Am I the only one that loves "Strange Brotherhood" album ??

[Shush]

When ever there is a discussion on least favourite  NMA albums, Strange  Brotherhood so often seems to be in peoples bottom two. Personally, I love the album.

I think the first five albums are in a class of their own, the 1980s - 90 period. Personally I was a little disappointed with , The love of Hopeless Causes.   There are some fine songs on it, but to me, it did not have the same impact as the first five.

Then after a long gap, Strange Brotherhood. I am sure I read JS said it took ages to write, and was a difficult album to finish. Personally, I can appreciate where al that work went. So many of the NMA albums start with a strong catchy first song to lead you into the album such as Wired, or World, TIAGD, etc. But what a phenomenal start to Strange Brotherhood with ,  Wonderful Way To Go. IMO, the best opening song on all the albums.
Whites of their eyes, OK, I never really got that one, and for me, the only one to skip on the album. But then there are belters like, Over the Wire, No Pain, etc. Some superb ballads with Headlights, Queen of my Heart.

All in all, one of my favourite NMA albums.

Am I alone ?

[wilf]

No, mate, you're not. SB is a special album for me as well, simply because it was the first one to be released after I had discovered the band (well, after Adrian W had put my nose in the right direction on that fateful day in Huddersfield in 1991). I particularly remember a gig in a small town in the Tyrol (Rattenberg) which NMA headlined in 1997. They played Over The Wire, Gigabyte Wars, Long Goodbye, WWTG and Headlights before the album was released and I was blown away (I had had a few beers as well which always helps). WWTG , Long Goodbye and Headlights are still amongst my absolute favourites.

So, SB is probably my second favourite album after T&C. Let the jeers commence, then ("Bo-Humbug, you forget No Rest, Impurity, LOHC, TIAGD", ... delete as you wish) 

[Pol]

Strange brotherhood is a excellent album for me the songs are better live than listening to them on cd Maybe as NMA fans were spoiled for choice. 1 thing i would disagree on is LOHC is a totally awesome cd Maybe its because my life was in a darker place at the time stuck in a bad relationship songs like Believe It and Understand You really helped through but am never going back to that bad old world

[Anna Woman von NRW]

Nope, not alone! I always liked this album and never quite understood why there seems to be a bit of a thumbs down to it unless it's just the usual "it's not Vengeance is it" complaints. As you say Shush - WWTG is an awesome opener and then the goodies keep coming; No Pain, Gigabyte Wars (and thinking about it in the light of recent contretemps "In the web of lies there's savage tales" was quite a prescient line really.... ), Big Blue and Over The Wire being personal favourites.

Not my favourite album - that's TIAGD and I suspect it always will be - but it's easily equal 2nd with T&C.
 

[Master Ray]

Shush, we might have talked about this before, but I bloody love SB... even more so than, as you said, TLOHC...

Was it four or five years between those albums?  Whatever, I was genuinely convinced that NMA has split up in the meantime.  I remember seeing a poster for Red Sky Coven (I think) that said 'featuring Justin Sullivan, ex-New Model Army' and thinking 'well, that's that...'

I can't remember how I found out that the band were still together, but I remember getting the album and loving it so much... so much diverse stuff, the band really stretching themselves in different directions, adding new shades to the whole NMA thing and, IMO, coming up with one of their best albums...

And then to see them at (if memory serves) Manchester Academy 2 and doing the whole two-set thing, later commemorated on the 'And Nobody Else' live album...

I thought my favourite band was dead and gone.  Not the case, thank god.  An amazing night that gave me so much hope for further great music... the lads didn't let me down.

And, in summary, that's why I love SB so much.  Deffo in my top 5 NMA albums...

 

[Shush]

Nope, not alone! I always liked this album and never quite understood why there seems to be a bit of a thumbs down to it unless it's just the usual "it's not Vengeance is it" complaints. As you say Shush - WWTG is an awesome opener and then the goodies keep coming; No Pain, Gigabyte Wars (and thinking about it in the light of recent contretemps "In the web of lies there's savage tales" was quite a prescient line really.... ), Big Blue and Over The Wire being personal favourites.

Not my favourite album - that's TIAGD and I suspect it always will be - but it's easily equal 2nd with T&C.
 

Good quote Anna, maybe JS is a bit of a fortune teller  on the side 

But yes, Gigabyte Wars, what phenomenal drum work in that one. Fast rolling drum beats,  the great Mr Heaton at his best 

[Shush]

M/Ray, yes, there was a five year gap, which there has been since between Eight and Carnival, but the gap in the 90s probably felt longer as the albums came in regular supply before that.

[rick a.]

I love strange brotherhood. Wonderful way to go has a musical niddle section unlike anything they had done before. Sounds like they had been listening to a bit of King Crimson. I feel the same way about Over the wire. Powerful stuff, dense sounds with driving rhythms.The entire album is excellent.
I could be wrong but I thought the delay between albums was because of "too much time in the studio" syndrome.

[Anna Woman von NRW]

But yes, Gigabyte Wars, what phenomenal drum work in that one. Fast rolling drum beats,  the great Mr Heaton at his best 

Pretty sure I've only ever heard this live once. Could work well with where the guys are at now.

[mudgeek]

No, definitely you're not alone on this. LoHoCa took some listenings but it finally got me; as for Strange Bro, it caught me with my guard down, if you know what I mean. And what an opener in "Wonderful Way To Go", but I also love "Whites Of Their Eyes", especially the harmonica bit; and the different approach to music that NMA take in stuff like "Gigabyte Wars" is something not heard in many 'rock' bands from then and now. But my favourites are ballads such as "Queen Of My Heart", "Aimless Desire" and "Headlights"; and yes, I'd love to see them play "Gigabyte Wars" live in Sao Paulo (Brasil), hopefully this year! 

[lotus]

I have no problems with that album and I`m a fan of the lp version 

[MARKXE]

I was in Northern Ireland enjoying the pleasure of having bricks, bottles and petrol bombs thrown at me during the Drumcree Parade.
My wife sent me the Album from Germany (Luckily the double cd Version) and I played it on my Walkman (Remember them) non stop and it was the only thing that kept me sane.
The Album title for me summed up Northern Ireland, Strange Brotherhood
Over the Wire was ironically what I wished I could do everynight, living in a fortified prison, sorry camp.
I loved the Album from the first listen and in my own way I interpreted the Songs to be about where I was at the time.
Whenever I hear any of the Songs from the Album I can close my eyes and I am back in Portadown, Armagh, Craigavon or stood on the Garvachy road in 98.
A fantastic Album in my view and well worth the wait.

[Guillaume]

When ever there is a discussion on least favourite  NMA albums, Strange  Brotherhood so often seems to be in peoples bottom two.

Which is the other least favourite NMA album? "Carnival"? "Today is a good day"?

I think that "Strange brotherhood" is a...strange album, a bit experimental and slightly uneven, it lacks a bit some energy and i don't like too much its sound production but there are still very goods songs like WWTG, "Aimless desire", "Long goodbye", "Killing" and my fav on the album, "Headlights"...the album is still my least favourite NMA album i think, with "Carnival" or "Today is a good day".

[Wessexy Witch]

Not alone.

 

[sozbot]

I love it, too. It's an album that I sort of forget about for a while, then come back to and realise just how many absolutely amazing songs are on it. Not the most cohesive, perhaps, or easily accessible, but there is some incredible, dark stuff on there.