Gene Libertine

[Piren Cobrin]

Libertineis the fourth and final studio album by English rock band Gene. It was released on 22 October 2001 though their own label Contra. After departing from their previous label Polydor Records in 1999, the band spent sometime writing material. Their next album was recorded across various studios in Lincolnshire, Twickenham and London. Hugh Jones served as the producer on nearly all of the songs, bar one that was produced by Stephen Street. Libertine focusses on piano instrumentation, taking influence from soul music, namely What's Going On (1971) by Marvin Gaye.

Libertine received generally favourable reviews from critics, some of whom commented on the quality of the songs. The album reached number 92 in the UK Albums Chart. Ahead of the album's release, "Is It Over?" appeared as its lead single in October 2001. Around this time, Gene embarked on a tour of the United Kingdom. "Does He Have a Name?" was released as the second single from the album in January 2002. Libertine has been reissued on CD and vinyl over the years; four songs from it appeared on the band's fourth compilation album Yours for the Taking (The Best Of) (2020).

Gene released their third studio album Revelations in March 1999.[1] It peaked at number 25 on the UK Albums Chart; out of its two singles, "As Good as It Gets" reaching the highest at number 23.[2] The following month, the band announced they had left their label Polydor Records, with both parties coming to a mutual agreement. In the same announcement, they revealed they were working on songs for their next album.[3] In June 2000, the band played the United States for the first time in three years; the occasion was livestreamed over the internet.[4] A live album, titled Rising for Sunset, was released on their label Contra later in the month.[5] This was followed by one-off shows in New York City and Tunbridge Wells.[6]

Libertine was recorded at Chapel Studios in Lincolnshire, The Barge in Twickenham, Westside Studios in London, Townhouse Studios in London and BFD Studios in London. Hugh Jones produced nearly all of the songs, bar "You", which was produced by Stephen Street. Ewan Davies (with assistance from Will Bartle), Kenny Patterson and Cenzo Townsend served as engineers throughout the sessions.[7] Recording concluded by May 2001.[8] Jones mixed almost every track, save for "Does He Have a Name?", "Yours for the Taking" and "You"; the latter two were done by Street, while Michael Fayne and Jamie Maher handled "Does He Have a Name?". Kevin Metcalf then mastered the album at The Soundmaster Studios in London.[7]

Libertine places more of an emphasis on piano, and takes influence from 1960s soul music and What's Going On (1971) by Marvin Gaye.[9][10] Neil Hodge of Louder Than War said it was an "atmospheric album that is a perfect example of late night listening including strings, Hammond organ, slide guitars and ventures into reggae".[11] It opens with the seven-minute chamber pop song "Does He Have a Name?", where a lover ponders who his ex will get with next.[9][12] "Is It Over?" comes across as a rewrite of "Nothing Compares 2 U" (1990) by Sinad O'Connor, and is followed by the sophisti-pop song "O Lover".[13][14] "Let Me Rest" touches on soul-pop in the vein of the Style Council; Ink 19 writer Stein Haukland said it concludes in a "frenzy of uncontrolled [...] guitar riffing and a furious Hammond organ solo".[10][15] "We'll Get What We Deserve" dabbles with reggae-blues, and talks about people who no longer listen to the band.[10][14] "Walking in the Shallows" evokes "You're My Best Friend" (1976) by Queen, while its chorus recalls the work of the Smiths.[10] "Yours for the Taking" is indebted to the work of the Jam[9] and the new wave direction of Talk Talk, circa It's My Life (1984).[16] "Spy in the Clubs" evokes the sound of Soft Cell.[15] The album's closing track "Somewhere in the World" previously appeared on Rising for Sunset.[9]

Gene released the stop-gap As Good as It Gets: The Best Of compilation album in May 2001.[17] In July 2001, Gene played a one-off show at the London Astoria.[18] On 16 August 2001, Libertine was announced for release in two months' time. A few days later, they played a one-off show in Wrexham, Wales prior to appearing at the Reading and Leeds Festivals.[19] "Is It Over?" was released as the album's lead single on 8 October 2001, featuring "Supermarket Bombscare", "Little Diamond" and "Who Said This Was the End?".[20][21] It was promoted with a short film by Irvine Welsh. Libertine was released on 22 October 2001 through Contra.[22] It was promoted with a tour of the United Kingdom in October and November 2001; three of the shows were postponed when Rossiter started suffering from a throat infection.[20][23] "Does He Have a Name?" was released as the album's second single on 28 January 2002, featuring "From Georgia to Osaka", "Welcome to Dover", "With Love in Mind" and an edit of "Does He Have a Name?".[24] The 2002 European and US editions of Libertine were co-released through iMusic, a label started by former employee Matt Geiger; "Let Me Move On", "With Love in Mind", "From Georgia to Osaka", and "Who Said This Was the End?" were included as bonus tracks.[25][26][27]

Libertine was reissued in 2014 as a two-CD set, which included B-sides, demos and previously unreleased songs.[28] This version came about as the members were approached by Edsel Records; unlike other labels who only wanted to focus on their debut studio album Olympian (1995), Edsel was interested in doing all of their albums.[29] Drummer Matt James was excited by this prospect as he thought Libertine had some of their best songs, and it would allow the album to reach a wider audience than on its initial release.[30] Though the rights to the others were owned by the Universal Music Group, the band owned Libertine, which allowed them to include unreleased extras.[29] The standard version of the album re-appeared on CD and vinyl in 2020 as part of The Album box sets; the vinyl edition was released separately from the sets later in the year.[31][32][33] "Is It Over?", "O Lover", "Yours for the Taking" and "Somewhere in the World" were included on the band's fourth compilation album Yours for the Taking (The Best Of) (2020).[34]

Libertine was met with generally favourable from music critics. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream publications, the album received an average score of 66, based on five reviews.[35]

In any case, attached please find my attempt at an imaginary compilation of a band that you played a key role in introducing to me. I hope you find it of sufficient interest to include in the blog at some point.

Great choice and as mentioned some individuals may vary ( long sleeves is a must for me ). I love libertine and would have found space for 1 or 2 but can see rationale and good reasoning behind all the tracks. Never quite got the recognition they deserved

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