The Negatives

Amazon.com
Lloyd Cole and the Negatives came about when perennial unshaven intellectual and melancholic rocker Lloyd Cole briefly deserted the music that endeared him to James Joyce-reading students. He dropped the jangling, shimmering guitar pop exemplified by his 1984 debut, Rattlesnakes, in favor of the lushness of 1991's Don't Get Weird on Me Babe. The Negatives, who boast guitarists Jill ("I Kissed a Girl") Sobule and Michael Kotch (Eve's Plum), ably complement Cole's maturing songwriting style. The resulting album is a pleasing mix of romantic tearjerkers ("That Boy," string arrangements courtesy of Anne Dudley) and memorably perky pop songs ("What's Wrong with This Picture?" featuring Fountains of Wayne's Adam Schlesinger). The Ulysses contingent won't be disappointed. --Jerry Thackray

The Negatives,Lloyd Cole & The Negatives,What Are Records,Adult Alternative Pop/Rock,Alternative Pop/Rock,College Rock,Pop,Rock,Rock/Pop,Singer/Songwriter

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The Negatives

Average customer rating: What's wrong with this picture? Superb The greatest song writer ever proves it again. He Kissed A Girl...A Lot of Girls...Too Many Girls? face to the floor again

The Negatives Lloyd Cole & The Negatives Manufacturer: What Are Records ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD General | Alternative Rock | Styles | Music Singer-Songwriters | Pop | Styles | Music Pop Rock | Pop | Styles | Music Adult Alternative | Pop | Styles | Music General | Rock | Styles | Music Singer-Songwriters | Pop | Indie Music | Stores | Music Similar Items: Music in a Foreign Language Etc Love Story Bad Vibes Plastic Wood ASIN: B00005ABP1 Release Date: 2001-04-03

Tracks:

1. Past Imperfect
2. Impossible Girl
3. No More Love Songs
4. What's Wrong With This Picture?
5. Man On The Verge
6. Negative Attitude
7. Vin Ordinaire
8. Too Much E
9. Tried To Rock
10. That Boy
11. I'm Gone

Amazon.com

Lloyd Cole and the Negatives came about when perennial unshaven intellectual and melancholic rocker Lloyd Cole briefly deserted the music that endeared him to James Joyce-reading students. He dropped the jangling, shimmering guitar pop exemplified by his 1984 debut, Rattlesnakes, in favor of the lushness of 1991's Don't Get Weird on Me Babe. The Negatives, who boast guitarists Jill ("I Kissed a Girl") Sobule and Michael Kotch (Eve's Plum), ably complement Cole's maturing songwriting style. The resulting album is a pleasing mix of romantic tearjerkers ("That Boy," string arrangements courtesy of Anne Dudley) and memorably perky pop songs ("What's Wrong with This Picture?" featuring Fountains of Wayne's Adam Schlesinger). The Ulysses contingent won't be disappointed. --Jerry Thackray

Customer Reviews:

What's wrong with this picture?.......2005-01-29

It's now 2005 and I've finally gotten this c.d. Where the hell was I? The most interesting peice of positive guitar pop since Matthew Sweet's ditty "Sick of Myself" (which charted in 1996)was arriving to an empty platform, and would have to face a long hike into my life. I would apologize for the inconvenience, but it's been 4 YEARS and how does one apologize to a song??.

That song "What's Wrong With This Picture?" is that rare entity, a (gasp!) SENTIMENTAL catchy ditty driven by equal measures of jangly and fuzzy guitar, insistent yet simple bass groove, and anchored by a solid, relentless kick drum, with a theremin-sounding solo that actually evokes human emotion. All the more unlikely, it actually rings true lyrically and says something interesting! U2 gave us "It's a Beautiful Day" (in a harder rock style) a couple years ago and all the sudden everyone was positively euphoric. When Lloyd offered his ray of sunshine it was all the more eloquent given his brooding history and a catalogue utterly devoid of manic pop (unless you count "undressed" from 1990*s "Lloyd Cole" - which many of us did for lack of a better example!). If Lloyd ever needs a hit-single to bring to potluck supper, it's in the freezer and will warm quite nicely.

