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people move on
People Move On Ex-Suede guitarist Bernard Butler�s first solo album. With layers of keyboards and guitars he delivers a pop-album, maybe not timeless, but certainly not dated or difficult. Kinda like Oasis without the loud guitars. People Move On holds a good mixture of pop songs and ballads, with the ballads slightly weighing over and always delivered in a nice package. It�s hard to point out any particular influences except for the traditional and usual ones, even though the opening �Woman I Know� sounds very much like Peter Green and Fleetwood Mac�s �Albatross�. However, that is probably more due to the mix with echoes on the drums and slow bending guitars in an arrangement and a mix with a lot of air and space rather than a melodic or harmonic similarity. Other than that, Butler manages to combine his influences into something very neutral and pretty unoffensive (in a good way). The only thing that could turn off the general radio listener is the strange guitars and sound chaos towards the end in �Autograph�. The lyrics often deals with Butler�s life as a pop star, �do you know just how many hands I had to shake�, �do you think I remember every place I�ve played� but also personal and warm feelings. The melodies are generally so strong that he could have sung about apple pie recipes for all I care. The main complaint against this album seems to be the vocals, but I don�t find them irritating or weak in any way. Perhaps there are moments where you wish he would be able to back up his singing with a little more strength, but that isn�t a big problem. Besides, this is pop, not rock and I think the vocals are fine throughout the album. People Move On, and songs such as �Not Alone� and �You Just Know� in particular makes it clear why Suede used to be great but isn�t any more. Butler manages just fine on his own, and Bret Anderson and the other members of Suede clearly needs him more than he needs them.
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