Some Friendly

Some Friendly is the debut album by British alternative rock band The Charlatans, released in 1990.

Some Friendly
Studio album by The Charlatans
Released	8 October 1990
Recorded	1990
Studio	The Windings in Wrexham, Wales
Genre	Alternative rock, Madchester, Britpop
Length	47:54
Label	Dead Dead Good, Situation Two, Beggars Banquet
Producer	Chris Nagle
The Charlatans chronology
Some Friendly (1990) Between 10th and 11th (1992)
Singles from Some Friendly
"The Only One I Know" Released: 14 May 1990 "Then" Released: 10 September 1990

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[1]
Encyclopedia of Popular Music	[2]
Entertainment Weekly	B+[3]
MusicHound Rock	4/5[4]
Record Collector	[5]
Select	2/5[6]
The Village Voice	C[7]

Recorded at The Windings near Wrexham, Wales in 1990, the sessions proved somewhat fraught - the band fell out with the owners of the studio; "it was one of those studio bust-ups ... Rob and Martin were up to their old tricks, smashing stuff up and that" said singer Tim Burgess later.

However, lack of songs proved to be the major problem. Having been together for less than a year, the band hadn't had the opportunity to stockpile songs. The album suffered as a result, featuring a few tracks that "had to go on there just to make up the numbers" (Burgess again).

The band also felt that some songs (especially "White Shirt" and "Polar Bear") were overproduced, with the bass being lost in the mix and that the whole album sounded rather 'thin'.

Both "The Only One I Know" and "Then" provided the Charlatans with hit singles, peaking at #9 and #12 respectively in the pop charts. In the UK the record went straight in at #1 in the album charts.

Track listing

1990 Original edition

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"You're Not Very Well"	Baker, Blunt, Brookes, Burgess, R. Collins	3:31
2.	"White Shirt"	Blunt, Burgess, Collins	3:25
3.	"The Only One I Know" (Not included on original LP versions)	Baker, Blunt, Brookes, Burgess, R. Collins	3:58
4.	"Opportunity"	Blunt, Brookes, Burgess	6:41
5.	"Then"	Blunt, Brookes, Burgess, Collins	4:11
6.	"109 Pt.2"	Blunt, Brookes, Burgess, Collins	3:18
7.	"Polar Bear"	Baker, Blunt, Brookes, Burgess, Collins	4:56
8.	"Believe You Me"	Blunt, Brookes, Burgess, Collins	3:41
9.	"Flower"	Baker, Blunt, Burgess, Collins	5:27
10.	"Sonic"	Brookes, Burgess, Collins	3:32
11.	"Sproston Green"	Baker, Blunt, Burgess, Collins	5:08

The original vinyl release of Some Friendly did not include "The Only One I Know", as it was the band's wish to take only one single from each album.

2010 Deluxe edition

A two-disc Remastered Deluxe Edition of the album was released on 17 May 2010. The track listing for this release included a remastered version of the original album as well as a disc of outtakes, radio sessions and B-sides.

All tracks are written by Baker, Blunt, Brookes, Burgess, Collins; except where noted.

CD one

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"You're Not Very Well"		3:31
2.	"White Shirt"	Blunt, Burgess, Collins	3:25
3.	"Opportunity"	Blunt, Brookes, Burgess	6:41
4.	"Then"	Blunt, Brookes, Burgess, Collins	4:11
5.	"109 Pt.2"	Blunt, Brookes, Burgess, Collins	3:18
6.	"Polar Bear"		4:56
7.	"Believe You Me"	Blunt, Brookes, Burgess, Collins	3:41
8.	"Flower"	Baker, Blunt, Burgess, Collins	5:27
9.	"Sonic"	Brookes, Burgess, Collins	3:32
10.	"Sproston Green"	Baker, Blunt, Burgess, Collins	5:08

CD two

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"The Only One I Know"
2.	"Imperial 109"
3.	"Everything Changed"
4.	"Then (Peel Session 20 March 1990)"	Blunt, Brookes, Burgess, R. Collins
5.	"Always In Mind (Peel Session 20 March 1990)"
6.	"You Can Talk To Me (Peel Session 20 March 1990)"
7.	"Polar Bear (Peel Session 20 March 1990)"
8.	"Some Friendly (Mark Goodier Session 19 May 1990)"
9.	"Indian Rope (Mark Goodier Session 19 May 1990)"
10.	"The Only One I Know (Mark Goodier Session 19 May 1990)"
11.	"White Shirt (Mark Goodier Session 19 May 1990)"	Blunt, Burgess, R. Collins
12.	"Then (Alternate Take)"	Blunt, Brookes, Burgess, R. Collins
13.	"Taurus Moaner"
14.	"Polar Bear (12" Mix)"
15.	"Over Rising"
16.	"Way Up There"
17.	"Happen to Die"
18.	"Opportunity Three"	Blunt, Brookes, Burgess