As for the album as a whole, it features some pretty impressive names: Jill Sobule, Stephen Street (of Smiths fame), Mick Glossop (notable producer, here on a couple final mixes), on "That Boy" we get producers Clive Langer and Alan Winstanley (Madness, the Commotions 2nd album, and a hell of a lot more-They are affectionately known as "Clanger"), here and there are Neil Clark (highly-regarded guitarman from the Commotions), Robert Quine (ace avante-garde guitarman featured on Lloyd's earlier solo work, but sadly no longer with us), William Wittman (producer of Cyndi Lauper and Joan Osborne, among others), and on all tracks the remainder of the Negatives: Dave Derby, Michael Kotch, and Rafa Maciejak on bass, guitar, and drums respectively.

Clearly a band effort, the Negatives oozes the sense of collaboration that is unavoidable with so many greats in one project. The music is particularly guitar-rich , which it ought to be with no less than 5 "G-men (and lady)" at hand. Kicking off with an almost pleading "jangly" guitar that evokes the Sundays for an instant, the first song lets you know that many things are going to be said that aren't always easy to say... A few, at least will be incredibly poignant, and all will be as truthful as possible. That first song is "Past Imperfect", and serves notice that Lloyd would like to reset the counter please... Imagine having to drag around the foolishness of your twenties AND the mis-steps toward fulfillment that are your thirties in one oversized, overpacked, unwieldy, and simply unfashionable bag (as you climb the steps "out" to get on with your forties).

With a rich slice of acoustic guitar and a Ringo Starr drumfill, "Impossible Girl" comes right back to present day and Lloyd's seldom idle (if occassionally mislayed) pen. It's a sing-along number with a great middle section and Lloyd's ever quirky observations are married to a classic Beatles sound, nice that...

"No More Love Songs" veers widely off the expected path and instantly draws you into it's story, which is really Lloyd taking a jab at himself in the guise of a well-crafted vignette (which indeed it is...). Then starts an unexpected, almost dancey kick drum, followed by the ring of a mesmerizing, shimmering and quite original jangly guitar riff (with a little digging I can say it's likely Lloyd who wrote/played the riff and good on 'im!) The guitar gracefully makes room so Lloyd can start singing and the bassline can get in on the action. We are off on our flight of fancy, this is "What's Wrong With This Picture" and that mysterious question can only be answered by purchasing the c.d.

Enough play by play, further highlights include every song to follow! Seriously, they all shine with distinct personality and their own little behavioural problems, just like children. The black sheep would be "Negative Attitude", while the chronic overacheiver with low self-esteem would be "Tried to Rock". Here Lloyd attempts to apologize for having a chance, taking it, and not exactly failing. He claims he isn't the stuff of Rock and Roll while singing in homage to John Lennon and oh-so-slyly evoking "Sexy Sadie" and "Jealous Guy" in a song that remains undeniably original. The overall effect is as cool as Lennon ever got, but I guess that won't appease Lloyd's misgivings, so I'll say it clearly:

Lloyd, love means never having to say you're sorry (as opposed to marriage- which means saying your sorry to avoid being TRULY sorry...) Lloyd very obviously loves what he does. Anyone who's bothered to purchase one or more of Lloyd's albums loves him. What's wrong with this picture? Nothing at all.

Superb.......2003-12-21

Another great release from the master, this spirited and brooding disc is on par with Love Story, Lloyd Cole and Rattlesnakes. The band live is even better - the show at Bowery Ballroom was, well, fantastic --- highlighted, suprisingly, by Lloyd's funky guitar work on Jill Sobule's "BITTER", which made the good song 10x better.

