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Shopperworld - Off With Their Heads
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List Price: £16.99
Our Price: £6.97
Availability: Usually dispatched within 24 hours
Manufacturer: Polydor
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Average Customer Rating:  
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Binding: Audio CD
EAN: 0602517847132
Label: Polydor
Manufacturer: Polydor
Number Of Discs: 1
Publisher: Polydor
Release Date: 2008-10-20
Running Time: 34
Studio: Polydor
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Editorial Reviews:
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After cockily shrugging off the difficult second album challenge with their hugely successful Yours Truly, Angry Mob, the Kaisers deliver yet another collection of blistering rock-pop in the shape of Off with Their Head. Producer Mark Ronson returns the band to the distilled pop potency of 2005's Employment as well as providing an all-star cast of guests: Lily Allen provides backing vocals on "Always Happens Like That", classical starlet David Arnold adds strings to "Like It Too Much" and UK grime aficionado Sway does a star turn on the unlikely yet winning "Half the Truth". Yet this is definitely the Kaiser's own show, as evinced on the wonderfully woozy "Tomato in the Rain," the catchy "Good Days, Bad Days", the feisty "You Want History" and the lovely--and somewhat surprising--finale "Remember You're a Girl". Musically, Off with Their Heads ain't rocket science, and the band's insights into contemporary urban life are superficial at best--but the Kaisers still manage to mostly hit the spot. --Danny McKenna
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Spotlight customer reviews:
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Customer Rating:
Summary: Solid, enjoyable third album from The Chiefs
Comment: 'Off With Their Heads', The Kaiser Chiefs' third album, hasn't been as well received as their first two albums by the general public and it seems as if people are getting bored with the charismatic Ricky Wilson and his band. I can't really see why because this album sticks to the tried and tested formula of the first couple of releases and if you really liked 'Employment' and 'Yours Truly Angry Mob' then it is highly likely that you will enjoy their latest album as well. There are a handful of really great tracks here, including the bleak state-of-the-nation anthem 'Never Miss A Beat' which features a humorous question and answer section ("What do you want for tea? I want crisps!") and a tasty New Wave organ sound. In fact, much of this album reminds me heavily of late 70's/early 80's British music in the same vein as XTC - dark, but melodic, spiky and rough-around-the-edges but with a real pop sensibility (The excellent 'Like It Too Much' could almost be an XTC track, as could 'Always Happens Like That').
Other picks include the shouty, almost annoyingly catchy 'You Want History' which has an irresistible hook - one of those tracks you almost don't want to like but you have no choice. Another highlight is 'Good Days Bad Days' which sounds too much like The Clash for it to be mere coincidence, but it also happens to be a great, likeable song so it also doesn't offend in any way. 'Tomato In The Rain' is an atypically restrained, melodic Britpop near-classic and breaks the collection up nicely. Overall, 'Off With Their Heads' contains plenty of very good new, high energy tunes coupled with smart, cynical lyrics and will most likely keep the dedicated Kaiser Chiefs fans happy but also has enough to offer the casual fan to make this a worthwhile and enjoyable buy. If you have the first couple of albums then you've probably heard much of what this album has to offer before and, admittedly, this release doesn't exactly see the Leeds lads breaking new ground, but if you have the first couple of albums then it stands to reason you'll probably want this one too - and you probably won't be disappointed.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Disappointed
Comment: I was so eager to listen to this album but when I listened, it let me down a lot. A few of the songs are great but the majority of the songs were not quite Kaiser Cheif standered. But their other albums are great albums.
Customer Rating:
Summary: kaisers flying the UK flag
Comment: ive had this album for a couple weeks now and i am a big fan of the KCs..at first i wasnt sure but after a few listens im sold!!it such a strong album and is consistant all the way through thers some really stron "The Clash" influences here o this album (which is great)...my favourites "never miss a beat".."good days n bad days" and "addicted to drugs".."you want history is a step in a new electro 80s rock movement but is also a great track...a definate buy if u are a KC!!
Customer Rating:
Summary: Diminishing returns
Comment: Any notion of the band trying to disregard the last album as being a minor blip is torn asunder by this one being even less inspired. Can they come back from this? Well, they'll have to start by writing some songs that don't sound like pale imitations of the songs that made them a festival favourite.
Off With Their Heads is by no means an unlistenable mess, it's just something that's completely throwaway after about... ooh... one listen. Hats off to them for breaking the three years to make an album cycle, but it's not really working to their advantage with this amount of filler.
Absolutely nothing here is really worth adding to that inevitable Greatest Hits package they're working towards, which is a terrible crime. At least Angry Mob kept things running in that department. I'd attempt to make this review more credible by speaking about individual tracks, but I'll be damned if there's anything actually worth singling out. I suppose the song with the rapper on is especially laughable...
Anyhoo, to end on a positive note, Mark Ronson's production is so lacklustre that he doesn't intrude too much to make it sound like every other song he's been involved with that started to grate by mid-2007.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Everything Is Not Average Nowdays
Comment: First album was fantastic and the spiky humour and energetic live shows went down a storm. Album number two was better produced but felt a bit lumpy and lethargic and the live shows became too arrogant.
To be honest I really wasn't expecting much of this so have been very pleasantly surprised. Never Miss A Beat manages to "out Ruby" Ruby! Kaiser Chiefs aren't going to ever write challenging or overly clever lyrics, but what they will do is put a smile on your face. If you want the clever stuff, delve into Radiohead or U2. If you just want to have a bit of fun without thinking get this!
Mark Ronson's production helps enormously. It's clean, fresh without the stodge that was on album two. Fortunately there's the right balance of Ronson's strings and horns. If you listen for them you'll hear and appreciate them. If you didn't listen for them, they won't jump out and bite you.
Apart from the fairly awful "Addicted To Drugs" the rest of the album is great stuff. Some fantastic melodies, funny lyrics - it's just fun.
On the live front, the preview shows for the album were lean, lively and interesting, which is just what the first album delivered.
If you liked the first album, but didn't like the second, don't give up on the Kaiser Chiefs yet.
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