Hms Fable

Another British pop album so important that the only sentence under the Legacy tab in Wikipedia is the one noting that it is on the 1001 albums list. I understand that sometimes you need a bit of distance between an album and the review to gain perspective on it, but that's exactly why it shouldn't be on this list. It's a late 90s pop album that sounds like a late 90s pop album. It's fine, but indistinguishable from a hundred other albums that came out in the same era. It's not special or groundbreaking or technically outstanding in any way. Why not throw a couple of Days of the New or Stabbing Westward albums on here while we're wasting everyone's time? 2/5

Jesus, 1999. Were people still doing this in ‘99? Blur were forming The Gorilaz, Radiohead had moved on to Kid A, Kasabian were starting out… and Shack were making this. It’s fine I guess, it’s like a very good pub band but I can’t see any reason for it to be on this list. I got quite angry that this is included.

Boy, Oasis really did a number on the Brits, didn’t they?

2.6 - Another lukewarm Britpop entry. To quote Beavis and Butthead: "We've got enough crap over here in this country. Why do we need to go to Europe to get more?" The pretty "Daniella" ends this pleasant but forgettable record on a hauntingly mournful note.

I think that the fact that this album is in the 1001 is the biggest joke so far. I went to dozen of record stores, I'm on Facebook group with more than 15000 music lovers, I'm digging music for more than 15 years now and no one, absolutely no one ever recommended me this. I had never even seen this poor artwork before. And you know why? Because this album is insanely generic and because it is NOT a monument in the history of music AT ALL. This 1001 thing doesn't even contains albums from artists and bands likes Phil Collins, Gentle Giant, Broadcast or American Football, but of course, SHACK IS HERE! THE QUINTESSENCE OF MUSIC. Thank you and goodbye.

After listening to the first song I had a feeling this was going to be a maximum 3 star, on its way to a 2. But the songs on the album changed genre a few times and the stories for a few of the songs were fairly unique. In the end I went and listened to it all the way through again.

Bland and uninspired britpop. Wished I was listening to something else almost the entire time. No more of this, please

"H.M.S. Fable" is the third album by the Liverpudlian band Shack and the first album after the band's reformation following their previous album "Waterpistol" and an album by an off-shoot band, The Strands. H.M.S means Her Majesty Ship which makes sense given the album cover and some of the lyrics. Yeah, I had to look that up. Shack consisted of Mick Head (vocals, guitar), his brother John Head (guitar), Justin Smith (bass) and Mick Hurst (drums). This is a very well-crafted and well-produced (Hugh Jones and Youth (Martin Glove)) album. Definitely in the pop (or Britpop) category but also has some pyschedelic and prog elements. This is one of the most happy and optimistic sounding albums given that some of the songs are about the Head brothers' struggles with drugs, which was no secret. The album starts extremely strong with two great songs. "Natalie's Party" is pop sounding and also reminds me of Cracker. Very optimistic. Guitar bridge. Strings. Chorus. Great lyrics about two lovers. "Comedy" is slower, with strings. Nice guitar outro. Again, optimistic about someone pulling him through. "When you cry it pulls me through." The next two songs "Pull Together" and "Beautiful" sound more like the pop-side of Oasis. Both songs soar. "Lend's Some Dough" may be the happiest song I've heard about drugs... kind of Beatles-esque. The second half of the album incorporates some pyschedelia and prog. In "Streets of Kenny" he's searching for drugs. Pyschedelic and prog, it kind of reminded me of the Moody Blues. Pyschedelic ending with dual lead guitars. " I Want You" moves back to more pop. Lyrical references to ships, kings, queens and Merlin. Very Love-sounding with the pyschedelic guitars. The album ends kind of sad with the song "Daniella," unlike the rest of the album. Acoustic guitar. He lost his friend Jack. Wow, I think I made the most band references in anything I've written but Shack created music that is their own. I've like everything I've heard from Mick Head both previous with The Pale Fountains and subsequently. This album is no exception. I can see why his music is revered by many.

