider audience thanks to indie guitar music being very popular at the time. Now, two decades have passed since the band’s rise into the public eye, and over it’s been over ten years since they split amicably, bowing out with dignity. Bringing together their entire output and some rarities, five deluxe edition reissues of each Gene album offer an ideal opportunity for listeners to delve deeper into the back catalogue of this hugely underrated band.
Attitude and style-wise, they had very little in common with the likes of Oasis, and never considered themselves to be part of the Britpop movement. However, there’s no denying that Gene’s music reflects the positivity and hopefulness of the era, and their success may not have happened in a different musical climate. 1995 was the perfect time for the debut LP ‘Olympian’ to arrive. There’s no denying that to my ears, the confident swing of ‘Haunted By You’ evokes the excitement of the early Britpop period perfectly. The much mentioned Smiths influence is present in the exquisite strut of the infectious opener which still brings to the spine when frontman MartinRossiter‘s voice goes up a key on the final chorus. ‘Your Love, It Lies’ is one of many examples of their gift for fusing classy romantic verses with raw, passionate choruses, and is followed wonderfully by the magnificent Motown/Jam-flavoured ‘Truth, Rest Your Head’, hitting on true magic when another one of those splendid choruses arrive.
The remastered sound on the infectious ‘A Car That Sped’ lends its rhythm section some extra punch, giving a fantastic album track more clarity soundwise. Afterwards, the jagged guitars of ‘Left Handed’ highlight the band’s new wave influences on a moment that kicks into the most urgent pace here.
The astonishing ‘London, Can You Wait’ only has one chorus, but it has the power of a hundred. A classy, heartfelt ballad delivered and sung brilliantly, it’s one of the era’s most underrated treasures and proves that their album tracks could sometimes hold even more magic than the hit singles. ‘To The City’ has a darker, more abrasive character in contrast to the blissful ‘Still Can’t Find The Phone’, a jangly guitar- toe-tapper with the occasional Elvis impression thrown in. Powered by classy guitar chords and another belting chorus, the mighty ‘Sleep Well Tonight’ is set against a lyrical backdrop of drunken nightlife, and trouble that “comes from the pubs and the clubs”.
The magnificent title track is epic yet humble, delicate yet powerful. Another commanding vocal from Rossiter adds even more sparkle to an effortlessly spellbinding melody, which eventually rises into a sensational singalong coda that could happily last for hours. It’s the sort of thing that assured them a place in musical history right from the early days, even if that rightful place is overlooked by many and acknowledged by an educated minority. Finishing the album in elegant style is the charming ‘We’ll Find Our Own Way’, a moment of heartwarming sincerity which proves rather than the bands that inspired their sound, it’s Gene’s own character that defines ‘Olympian’. The LP hit number 9 in the album chart and established the London quartet as one of the country’s most exciting bands of the mid 90’s.
As brilliant as it is, it could have been even better if they included the much loved debut single ‘For The Dead’ on the album, so it’s very handy that it features here as a bonus track straight after the main songs. Combining breezy, upbeat melodies with despairing lyrics, it’s an essential Gene moment and one of the all-time great debut singles. But where are all the other non album tracks and b sides from the period? Well, this is where a couple of these reissues throw up some paradoxes. Gene released four studio albums, but the amount of b sides, session tracks and live recordings take up more than five extra CDs, so they certainly wouldn’t have had room if they just reissued each album with a bonus disc.
Which means that the 1996 b sides and rarities compilation ‘To See The Lights’ is also given its own deluxe edition alongside the studio LPs. It also means that because the early b sides are on there, they don’t feature on the ‘Olympian’ reissue like they should have done. It is odd to buy a deluxe edition of an album and not get any of the b sides. Maybe Edsel Records are aiming these reissues at people who want to buy the whole collection, and if that is the case then featuring identical tracks on two albums would have been a bit pointless. Still would have been nice to hear the non-album songs all together rather than spread out and interrupted by live versions, session tracks and covers like they are on ‘To See The Lights’. So instead of the b sides, if you fork out on the deluxe ‘Olympian’, you get ‘For The Dead’, a single edit of the title number, and four cuts from a couple of BBC sessions broadcast in 1994 and 1995. On the bonus disc are two gigs from ’95 that both consist of ten songs. It might be fair to say that if you just intend on buying the deluxe version of the debut, you may be better off getting a standard ‘Olympian’ and a standard ‘To See The Lights’ instead. You won’t get the b sides otherwise. But for hardcore fans of the group and completists, the live recordings will delight.