The greatest song writer ever proves it again........2002-04-18

There are just so many things to love about Lloyd Cole, but why? He is far from the best singer anyone has ever heard. His voice cracks, he sings out of tune, he sings notes that aren't in the chord. So why is it so infectious? I have been a huge fan since a freind turned me on to Cole in the early 90's. Fo me it has been his song writing, his meoldies and the way his band rocks for the lack of a better term. He has this knack for making the emotion of the music really come alive. That's what is missing is so much music today. So for me, finding out that Cole had a new band a a new release was like striking gold. This album is as good as anything he has done. So much of it is classic Lloyd Cole songwriting. This band is incredible. The groves are infectious. And every once in a while Lloyd sings really, really well. Vin Ordinaire is one of the truely greatest Lloyd Cole songs ever. And wow!!! Does the band rock on it or what?

I just want to know when Lloyd will make a stop in Omaha.

He Kissed A Girl...A Lot of Girls...Too Many Girls?.......2002-02-12

Here are the only three negative things I will ever say about Lloyd Cole: 1) aside from the entire player roster of the National Hockey League, he's the man most perennially in need of a shave since Richard Nixon, 2) how can you take a guy seriously when he's pushing forty and still calling himself a boy?, 3) he's never risen again to the peak of his best with the Commotions (e.g. Brand New Friend, Perfect Skin, Rattlesnakes). Well, annoyances 1 and 2 may still apply but these Negatives bring Lloyd back close to his Eighties glory, and it's a fine return indeed. We start off with Past Imperfect, where he apparently looks back on those years with something like incredulity, sung to a sound straight out of that past. Impossible Girl is Chapter Infinite of Lloyd's women problems with a nice universality -- she calls collect, you change all your plans, and, naturally, she doesn't show. In What's Wrong With This Picture we have the near impossible, an almost happy Lloyd discovering that there really is nothing wrong with that picture. "Smile, she said,...I'll look the other way until you regain your melancholy disposition..." Negative Attitude is another high point, a mid-tempo rocker, underpinned by a steady drum line and some nifty lead guitar, and once again a feint into near happiness. But this is Lloyd Cole after all. One doesn't buy him for happy and Vin Ordinaire brings us back to brood, I love her, she loves him. On Tried to Rock he has "four girl friends, no visible means of support,(and)lived on credit card rye bread." I don't believe it for a minute but it's a great pose. I'm Gone closes the CD in perfect form and image, bathrobe on the floor, open door, too short -- the romance and the song --, and departing "with a suitcase of memorabilia," he's done all too soon with this CD. Bottom line: when you're feeling sorry for yourself in love, no one's better company than Lloyd Cole and it's grand to have that persona back.

face to the floor again.......2002-01-30

This is a fantastic album. Worth the wait. Lloyd at his best. Melodic and Somber. Kickin' with a snear while you trip through the bar... again. Sometimes, even glowing, for a moment. Hey it's all here. Broken heart! You can't hurt me...is it really over? I'm gonna miss her. I never loved ya, you beautiful thing. The negatives do Lloyd justice. Hard juice when the edges need more punch. Soft when Lloyd is aching. But that's the problem. I listen to Lloyd when my life is all busted up. He's good medicine. But lordy sometimes I swear this cure can kill. Buy it and hope you never need this antidote.

Average customer rating:

All The Negatives Have Been Destroyed [Maxi Single][CD-SINGLE] Spoon Manufacturer: Matador Records ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD General | Alternative Rock | Styles | Music Indie Rock | Indie & Lo-Fi | Alternative Rock | Styles | Music General | Rock | Styles | Music Pop Rock | CD Singles | Pop | Styles | Music ASIN: B0000036WD Release Date: 1996-03-12

Tracks:

1. All The Negatives Have Been Destroyed
2. Irrigation Man
3. If You Say So

Average customer rating:

Caught in the Negatives Maverick ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD ASIN: B000R0EAP4

Product Description

1. The annexation 2. An Epic at sea 3. A Day at the Fehr 4. A Basement calls 5. Vulnerable 6. Deadly morphing Beauty

Average customer rating:

Negatives ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD ASIN: B000BFP7Z2

Average customer rating:

The Negatives Lloyd Cole & The Negatives ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD General | Alternative Rock | Styles | Music Singer-Songwriters | Pop | Styles | Music Pop Rock | Pop | Styles | Music Adult Alternative | Pop | Styles | Music ASIN: B000093U1A Release Date: 2007-06-12