Note

• Tracks 1–3 on the bonus disc were originally released on the single The Only One I Know; Tracks 11–12 appeared on the single Then; Tracks 15, 16, 18 and a shorter version of Track 17 appeared on the EP Over Rising. "Opportunity Three" is a remix of "Opportunity" from the original album. "Some Friendly" is an early version of "You're Not Very Well".

CD two - Digital download

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"The Only One I Know"
2.	"Imperial 109"
3.	"Everything Changed"
4.	"Then (Alternate Take)"	Blunt, Brookes, Burgess, R. Collins
5.	"Taurus Moaner"
6.	"Polar Bear (12" Mix)"
7.	"Over Rising"
8.	"Way Up There"
9.	"Happen to Die"
10.	"Opportunity Three"	Blunt, Brookes, Burgess
11.	"The Only One I Know (12" mix)"
12.	"Then (7" mix)"	Blunt, Brookes, Burgess, R. Collins
13.	"Taurus Moaner (Instrumental)"
14.	"Sproston Green (Instrumental)"	Baker, Blunt, Burgess, R. Collins

Note

• For contractual reasons, the digital release of this reissue omits the BBC session recordings: however, it adds four additional versions which were omitted from the CD at the band's request:[8]

Personnel

• Tim Burgess – vocals, harmonica
• John Baker – guitars
• Rob Collins – Mellotron, organ, piano, backing vocals
• Martin Blunt – bass
• Jon Brookes – drums

Charts

Album

Chart (1990-91)	Peak position
Australian Albums Chart[9]	79
UK Albums Chart[10]	1
US Billboard 200[11]	73

Single

Year	Single	Chart	Peak position
1990	"The Only One I Know"	UK Singles Chart[10]	9
	"Then"	Billboard Modern Rock Tracks[11]	4
		UK Singles Chart[10]	12
	"The Only One I Know"	Billboard Modern Rock Tracks[11]	5
1991	"Sproston Green"	Billboard Modern Rock Tracks[11]	25
	"White Shirt"	Billboard Modern Rock Tracks[11]	18
	"The Only One I Know"	Billboard Mainstream Rock Tracks[11]	37

Certifications

Organization	Level	Date
BPI – UK	Gold	11 October 1990 (1990-10-11) BPI[12]

Notes

1. Raggett, Ned. "Some Friendly – The Charlatans". AllMusic. Retrieved 28 March 2016.
2. Larkin, Colin (2011). The Encyclopedia of Popular Music (5th concise ed.). Omnibus Press. ISBN 0-85712-595-8.
3. Gardner, Elysa (26 October 1990). "Some Friendly". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved 28 March 2016.
4. Graff, Gary; Durchholz, Daniel (eds) (1999). MusicHound Rock: The Essential Album Guide. Farmington Hills, MI: Visible Ink Press. p. 222. ISBN 1-57859-061-2.CS1 maint: extra text: authors list (link)
5. Shirley, Ian (July 2010). "The Charlatans – Some Friendly". Record Collector (377). Retrieved 6 March 2017.
6. Harrison, Andrew (November 1990). "The Only One They Know". Select (5): 90. Retrieved 10 January 2017.
7. Christgau, Robert (3 December 1991). "Turkey Shoot". The Village Voice. Retrieved 28 March 2016.
8. http://archive.beggars.com/articles/84/the-charlatans-some-friendly-to-be-re-issued#comment
9. Ryan, Gavin (2011). Australia's Music Charts 1988–2010. Mt. Martha, VIC, Australia: Moonlight Publishing.
10. "UK Top 40 Hit Database". Retrieved 22 May 2008.
11. "allmusic". Retrieved 22 May 2008.
12. "BPI Certified Awards". Retrieved 22 May 2008.

• Willis, D. The Charlatans : the Authorised history, Virgin Books, 1999. ISBN 0-7535-0194-5

http://www.reaxmusic.com/tiki-read_article.php?articleId=75260

External links

• Some Friendly at Discogs (list of releases)
• Official website