Giant Steps
The Boo Radleys
1993
Album Summary
Giant Steps is the third album by The Boo Radleys, released in 1993. The title is inspired by John Coltrane's album of the same name, and the record features an assortment of influences — their previous shoegazing sound backed by pop, reggae, noise pop and orchestral sounds.
WikipediaPick a lane, guys! This wasn't terrible, but it is another example of "why the heck is this on this list?". Just some guys goofing around. Why is it that all the bad albums are OVER AN HOUR LONG? Like what is it about mediocre musicians that makes them go, "Let's just keep playing. Everyone will want to listen to this track for six minutes at least!"?
Really enjoyable, a mix of genres and styles, with echoes of Ooberman, Blur, Nirvana, the Clash, ELO, The Beatles, and many more from across the whole of music. I'd only heard a couple of songs before, but loved wish I was skinny, barney (and me), Lazarus, and the white noise revisited.
Boo Radleys is the sound of a semi competent bed wetting student band with no real tunes
This is a serious, 5 stars, benchmark album. A classic in every sense. The way all the styles are different, yet blend together seemlessly , is outstanding.
Delightful hourlong trip into a washed-out summer memory. The light blend of synths and woodwinds/horns with a more traditional rock band kit was fun! Modern 'indierock' imitations or evolutions of this style have bothered me, but listening to this, I see why so many people have tried! Probably a 4 or 4.5 in reality, but rounding up because it is the first album I know I would not have given a chance without the 1001 list, and I truly feel glad to have been exposed to it.
I thought the first song had kicked things off nicely with some winsome harmonies and key changes and a swaggering riff, but then I blinked and it was track 7. The rest of the album was lost in the same "Whoops, too much water in my watercolours" vein. One more for the list of bands 60s nostalgia has to answer for.
As sicmagazine so nicely put it: "For 64 minutes they were the greatest band on the planet."
"Giant Steps" by The Boo Radleys was released in 1993 to critical acclaim. It falls under the following genres: shoegazing, Brit pop, psychedelic pop. Per Wikipedia: Reviewing the album's rerelease in 2008, Sic Magazine wrote, "For 64 minutes they were the greatest band on the planet." The tracklist: "I Hang Suspended" "Upon 9th and Fairchild" "Wish I Was Skinny" "Leaves and Sand" "Butterfly McQueen" "Rodney King (Song for Lenny Bruce)" "Thinking of Ways" "Barney (...and Me)" "Spun Around" "If You Want It, Take It" "Best Lose the Fear" "Take the Time Around" "Lazarus" "One Is For" "Run My Way Runway" "I've Lost The Reason" "The White Noise Revisited" This album opens with "I Hang Suspended." It's a poppy, rocky, fun song. They sound like any respectable alternative rock band, like maybe Matchbox 20, Third Eye Blind, or Incubus. I like it! Track 2, "Upon 9th and Fairchild" is another rocky, cool tune. It has fun bass and guitar work, with a distorted voice (Going Under-ish) and it's pretty catchy. It also sounds like No Doubt with some funky guitar work. The lyrics "this is my life too" are cool and repeated throughout. It also features a cool crying guitar with spooky violins. "Wish I Was Skinny" is a boppy, fun track with wishful lyrics of being skinny and having everything. It has fun clapping and really great guitar work. It ends in a chaotic psych breakdown and it's pretty cool. The next track is "Leaves and Sand," and it is unfortunately the last track I have time to listen to. I will also listen to "Lazarus" after this per Wikipedia's suggestion, and will complete my review. I'll finish this album tomorrow. I like it and I owe it to myself. "Leves and Sand" is a chill track that starts off quiet and dreamy before bursting into a band-heavy guitar/drum instrumentation. It's cool and sounds Tony Haw-friendly! It's very shoegazy. "Lazarus" is the track I have chosen to break free from the tracklist. This album has 17 songs, and though I've run out of my allotted 24 hours to review, 5 is still better than nothing. "Lazarus" fades open with a funky, psychedelic guitar that is quite addictive. It flows between the left and right headphones, and I really dig it. I'm getting major Wavves vibes from this track! I am eternally disappointed in myself for snubbing 70% of this album (and I will remedy that tomorrow). But I've really enjoyed what I've heard. Their lyrics are dark but their claps and "buh buh bums" are refreshingly ironic. Favorite track: Lazarus Honorable mention: Wish I Was Skinny
I absolutely love this. This often has a distinctive 90s sound but is also the best shoegazing album that is actually reminiscent of 60s psychedelia. Some tracks reminds me of the Beatles. Some remind me of the Beach Boys' Smile, especially the one with the wind chimes. Each track offers new surprises. Starts off enticing and ends with satisfaction. This album is perfect from start to finish, and my personal preference guarantees a 5 star rating.