Tracks:

1. Past Imperfect
2. Impossible Girl
3. No More Love Songs
4. What's Wrong With This Picture?
5. Man on the Verge
6. Negative Attitude
7. Vin Ordinaire
8. Too Much E
9. Tried to Rock
10. That Boy
11. I'm Gone

Average customer rating:

The Negatives Lloyd Cole & The Negatives Manufacturer: XIII Bis ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD General | Alternative Rock | Styles | Music Singer-Songwriters | Pop | Styles | Music Pop Rock | Pop | Styles | Music Adult Alternative | Pop | Styles | Music General | Rock | Styles | Music Rock | Imports | Stores | Music ASIN: B00005CEM4 Release Date: 2005-01-24

Tracks:

1. Past Imperfect
2. Impossible Girl
3. No More Love Songs
4. What's Wrong With This Picture?
5. Man on the Verge
6. Negative Attitude
7. Vin Ordinaire
8. Too Much E
9. Tried to Rock
10. That Boy
11. I'm Gone

Amazon.com

Lloyd Cole and the Negatives came about when perennial unshaven intellectual and melancholic rocker Lloyd Cole briefly deserted the music that endeared him to James Joyce-reading students. He dropped the jangling, shimmering guitar pop exemplified by his 1984 debut, Rattlesnakes, in favor of the lushness of 1991's Don't Get Weird on Me Babe. The Negatives, who boast guitarists Jill ("I Kissed a Girl") Sobule and Michael Kotch (Eve's Plum), ably complement Cole's maturing songwriting style. The resulting album is a pleasing mix of romantic tearjerkers ("That Boy," string arrangements courtesy of Anne Dudley) and memorably perky pop songs ("What's Wrong with This Picture?" featuring Fountains of Wayne's Adam Schlesinger). The Ulysses contingent won't be disappointed. --Jerry Thackray

Average customer rating: lloyd does it again

The Negatives/Etc. Lloyd Cole Manufacturer: Import [Generic] ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD Singer-Songwriters | Pop | Styles | Music Pop Rock | Pop | Styles | Music Adult Alternative | Pop | Styles | Music General | Rock | Styles | Music Alternative Rock | Imports | Stores | Music Rock | Imports | Stores | Music ASIN: B00005RCWN Release Date: 2002-01-01

Tracks:

1. Backwoods
2. Old Enough to Know Better
3. Another Lover
4. 39 Down
5. Sunburst
6. Memphis
7. You're a Big Girl Now
8. Alright People
9. Santa Cruz
10. Love Like This Can't Last
11. Went to Woodstock
12. Fool You Are [Demo Version]
13. Weakness
14. Backwoods (Reprise)

Album Description

2001 album features a 'much more acoustic/mellow approach'. A lot of very good ballads with strong melodies well supported by the nice lap steel guitar playing of Neil Clark. This album will appeal to the early fans!' Line up Rafa Macieljak (drums), Amanda Kramer (keyboards), Chris Wilson (bass), Robert Quine (guitars) & the aforementioned Clark. 14 tracks. Digipak.

Album Details

An Assortment of Sundry Previously Unreleased Tracks featuring Guest Musician Appearances from Robert Quine, the The's Matt Johnsonand Naturally, Members of his Band the Negatives.

Customer Reviews:

lloyd does it again.......2004-01-07

a beautiful and sensitive guitar driven album. what can i say, lloyd cole speaks for me and other terminally romantic and lonely people that look love. but somehow it always ends up slipping out of our hands. i dont have a favorite because all the songs are special.....buy it if you are a lloyd fan or if you are a person that enjoys a good, sad, and great album!

