From opening strains of "Out To Get You" to the last haunting lyric of "Skindiving", this album is a winner. Reviewers were right to call it one of the best albums of the 90s. There is not a bad track in this collection of 13 songs. Among my favorites are: "Sometimes" (I dare anyone to find me a better chorus in pop music today); "One Of The Three" (Dear God....); "Five-O" (hands down, my favorite song of ALL TIME); P.S. (Stunning...Breathtaking...Beautiful.); Everybody Knows (I just bet they do).

The wonderful thing about James (and the thing I think attracts people to their music) is their uncanny ability to marry perfect melodies with thoughtful, emotionally resonant lyrics. "Laid" is a perfect example of what James have done so well throughout their career. The album hangs together on thematic threads of hope, love, loss and spirituality; but the musical arrangements are anything but saccharine (just listen to the gently loping, yet sinsister guitar and percussion in P.S.). James prove that it is still possible to make intelligent, catchy pop music.

Also recommended: "The Best Of", "Pleased To Meet You"

Outstanding Work
On the first listen itself this album mesmerizes you. Transcending the intersection of folkrock and pop, this album combines the magical beauty of lead singer Booth with the neat, never over-the-top production of Brain Eno. The end result is a sweet taste left after you close your CD player. What an album!!! James is an English band who rose to fame in the early nineties due to heavy rotation of single like Say Something, Sit Down etc. Until Booth left in 2001, the band released good album after album, their last classic effort being Millionairs.

Say Something from Laid was heavily featured on Mtv those days but there are scores of better songs on the disc. The album begins with a melodic chanting from Booth in the form of Out to get you. Beautiful lyrics, excellent vocal harmonies which leaves a haunting melody in your ears. Then Sometimes takes over with brilliant yet simple lyrics (sometimes when I look into your eyes, I can see your soul), Dream Thrum, One of the three all melodic rockers but the best is yet to come. FIVE-O and PS are outstanding tracks on the disc. Perhaps the best songs James ever composed!!! They have haunting melodies and hooks. Excellent songs!!!

Rest of the album is good which basically means this is a great album. ten years old and still sitting in the first rack of my CD collection, this is a divine album for lazy summer nights and cold winter ones too...

Where was I all this time?
When I listen to an album this great eleven years after its original release, I realize once more that no matter how much music you THINK you've heard! You haven't even scratched at the surface of the iceberg.

Originally labeled as being Smiths clones, Britain-based James gradually built a name for themselves, until in 1993, they relied on the magical producing wand of Brian Eno to put out this album that brought them to the forefront of American consciousness. Don't be surprised, then, to run into accents, atmospheres and sounds in general that bring back to mind the sounds of U2's memorable 'Unforgettable Fire', 'Joshua Tree' or the experimental 'Passengers', considering that Eno's hand touched these works by the Irish superband. This can be heard very clearly in song #9 "Knuckle Too Far" and the closing track, two of my favorites from the album.

But their greatness doesn't lie in a sound close to U2's or their resemblance to Smiths in their early days. James has a solid sonic and lyrical foundation that can only be achieved by a few great acts. The singer Tim Booth has an enticing style that make him a powerful storyteller that is also able to build an intimacy around his band's soundscapes, comparable to Bono, Sting or singers in Spanish, Miguel Bose or Beto Cuevas ("Lullaby" is a good example of this). Colletively speaking, a band that comes close to what James achieved with their work more than a decade ago is Travis, which hopefully should give you a good idea of how good these guys are!

I'm very glad this album has been 'Laid'
'Laid' is a great dayglo pop album which features psychadelica, folk rock and dark delerious rock tracks. 'Out to get You' is a fascinating and haunting psych-pop piece as is the marvellous 'Dream Thrum'. While 'One of the Three' is a magnificent pop gem, the title track single features an annoying opening riff(a rip-off of 'Twist and Shout'). 'Sometimes' is a fantastic pop masterpiece reaching the UK top 20, although deserving a higher entry than No.18! 'Knuckle too Far' and 'Everybody Knows' are folk rock in the style of their fabulous 'Gold Mother' album, which spawned they're biggest hit 'Sit Down'. The two secret jewels towards the end are 'Skindiving' and 'Lullably', creamy, dreamy psychadelica tracks, sending you into a dream world of compelling happiness! 'Low Low Low' and 'Say Something' are marvelous examples of when James experiment with rock and do it well.

Alltogether, 'Laid' is a great pop album. Very experimental, but the pop is as vivid as James gets. For other sublime James releases, look into 'Gold Mother', 'Seven' and of course 'The Best Of...'.

Outstanding!!!
On the first listen itself this album mesmerizes you. Transcending the intersection of folkrock and pop, this album combines the magical beauty of lead singer Booth with the neat, never over-the-top production of Brain Eno. The end result is a sweet taste left after you close your CD player. What an album!!! James is an English band who rose to fame in the early nineties due to heavy rotation of single like Say Something, Sit Down etc. Until Booth left in 2001, the band released good album after album, their last classic effort being Millionairs.

Say Something from Laid was heavily featured on Mtv those days but there are scores of better songs on the disc. The album begins with a melodic chanting from Booth in the form of Out to get you. Beautiful lyrics, excellent vocal harmonies which leaves a haunting melody in your ears. Then Sometimes takes over with brilliant yet simple lyrics (sometimes when I look into your eyes, I can see your soul), Dream Thrum, One of the three all melodic rockers but the best is yet to come. FIVE-O and PS are outstanding tracks on the disc. Perhaps the best songs James ever composed!!! They have haunting melodies and hooks. Excellent songs!!!

Rest of the album is good which basically means this is a great album. ten years old and still sitting in the first rack of my CD collection, this is a divine album for lazy summer nights and cold winter ones too...
Along with the more overtly quirky Pavement, James sought to bring the eccentric folk-rock of the Incredible String Band into the alt-rock era, and did an especially fine job of it on this 1993 release. Still reeling from the U.K. chart success of their "Sit Down" single and Seven album, the Manchester veterans (who started out a decade earlier on their hometown Factory label) crafted this thoroughly accessible yet thoughtful collection. Especially infectious are "Sometimes," with its headlong strumming and chanted chorus, and the title track, with Tim Booth's vocals at their mannered best. Meanwhile, "Skindiving" finds the band venturing into the kind of experimental terrain that would later gain Radiohead enormous acclaim. Laid is a fine album from a chronically underrated band. --Bill Forman