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2016 has been Suede’s year. We got an album, a film and and one of the greatest tours of their career. Keep an eye out for our ‘Night Thoughts’ review and live review in our round up of 2016!  But why not check out our review of Suede’s greatest album brought to life: ‘Dog Man Star - Live at the Royal Albert Hall’ while you wait... 

DOG MAN STAR - LIVE AT THE ROYAL ALBERT HALL.  As if ‘Dog Man Star’ wasn’t, without a doubt, one of the most definitive albums of the 1990’s already. Their latest live album brings Suede’s seedy, drug-hazed nightmare to life. Andersons vocals exude passion, driving the immensely powerful machine that is Suede. ‘Introducing The Band’ is the kaleidoscope that is the mind of Brett Anderson circa 1994, it’s the start of the bands journey into superstardom and the dark underbelly of fame, sex and drugs. Then, without warning! We are thrown into the violent tremors of ‘We Are the Pigs’. And so the nightmare officially begins.   Now I want you to lay back, close your eyes and envision Brett Anderson frantically flicking his fringe to glam rock anthem ‘Heroine’. There’s something in tone of Anderson’s vocals that evokes real passion, real emotion. When he says that he is “aching” to see his heroine, he bloody well means it. Now we plummet from the breath taking highs of this album, to some of the more simplistic, tender moments. Particularly in the first two bars of ‘The Wild Ones’ before the rest of the band kick in; it is hauntingly beautiful, something that a lot of bands lack, that chemistry that suede seem to capture perfectly on ‘Dog Man Star’ and their debut is still alive and is there for everyone to see (or in this case hear) it in all of its glory!

 The beautiful whales of ‘The Wild Ones’ seem like a distant memory, when we are dragged into the depths of the eerie mystique of Bowie inspired ‘Daddy’s Speeding’ coaxing us into “sweet dreams of gasoline” with its tempest of a bass-line, minimalistic piano, trance-like guitar and of course, the sinister growl of Anderson’s vocals. Poppy ballad ‘The Power’ is as close as we are ever going to get to Britpop on Suede’s anti-Britpop album. It’s as if Anderson’s youthful vigour has been restored, he’s ready to take on the world and nothing can stand in his way. He really does have an incredible talent for switching the mood of the live shows within seconds; whether it be a simple switch in his vocal tone or his on stage persona.   ‘This Hollywood Life’ is packed with crunching riff after riff- No wonder Bernard Butler was hailed the Johnny Marr of the 90’s. It’s the guitar that gives the song a whole new dimension; and fair play to Richard Oakes for pulling it off as well as Bernie would’ve live! ‘Dog Man Star’ is a real emotional rollercoaster, its one of the most emotionally raw albums that I have ever heard. I mean, how can a band that were literally falling apart at the seams make such an incredible album? ‘The 2 of Us’ is Andersons emotional peak, and he is left fully exposed with his raw, croaky vocals that float aimlessly over childlike piano. There really is something so, so beautiful about this song, even more so live. It just conveys such a strong sense of innocence which stands out against the dark nature of the rest of the record. If there was one song that I would um and ah about if I were Brett, it would definitely be ‘Black or Blue’. I think it reminds you of how great Brett’s range actually is! Better still, he can still actually pull it off with his constant flicker between delicate vocals and immense power. ‘The Asphalt World’ is the masterpiece within the masterpiece. What’s better than 9 minutes of glam-rock bliss? YES! 9 minutes of glam-rock bliss LIVE. I don’t think that I have ever heard Brett sound so comfortable as his vocals float effortlessly over the drug-fulled twang of Oakes’ guitar, creating a sort of Q&A effect. Which is sort of imitative of the decay of Anderson and Butler’s relationship during the actual recording of the album as the two battle it out right till the very end. Now we all know that Richie had some pretty big shoes to fill when he stepped in as Suede’s new guitarist at just 17. Following Butlers departure. But did he know just what he was getting himself into? OF COURSE HE DID! Richard still plays the mammoth solo in ‘The Asphalt World’ as if its ‘Smoke on the Water’ But with his own noticeable twist. The carnage is drawn to a close as Brett returns for one last chorus. We come out through the eye of the storm as Brett snarls at the mic, just one last time before drawing the nightmare to a close. The last ‘Dog Man Star’ track was dedicated to Brett’s father who used to take him to the Royal Albert Hall as a kid. ‘Still Life’ is usually played as an acoustic track live, but the boys pulled out all of the stops for this performance. The gentle, timid, ring of an acoustic guitar immediately grabs your attention as the intimacy of the performance intrigues you as woeful string arrangements creep in intensifying the performance. You just know that something great is about to happen. Brett does sound stiff to start, as he is clearly emotional whilst introducing the song, but he begins to loosen up before the explosion of a string ensemble floods the Royal Albert Hall. Suede wrap up their incredible performance with a greatest hits set including: Trash, Animal Nitrate and The Beautiful Ones as well as various B-sides including ‘We Are the Pigs’ B-side ‘Killing of a Flashboy’ which is packed with powerhouse guitar and ambiguous lyrics as you just imagine Anderson stomping around the stage whilst intimidatingly clasping the mic in one hand.