Average customer rating:

Christmas Negatives Manufacturer: Those Dreaded Gnats ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD Pop Rock | Pop | Styles | Music ASIN: B000CA3MZI Release Date: 2004-05-04

Average customer rating:

Negatives Lloyd Cole Manufacturer: Indigo ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD General | Pop | Styles | Music ASIN: B00004Z3GH Release Date: 2000-10-16

Album Details

Recorded from 1998-99 with his Touring Band that Includes Jill ('i Kissed a Girl') Sobule and Robert Quine on Guitar. The Material is Mostly 'live in the Studio' with Minimal Overdubs. Cole Has Pronounced this his 'most Band Oriented' Since the Commotions' 'rattlesnakes' LP. Some Tracks were Produced by Stephen Street (The Smiths, Blur).

Average customer rating: Why wait for the American release? beautiful beyond beautiful One of my best cd:s, great songs! Long Wait Yet Worth It They don't make them like Lloyd Cole anymore...

The Negatives Lloyd Cole & The Negatives Manufacturer: XIII Bis ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD General | Alternative Rock | Styles | Music Singer-Songwriters | Pop | Styles | Music Pop Rock | Pop | Styles | Music Adult Alternative | Pop | Styles | Music General | Rock | Styles | Music Rock | Imports | Stores | Music ASIN: B00005063A Release Date: 2005-01-24

Tracks:

1. Past Imperfect
2. Impossible Girl
3. No More Love Songs
4. What's Wrong With This Picture?
5. Man on the Verge
6. Negative Attitude
7. Vin Ordinaire
8. Tried to Rock
9. That Boy
10. I'm Gone

Album Description

2000 album for the acclaimed singer/songwriter. Produced by Stephen Street (Blur, Oasis, Morrissey etc..). No U.S. is scheduled till Feb 2001. Described by the artist as, 'the most band oriented recording' since his finest album 'Rattlesnakkes', recorded with the Commotions and released in 1984. 11 tracks including, 'Past Perfect' and 'Impossible Girl'. Digipak. 2000 release.

Album Details

Recorded 1998-99 with his touring band that includes Jill ('I Kissed a Girl') Sobule and Robert Quine on guitar. The material is mostly 'Live in the Studio' with minimal overdubs. Cole has pronounced this 'his most band oriented album' since the Commotions' 'Rattlesnakes' LP. Some tracks were produced by Stephen Street (The Smiths, Blur). Includes bonus track not on USA version: 'Artificial Tears'.

Customer Reviews:

Why wait for the American release?.......2001-03-27

I couldn't wait for this album to come out here so I bought the import, and, man!, was it worth the extra cash. It took a couple listens to get into it, but once I did I realized that this was one of Lloyd Cole's best albums. Superb and profound song writing. If you like Lloyd, or even if you've never heard of him, this album is a keeper.

beautiful beyond beautiful.......2001-01-23

i can't believe this guy's been gone so long! what a record! like vintage Lloyd, only more rocking and still clever as ever--up there with my fav releases of 2000: the black watch "lime green girl," the new U2, Mark Kozelek's "Rock n Roll Singer" and the new XTC! buy it buy it!!!

One of my best cd:s, great songs!.......2001-01-04

So good I forgot to go to work. A modern classic for sure. Fits right in among the other LC albums. Hope they make a single with "Rain on the parade" on the "b-side".

Long Wait Yet Worth It.......2000-12-31

Did not think that Love Story could be topped, but here it is. I have almost worn out the CD already. The band sounds great and LC sounds like he is really enjoying jamming with his friends. Heard most of these songs in concert at one show or another, however the impact of having them all on one studio disk was ear-opening. Standout tracks include Past Imperfect, Man on the Verge, Negative Attitude and Tried to Rock. Can finally stop listening to the new Belle and Sebastian.

They don't make them like Lloyd Cole anymore..........2000-12-21

Because of label complications, this is Cole's first album in five years, and that's way too long. A first-rate songwriter, great singer, great producer...Why isn't this guy a household name? Here, he fronts The Negatives, which includes Jill Sobule on guitar (another under-appreciated talent)and other New York musicians. This is intelligent pop for people who remember Television and mid-period Lou Reed fondly. "Impossible Girl" is the best work he's done since his 1984 debut with the Commotions, "Rattlesnakes." Buy one for yourself and two for friends.

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