Reminds me a little of All The Roadrunning or REM. Their songs are really good at both hitting all of the satisfying resolutions while also moving in interesting unexpected directions.

Thought this was brilliant. Natalie's Party and Daniella are both superb and book end some absolutely brilliant 90's indie music.

It would be hard to review this album without comparing Shack to Oasis, so I won't try. It's a band fronted by troubled brothers who sing soaring melodies about scoring heroin accompanied by strings. They're the Liverpudlian Oasis. In fact, the two bands had a sort of co-dependent relationship, even if one made it big while the other one opened for them years later. This certainly sounds like an Oasis album, but better; a glance at the lyrics reveals a song-writing talent that the Gallaghers could only dream of. Shack is one of those "what could have been" bands that nevertheless managed to pull it together long enough to make one memorable album, and this is solid stuff. Best track: Beautiful

Some good easy listening - kind of distracting how often they changed time signature in many songs, but it felt like a precursor to Guster, so I liked it similarly.

Wasn't expecting to like it, but this is a gem of its genre! It sounds a lot like R.E.M. The strings were a wonderful touch throughout. I loved the songs that felt a little shanty-ish/adventurous/folksy, like Streets of Kenny or Daniella. At times a bit too cheesy, but it never was unenjoyable. The best songs I loved, and the worst songs were still very nice.

This was massive in the UK for a bit, but somehow it completely passed me by. It was better than I expected; the connective tissue between Oasis and Elbow.

Not bad, but nothing that particularly stuck with me

Meh

Scouse britpop arriving at the fag end of the movement. Best Tracks: Natalie's Party, Comedy, Streets of Kenny

Didn’t change my life, but wasn’t bad.

Not sure how this one snuck in... Its good, its fine. I like the songs, some songs were better than others. I probably won't revisit, but I wouldn't be mad if it was on. I guess it was somewhat forgettable?

disharmonious cross between blues traveller and oasis. it actively offends and i dont like it

Yeah, this is just typical britpop. The fact this album and this band are utterly unknown to me, someone who was a teenager in the 90s in the UK and bought in, at least a bit, to the britpop scene, speaks volumes.

Pretty boring.

Don't know how that one passed me by, fantastic album

Great album, combines the best aspects of Britpop with some Indie and Folk elements. Especially loved the harmonies and the catchiness of the songs

idk yet

I‘ve never heard of Shack before today. Before listening, a rudimentary glance at Wikipedia shows they’re from Liverpool, which is basically a 15 minute drive from where I live. Did Shack not get very big, or have I been living under a rock? Songs I already knew: None Favourites: Comedy, Lend’s Some Dough, Daniella Is it the familiar accent in the vocals? Is it the similar sound to other bands I like? Is it simply that one of the song titles is my name? The amalgamation of all these little parts, as well as the excellently orchestrated music, gave me goosebumps several times when listening to this today. As the guitar played out the final track, the goosebumps came back, I removed my headphones, and had to take a few moments to appreciate everything I had just heard. Truly, this was a phenomenal album that I thoroughly enjoyed today, and definitely something I’ll be returning back to a lot.

The last classic album to come out of Liverpool?

I really liked this.

Superb album!

I was very surprised by this album. I really loved it! Not only did I enjoy every song, but also how the album ties together. It has this very nice cool calm alt-rock vibe that feels modern but it is also very distinctively 90s.

Loved this, and never had heard it. I hear influences from the Beatles, the Who, the Byrds, maybe even a little Simon & Garfunkel. Will listen again.

For some reason seeing this cover always made me think this was some kind of bad Alt Country record. Boy, I couldn’t be more wrong. This, is a very welcome surprise and the record pretty much hooked me. It’s in the vein of Oasis, very strong Britpop with great instrumentation and songwriting. I’ve got a feeling this record is gonna creep up very fast and become one of my favourites! 8,5 out of 10

First listen of this band. Loved this record

Great album. Very chill. I liked it so much I added it to my Spotify favorites. I especially liked the vocals / harmony.

Good stuff. I enjoyed this.

Call the police! I'd like to report an album that's been criminally under-rated.