I forgot how great an album this is. Even the noisy, distorted bits are compelling. But the pop songs are absolutely gorgeous. Songs like I Hang Suspended, I Wish I was Skinny, Butterfly McQueen, Barney....And Me, Lazarus ate just gorgeously crafted pop songs. 5 🌟
When this first came up I was dreading it. Shoegaze? More than an hour? Noise pop? Wikipedia had me bracing myself for a tough listen... First time through I was quickly engaged by the catchy hooks with many fun and pleasant melodies. Dashes of noise served to really make things interesting. Second time through I fell in love with this album. So much so that I immediately embarked on a third listen. That time even "Spun Around" (probably the noisiest of the songs) appealed to me. Remarkable! I love it when an album proves me so wrong!
The perfect Boo Radleys album - I prefer their shoegaze period but can also appreciate their britpop albums afterwards, and Giant Steps falls exactly in the middle. Lots of strong songs whilst the shoegaze is still there.
Prior to listening, I only knew the Boo Radleys for the Wake Up! era; I purchased that album on a holiday in the US and loved it. I hadn't ever delved further into their catalogue, but this is a brilliant album. Proper 90s indie sound
Quintessential ‘90s. This is what you hope for out of a pop rock album. Unbelievably solid tracks from top to bottom catchy without losing their teeth and an overall sense of artistic style that works and holds even now!
The chord progressions that Coltrane used in his song Giant Steps weren't exactly new back then, they had been used some years prior by Ellington and other composers; and the second part of the song is a mere transcript of a passage from a music theory book. But the song worked so well by itself that the term "Coltrane Changes" began to be used to describe these rapid and complex progressions. And maybe -just maybe- that was the point of the name; this album seems to me like a recollection of styles, of the best rock-ish stuff you could get back in the 1990s, and it comes out nicely. A lot of nice songs, an overall consistent sound, and it never gets boring thanks to the leaps between styles.
Some interesting ideas, but the execution never hits for me. I don't mind the vocal style and sort of like it, but lyrically it's uninspired. Very early 90s sounding.
Never heard this one before. Interesting blend of influences. Like the dubby basslines throughout. Some of the singing and lyrics irk me a bit. Tend to prefer the more laid back tracks to when they try to rock out.
One of these where I’m just not getting it. Quite a lot of the “innovation” in this I found to be basically a bunch of avant-noise garbage. I’m not wholly against such stuff but it crosses the line into irritation pretty easily. My main issue here was most of it didn’t seem really incorporated into the songs in which it occurred: it was just jammed in on top or in amongst, jarring shifts in tone and, for that matter, volume. A bunch of people clearly think this is clever, it just made me want to stop listening. In between these affronts there was I’ll admit a fair bit of perfectly acceptable shoegazey alt-rock, and the occasional moments when it all actually comes together into something more.
Really good album, it was a pretty big surprise. 2 discs, so over an hour of music
Lots of unique sounds and flair that I haven’t heard anywhere else! I need to finish listening to this.
Pre-note: Devo ancora iniziare a sentirlo ma la copertina è bella trash. I Hang Suspended: Cazzo non me aspettavo questo. Qua è inutile che vado avanti a commentare i pezzi, sto a metà album e non ce n'è uno che non abbia pensato fosse geniale. Ma chi so sti Boo Radleys?? Ma dove so stati fino ad ora?? In conclusione: Crisi totale. Questo album è una bomba. Il '93? Ma seriamente? Suona come gruppi che venivano considerati all'avanguardia nel 2000, alcuni che posso nominare (Death Cab for Cutie), altri che non posso nominare perché stanno in lista. È più di un'ora di disco e onestamente non c'è un pezzo che possa dire che è debole. Quello che forse m'ha colpito meno è Lazarus, ma parliamo di 1 su 17. Ci stanno pezzi che vorrei sentire in loop come Take the Time Around. Adesso il punto è: è possibile che cazzo dopo 63 album ascoltati e un solo cinque me trovo a dare tre cinque di seguito? Che m'è successo, me s'è bloccato il dito sul cinque? Tutte domande che mi sono posto. Volevo dargli meno di cinque a sto album, mi sono svegliato e ho detto "ora me lo risento a mente fredda sicuro trovo un motivo per dargli quattro". No, 4 è troppo poco. Diamo a Cesare quel che è di Cesare. (Secondo me Luca ha dato 2 e Andrea 3)
I really liked them , can't entirely decide but maybe they deserve the 5 star..
Really enjoyable, a mix of genres and styles, with echoes of Ooberman, Blur, Nirvana, the Clash, ELO, The Beatles, and many more from across the whole of music. I'd only heard a couple of songs before, but loved wish I was skinny, barney (and me), Lazarus, and the white noise revisited. 5 🌟
Loved it then, still sounds great if a bit early Britpop production. 60s pop + psychedelia + dub + indie geetars + alt noise.
