Listen: Love Is Dead / Brett Anderson 01 love is dead (01).mp3
My first time seeing Suede was March ’92 in Brighton, opening for The Fall. I’d missed them the night before and was in a state. I loved their demo that had been made at the Island studios just before I left the label. After the show, I was jaw dropped and wide eyed. This was the real deal. They captured the ultimate British sound, bringing to the grooves, well, all the poison of London. Suede hit me dead center – I realized what I’d been waiting for. Even though it’s not that long ago, I harken back to that early 90′s period with Blur, Pulp, and The Stone Roses getting their footholds in pubs along Ladbroke Groove and Camden Town. Still, for me, Suede glistened above them all. Never did they disappoint live. No small contribution coming from Mat’s bass on that front. Brett had the physical swagger, and Mat the rhythmic. I really wanted to sign them and so took the band round to meet all the Warner Brothers people in Burbank a few months later. It was a memorable trip – these English guys very out of place in LA – and for their first time ever. We crammed into a rented convertible (that somehow I ended up with) and went to Santa Monica Pier, stopping at a few garage sales along the way, everyone wearing long sleeves and pants in blazing California sun. Before leaving town, the earthquake of ’92 hits. It’s pretty freaky driving to LAX without one working traffic light on the way, yet risking it just to get home. Even though he started out with a bang, Brett’s writing just kept getting better and better. COMING UP, their third album, is a masterpiece. A formula was patented and kept working. So it’s brave and commendable that Brett chose a more stark and personal path for his solo releases. He’s begun to establish himself as a songwriter and singer of real depth, his voice more powerful than ever. This solo single, his first, was a nice treat on release. Don’t know what I was expecting, so the unexpected really worked – it’s a much played favorite.