Mick Head is one of the greatest (unappreciated) songwriters from Britain in the last 30 years.

From the name and album cover I thought this would be Irish jigs or something. This album is nice, it has a calming feel-good rock vibe. Definitely that late 90’s alt feel

Never heard of this but it is brilliant

This album is absolutely great. Loved every song!

Splendid

Cool

Very 90s garage rock. I liked the vibe but all the songs felt like they meshed together for me, not a lot of distinction between them.

Better than I remember...

Pretty good album with a 90s rock sound

Sounds like a less interesting version of Ween to me. Not bad though.

7.5

A surprisingly fantastic album! I love the soft rock groove, and I added it to my playlist. Shack was never on my radar, but they are awesome!

Thoroughly enjoyed. Few tracks i don’t care for though

The writer of this book being from UK is showing. Never heard of this. Sounds like pretty standard 90s britpop at first but it’s a lot deeper than that. Glad I pushed past my initial impression. I’m a little surprised these guys weren’t bigger in the states.

This is really good. I had never heard of this band before, happy to have now discovered them!

I love the liverpudlian accent making it’s way into the songs and the overall melodies. Feels very lightning seeds inspired and that is not a bad thing!

Loved it

I had never heard of this, which is somewhat surprising given that this type of music was right up my alley during this timeframe (college). Pretty great stuff.

fine listen, kept me from killing my students for one more day :)

Pretty good Bri-ish innit

7/10. I can't quite pin down what it sounds like, but it sounded familiar, and I liked it.

solid britpop album, overall the style wasn't my favorite and some of it was overwrought, but i liked the variety and the stories. 7/10

Mij voordien totaal onbekend. Poprock met hier en daar een folk-toetsje. Prachthoes ook (4,5 is geen 5 -> 4)

Leuke ontdekking.

Thrills / oasis vibe. Good listen.

perks of being a wallflower chill vibez

A good album that I could easily listen to again. Sit back, relax and enjoy the tunes.

Not your usual Brit pop album some good songs on the album I enjoyed it 4/5

Quite liked this so 90s!

Fairly standard Britpop, but a pretty decent example of that genre

A pleasant album that hit the spot. No recognized songs

4 really really good album. Liked every song, but many 90s albums sounds just like it. Will relisten soon.

Genre: Britpop 4/5 The quick research session for this album before my listen did very little to illicit any genuine excitement from me. Blur’s Parklife was pretty bland, and most Britpop is fairly regular in concept and execution, but these guys really did something here! The orchestration and high-class production on this thing was incredibly unexpected, and didn’t feel facile or forced at all. Quite a refreshing listen, honestly. While the first two tracks are two of the band’s most popular, the album continued to impress, continued to have big, beautiful choruses, and continued to layer sounds in a very nice, very pleasing way. Even a song like Cornish Town, which starts rather innocuously, grows into a beautiful pop soundscape. I might be in the minority here, but I genuinely enjoyed this album!

Great album with plenty of songs I thought were really good. The album doesn't seem to be that well known, but it was surprisingly fun. Only complaint is that the second half didn't appeal to me as much as the first. Favorite Songs: Natalie's Party, Comedy, Pull Together, Beautiful, Lend's Some Dough

Close to a 5, really enjoyable listen from a band I’ve never heard of! Kind of Oasis crossed with Richard Hawley.

Enjoyed it~

Peak 90s, fun listening.

Kinda oasis but better - not a fan of britpop and didn't like this on release, but the songwriting is so good it's aged well

This was a lovely surprise. I thought I was going to hear Oasis with Michael Stipe as lead singer. But then we get these folk songs, as well as lush songs with strings in the background. This is the album that Oasis wished they could make.

I just love the sound of this album! No single song stands out but it’s the way they all flow together and belong with each other, makes the albums really feel like a single piece of work. I really did enjoy listening to it.

J'ai beaucoup aimé cet album de la voix française de Shark, qui sécurise sa belle note de 4/5 grâce au superbe "2-0 pour les Bleus de Port-Marie" annoncé en fin d'album.