Classicly good psychedelia infused with a lot of other fun little bits. Reminds me of this: https://www.cadbury.co.uk/products/marvellous-smashables-jelly-popping-candy-11337
My favorite artists and albums are ones that explore a variety of genres and sounds with unabashed enthusiasm, but still are strong enough in themselves not to loose a core identity about them. This delivers that vibe by the bucketful, and I'm pouring it all over myself with glee. Let's fucking go.
Steve Miller band synth and psychedelic rock. I think I need to listen a few more times to get a good feel, but I liked it so far.
Enjoyed this a lot. Would never have given them time of day having only previously heard Wake Up Boo, but I guess that's what this is all about.
Was totally ready to write this off, it started slow. But damn if the second half didn't totally impress.
Definitely caught me by surprise, good variation of songs and caught a Smiths vibe which I can always get around
I really enjoyed this album--clearly I should look at more classics of the shoegaze sub-genre
damn pretty fucking tight vibes first song goes hard as hell sounds like oasis but more punk rock
Haven't heard about this band before. It was a nice discovery, enjoyed the sound very much.
Non conoscevo il gruppo e devo dire che mi ha stupito. Alcune scelte stilistiche non rispecchiano pienamente il mio gusto però ho apprezzato molto l'originalità visto anche l'anno. Mi piace il fatto che abbiano messo dentro tutto quello che gli piaceva senza farse troppi problemi nell'attenersi ad un genere. L'uso degli strumenti è spesso sperimentale ed il risultato è affascinante e psichedelico.
I have so much to say, but not sure how to articulate it. First of all, great name - I'm a big To Kill a Mockingbird fan. But also - the songs on this album somehow combine all of the musical styles that came in the 20 years before them as well as what would come in the next 20 years. You can hear British Invasion, psychedelic rock, 80s metal, 90s pop/punk (Rivers Cuomo definitely heard this album), techno, indy rock, and on and on. Big fan.
I like this record a lot. It's wonderful to hear a record that was released during the peak of a couple movements (britpop and shoegaze) that I haven't heard. It's like a gift. This band blends gentle with noisy really well. Love it. This came out the same year as Blur's "Modern Life is Rubbish." It's better than that record, but isn't as good as any of the Blur records that came afterward. THERE REALLY AREN'T ANY WEAK POINTS ON THIS RECORD. VERY DESERVING OF ITS PLACE IN THE TOP 1001. Highlights: The controlled feedback on most songs; The refreshingly clean/poppy "Wish I Was Skinny"; "Leaves and Sand"; The fuzzed/phased out guitar at the end of "Butterfly McQueen" and how it segues into "Rodney King - Song for Lenny Bruce."
-I like the guitar and the groove in the background of "Upon 9th And Fairchild" -"Leaves And Sand" has some serious jamming and drum fills -Some of the songs were pretty plain -I am interested in listening again, so I think that just barely bumps it up to a 4
Started off well but felt like it tailed off. Enjoyed but wouldn't rush to listen again
Ég þyrfti að hlusta á þessa aftur, gæti trúað því að hún vinni á. Sumt er mjög skemmtilegt prótó-Britpopp en það fer minna fyrir því í öðrum lögum. Stundum svolítið dated radd effectar og helst til mikið gítarískur, en virkar stórt séð vel. - Jú, fjarki frekar en þristur.
Interesting mix of sounds and styles. I feel like it needs more than a single listen to catch up with it.
4.3 - Look past the silly band name and questionable album name, and you've got a fantastic shoegaze record that takes you on a sprawling, mult-faceted journey. Walls of fuzzy guitar underpinned with strings (e.g. "Leaves and Sand"). Interspersed throughout are nods to different genres (reggae, Beach Boy style psychedelia, 90s Britpop).
Verrassend album. Rock met wat orkestrale toevoeging vond ik zeker leuk. 'Lazarus' is een zeer goed nummer
1. I'm assuming based just on the information I have before listening, that this is going to be a 60s/70s psychedelic flick 2. 90s shoe gaze rock! didn't expect this. I'm often wrong though. Squeaky guitars. A very The Bends vibe. 3. I like!
Lots of little Beatles' references in this ode to psychedelia. At one stage you'd swear they're writing a new chapter of Strawberry Fields. They start off flexing their shoegaze muscles and manage to throw out some crunchy guitar and storming drums. I've Lost The Reason is an encapsulation of the whole album. Twee verse with a bit of Beach Boys harmonies, then they bust out a massive chorus that pays homage to Kurt, but with weird distorted sounds a la Sergeant Peppers. I hope they had fun making this, because I had fun listening.
