Can You Do Me Good?
| Can You Do Me Good? | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 |
||||
| Studio album by Del Amitri | ||||
| Released | 8 April 2002 | |||
| Recorded | Glasgow; Sheffield; London; Rochester; New Jersey | |||
| Genre | Alternative rock | |||
| Length | 49:42 | |||
| Label | Mercury | |||
| Producer | Kevin Bacon & Jonathan Quarmby (tracks 5, 6 & 8); Pete Smith (3 & 10; 1 & 12 with additional production by Commissioner Gordon); Commissioner Gordon (all other tracks) | |||
| Del Amitri chronology | ||||
|
||||
| Professional ratings | |
|---|---|
| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| Allmusic |   |
| PopMatters | (favourable) |
Can You Do Me Good? is the sixth and final studio album by Del Amitri. Though the band's current status is uncertain, it is widely thought to be their last, since its sales seem to have contributed to their being dropped from Mercury Records in 2002.
The album showcased a radically different sound from that to which Del Amitri fans had become used. With five years having elapsed since Some Other Sucker's Parade (1997), Can You Do Me Good? featured a new approach: drum loops, samples and synthesisers were the band's new tools. Though the songs retained their usual melodic characteristics, the overall impression was a very different one.
Guitarist and songwriter Iain Harvie admitted in the run-up to the album's release that the band's record company considered Can You Do Me Good? to be Del Amitri's last chance. "It's a pretty straightforward equation. If we don't sell 300,000 copies of the new album, we're out. It's that simple." With this in mind, many of the album's lyrics seem to convey a tone of finality; the feeling that this is a band's last stand. Song titles like "One More Last Hurrah" and "Last Cheap Shot At The Dream" contribute to this, and "Just Getting By" seems almost to lament a career spent as rock's nearly-men:
Look at me
I'm the one who got away
The one who could've shone
I tried to do my best
But I guess your best don't last for long
Look at me
Standing with my tattered pride
Of toothless little lions
We tried to make a difference
Even for a lyricist like Justin Currie, whose songs have often dealt with missed opportunities and failure, Can You Do Me Good? is significantly more concerned with these concepts than previous albums.
All songs written by Justin Currie except as noted.
Released: 9 April 2002 (in two versions), Mercury Records
B-sides:
Version One (Enhanced CD):
Version Two:
...
Wikipedia