I have never heard of Shack before, and all of the music on HMS Fable was new to me. The album sounds like it could be grouped with some of the music I would have been listening to in the 90s. I didn't want to skip any tracks, but I didn't have any stand out tracks that I saved for my personal playlist either. This album comes in at exactly 3.5 stars. I'm not sure that I will think of listening to this album again, but I guess I will round up to 4 stars.

really loved this one, probably my favourite so far from the albums that I hadn’t already heard in some capacity before!

Really awesome album as a whole

we've gotten a string of britpop recently in this project, and by and large it's been "just okay" for me. i don't know what happened with shack's h.m.s. fable, but i enjoyed their sound so much more. britpop appears to be a convoluted genre, so whether or not this album can be truly referred to as britpop, i don't know. i do know that the whole album flows easily, one song into the other. shack did well creating songs that were unique and can differentiate from one another, but taken as a whole, the songs are even better. the songs are pop in the sense that they are easy and catchy, but the songs are more broadly alternative. some songs are a little cheesy but charming ("beautiful"!). there are some good choices with the instruments. the horns on "reinstated" were particularly lovely. really, just a nice listen overall.

A pleasant surprise

Okay. Hear me out. I think everything is great about this album except his vocals. I think they’ve got some great lyrics and I love the songs. Someone else has just gotta sing them. I especially liked Lend’s Some Dough.

ok

Really good britpop LP. Not sure how I missed this one. I still prefer Teenage Fanclub or Del Amitri.

I like it. Reading by the reviews people are mixed. But in my opinion I think it's up my alley. I like the sound of it. British garage indie pop rock vibes...

Great album, very enjoyable from front to back. Favorite track: Re-Instated

Pretty good!

I had never heard of this, so I expected this would sound like 90's Brit-Pop. At times it does, they definitely sound like Oasis on some tracks, while on others they almost sound like they could be American. This was an interesting and enjoyable listen, will have to listen again to get the full scope of the band.

Don't know how I've not heard of this britpop band before, being British and all. I was kind of hoping for sea shanties, considering the name and album art. Instead it was some indie britpop tunes. They were alright, seemed very well written. I found myself switching off during some of the songs, but overall it was quite good I thought. Favourite: Daniella

Another 1001 album with barely a Wikipedia page - always exciting! Oasis if they were from Liverpool. How come I’ve never even come across the name Shack before? This is great! The opening trio of songs are extremely well written and for a moment there I almost thought this might be a hidden masterpiece. There is some heavy R.E.M. vibe going on and I’m all in on Mick Head’s vocals. Unfortunately my interest starts to fade along the way but after just one listen I was still quite taken aback by this. Well hidden, Liverpool. Well hidden.

Album #200! I had never heard of either Shack nor Hms Fable before. Solid britpop with all the hallmarks: british accent, strings, and catchy melodies. 'Comedy' is a standout track.

Reminds me heavily of Stone Enjoyed it a lot. Added it to my playlist.

I liked this one. Definitely a 90’s sound, and I prefer this to Oasis. A few different styles here. Will explore their discography

I genuinely wanted to switch it up as soon as I began listening, but couldn’t because I really didn’t feel a need to. I liked it a lot actually! I don’t know for what reason I’d return, this isn’t really my genre, but I feel like I will. ‘Pull Together’ brought this up an entire star.

Britpop uit Liverpool dat nooit echt buiten het VK bekend is geworden. Geen bijzonder iconische nummers, maar de muziek is fijn om naar te luisteren. leukste nummer: Lend's some dough Leadzanger Michael Head heeft naast Shack ook in The Pale Fountains, The Strands en The Red Elastic Band gezeten.

Better then expected. This record is melodic and also very beautiful.

Beautiful record! Never heard of it before.

A nice album - not sure if it's a classic, though.

BL: Never heard of Shack but i like the album cover AL: Pretty good album. Underrated in the britpop sphere, much better than any Oasis or Blur record i've listened too. Solid instrumentation and some very good mixing. a hidden gem for sure FT: "Comedy", "Streets of Kenny", "Cornish Town", "Daniella" 4/5