This is certainly the first time a list album has reminded me of HOLYCHILD. Nothing sparkles or shines, but the entire hour-plus is tinged with a comfy glow, some kind of connective tissue holding the instrumental and stylistic and even vocal digressions. Britpop to a fault and lasts exactly as long as you expect it to given the speed of delivery. However, it's one of the most DJ-set-like guitar band albums I've heard, reminded me of a trashy pop band discovered in university, and is thoroughly unique.
Why would they want to waste the first minute? Because I need the time to go get a beer before I settle into my barcalounger? I don't like it. But the maybe that's the catch for "I hang suspended."
Wow, I really like this album! I saw the horrific cover art and my stomach sank, because I have been known to judge an album by its cover. But this was such a pleasant surprise! It's the groovy fusion of alt rock and psychedelic pop that does it for me. Unexpected joy for today, thanks generator!
It takes a lot of guts to name your album after one of the great jazz albums in music history. The Boo Radleys' album is nothing like John Coltrane's album, but let's boil it down anyway. The Boo Radleys' pull from quite a few sounds of the 90's. One of the most prominent aspects of this record is the shoegaze, utilizing electric guitars to their fullest extent by going full reverb and volume. This is contrasted by the britpop songwriting style that keeps things light, particularly in the singing and guitar hooks. This gives Giant Steps some contrast in relation to the alternative, ethereal sound of shoegaze. Good songwriting and good sounds makes for a nice, unique blend overall. More than anything, though, this album is steeped in psychedelia. It's a fresh and fun take on the genre that always feels like it's been done to death. It also flows nicely, making for an enjoyable experience from top to bottom. My big gripe with Giant Steps is that is will feel generally unfocused as a cohesive unit. This reminds me of Radiohead's OK Computer in a few ways, which would be released a mere 4 years later. Coming close to being spectacular but falling just short, we will applaud The Boo Radleys nonetheless for this spectacular showing. Well done, lads.
Much more varied and rich than you'd perhaps expect, given this was a few years before the "big hit". A fun indie bop.
When I saw that this was British indie rock, my expectations were kind of low. After Elbow and PJ Harvey, I didn't think much of the genre. This album blew me away. The sheer variety of genres kept it from getting boring over its 64 minute runtime. I'll definitely revisit this one.
2nd album I never really heard, and I listened to plenty of shoegaze/britpop. I hear so many different influences here, the Cure, dub, madchester, psychedelic. Overall better than I expected 8/10.
This is one of those albums that makes me sad I missed it when it was new. It would have become one of my favourites, and I would have been able to sing along on a re-listen 30 years later.
I didn't get through this the first time, but actually really enjoyed it the second time. Many of the songs I would listen to again.
7/10. Maybe even an 8. Not exactly sure what this album did right for me, but I liked it.
I knew the name Boo Radleys (moreso from To Kill a Mockingbird though…), but never actually listened to them and wasn’t expecting them to be contemporaries to My Bloody Valentine??? It’s pretty good, but there are some notes that ring false to me, like a haphazard Rodney King “tribute”. Gonna land at a C+, but still earns that fourth star
Pretty good album with a lot of variety! I didn't get into and follow every song but I thought it was still pretty good and unique. Favourite: Barney (...and Me)
4. A very satisfying blend of 90s alt rock and other genres. Neither disjointed nor too repetitive. I debated giving this album a 3 because a few songs did lose my interest, but the rest of the album makes up for it. Overall, quite enjoyable.
This was awesome. The perfect amount of "weirdness" in this album. I literally cant even name a song on this record I was so lost in it. There is some kick ass rockin on this album too. I dont think there was a subpar song on here. If this was a few songs shorter it might be a 5. Great 7/10
This was a huge surprise. I enjoyed the variety in vocals (although not always top tier), instrumentation and genre in each song. I heard lots of good guitar lines and loved the brass and woodwind moments! Wishing’ I Was Skinny really hit home. Lol
Hadn't heard this before, but it's definitely up my alley! Shoegaze/Jangle pop type of stuff, solid af. Will be coming back to this for sure!
Album foisonnant, 17 chansons, des styles différents, des rythmes différents. C'est un album assez complexe à appréhender je trouve, qui nécessite plusieurs écoutes pour commencer à trouver des points d'accroche mais j'y reviendrais souvent et je suis sûr qu'il se révèlera petit à petit.
A cool album with a lot of different ideas and sounds that still feel like they fit. But few of the songs really stand out as songs I want to keep going back to. They're all just decent-good
I honestly don't have a lot to say about this album, but it's very good, and feels very mature for 1993. I would have thought it was made a few years later. The album is very consistent and features a variety of different musical styles. Very much worth the listen 4/5
What a strange LP... a constant swing between awesome proto-Definitely-Maybe bangers and psychedelic experiments.
I enjoyed the eclectic variety of songs on this album, with the softer songs being my favorite. Maybe not one of the best, but certainly unique.