Шарлатаны: История альбома и триумфальное турне

the album of the same name by the American psychedelic rock band The Charlatans

The Charlatans is the fourth album by the British rock band the Charlatans, released on 28 August 1995 through Beggars Banquet Records. Following a holiday, vocalist Tim Burgess and guitarist Mark Collins wrote material for their next album at Burgess' place in Chalk Farm. The band then absconded to Monnow Valley Studio in Rockfield, Monmouthshire, Wales, with producer Steve Hillage. After preparing several mixes of the album, none of which they liked, Hillage was fired, and engineer Dave Charles was brought in. Further recording was then done at the nearby Rockfield Studios. "Crashin' In" was released as the album's lead single in December 1994. Following a tour of the United Kingdom in April 1995, "Just Lookin" and "Bullet Comes" were released as a double A side single in May 1995. Over the next few months, the band played at various festivals in Spain, Stockholm and the UK, including Glastonbury and T in the Park. "Just When You're Thinkin' Things Over" was released as the album's third single in August 1995, which was followed by a tour of the United States. They then toured mainland Europe prior to a UK tour at the end of the year; they went on another UK trek in early 1996, playing lesser known locations around the country. The Charlatans received generally favourable reviews from music critics, some of whom praised the musicianship; retrospective comments by journalists said it helped prolong the band's career. It topped the album charts in both Scotland and the UK, in addition to charting in Sweden. All three of the album's singles peaked within the top 40 in both Scotland and the UK, with "Just When You're Thinkin' Things Over" charting the highest at numbers 5 and 12, respectively. Melody Maker, NME, and Select included the album on their lists of the year's best releases, with Melody Maker going so far as to include it on their list of the best 100 albums of all time.

The Charlatans released their third studio album, Up to Our Hips, in March 1994 through Beggars Banquet Records. It came out around the time that the Britpop and lad culture scenes began emerging. Up to Our Hips charted within the top 10 album charts in both Scotland and the United Kingdom. Two of its singles, namely "Can't Get Out of Bed" and "I Never Want an Easy Life If Me and He Were Ever to Get There", reached the top of the UK Singles Chart. The band promoted the album with a tour of the United States, festivals in Brussels and the Netherlands, and a few UK shows with Gene. Further touring engagements were cancelled due to a cyst growing on bassist Martin Blunt's buttocks; the band subsequently took a break for a few weeks. While on a week long holiday in Costa del Sol, Spain, with their respective girlfriends, vocalist Tim Burgess and guitarist Mark Collins began a songwriting partnership. They had previously collaborated together the year before, writing "Another Rider Up in Flames" for Up to Our Hips. They mapped out what ideas they had, with Collins saying that they wanted to avoid including "any downers on the [next] album".

At the suggestion of Steve Hillage, the Charlatans went to record at Monnow Valley Studio in Rockfield, Monmouthshire, Wales. Hillage was enlisted to produce the album, having previously worked on Up to Our Hips, despite being annoyed that Burgess had disregarded that album as "bollocks". "Crashin' In" was among the first four songs recorded during the sessions, being started and completed within a single weekend. They promptly fired Hillage, much to the chagrin of Burgess, who had hoped to facilitate a long term working partnership with him after having issues trusting anyone when making their second studio album Between 10th and 11th. Engineer Dave Charles was selected instead, receiving high praise from Collins. They recorded the backing track to "Here Comes a Soul Saver" at The Coach House room at the nearby Rockfield Studios, which had been made over three takes and switched together from the best two of those. They attempted to mix the album at The Strongroom in London between 12 and 25 January 1995, but were not happy with the results, at the cost of £15,000. They went back to Monnow Valley, where they spent two weeks, before moving to Rockfield Studios and eventually returning to Monnow Valley, finishing mixing in early March 1995. and power pop. AllMusic reviewer Stephen Thomas Erlewine felt that the band "incorporat[ed] heavy dance elements without losing its core sound". The album's title went through multiple names, including Crashin' In, Crashin' Out, Live It Like You Love It, Look at Us, Nine Acre Court, Smiling, and You Start a Riot. Wills said the band decided to self title it as they "finally felt themselves to be in control".

"Nine Acre Court" came about following an evening spent clubbing in Bristol; its title referred to flats in Salford, where Collins' girlfriend lived, and he wrote some material for the album. The song's introduction was taken from a tape that drummer Jon Brookes had made of himself walking around Oxford Street in London before being stopped by members of the Jesus Army, ending with the sound of a bus turning up. Burgess did not appear on the track as he had to "entertain an A&R man [from Beggars Banquet] that everyone was trying to avoid". Wills wrote that "Just Lookin" was "concerned [with] the death of youth spirit in the UK", which Burgess attributed to Tories being in power as well as Burgess being told that he would not amount to anything during his upbringing. "Crashin' In" discusses Burgess moving to London and attempting to get people to go on a night out, even though they had no interest in doing so. Burgess said "Bullet Comes" was inspired by Dr. John's Gumbo (1972) by Dr. John, and features a mixture of loops with off kilter beats from Brookes. When making the song, Burgess, discussing "Here Comes a Soul Saver", said it had a country atmosphere to it, in the vein of Neil Young. He mentioned that a lot of country songs dealt with "struggle and survival, [ ] trouble and joy, and that felt like what had happened to us over the years". The Charlatans based the song around the title phrase as sung in "Bring On the Lucie (Freda Peeple)". "Tell Everyone" is an acoustic ballad about Burgess' faithfulness to his girlfriend, Chloe Walsh. The swamp rock song "Toothache" recalled Led Zeppelin's version of "When the Levee Breaks" (1929). Wills said "See It Through" was an "appeal to and an anthem for all the outsiders, the misfits, the northerners, the ugly, the Scots, [and] the weirdos". Charles could be heard at the 14 second mark uttering the title phrase as Burgess handed him a microphone.

In November 1994, Burgess attended a club night hosted by Heavenly Recordings, where he came across co founders Jeff Barrett and Martin Kelly. Kelly was surprised that "Can't Get Out of Bed", a track from Up to Our Hips, had not been a bigger success and was also astonished by the lack of press for Up to Our Hips. Up to this point, the band's PR had been handled by Savage and Best, a popular agency around the UK. After asking what that company was charging, Kelly proceeded to tell Burgess that he should let him and Barrett do their future PR, which he was offering for half the price of Savage and Best. After clearing it with the band's manager Steve Harrison and Martin Mills of Beggars Banquet Records, Heavenly became their PR agency. "Crashin' In" was released as the lead single from the album on 28 December 1994, having been held back from its intended Boxing Day date due to that being a bank holiday. The music video for "Crashin' In" was filmed at Monnow Valley and features the studio's cat Charlie. Blunt, Charles, and Rob Collins travelled to Metropolis Studio in London in March 1995 to master "Bullet Comes", which had been earmarked as the next single. Three days after this, it was decided to couple "Bullet Comes" with "Just Lookin" as a double A side single. Following the conclusion of mixing, the band spent some time rehearsing for their upcoming touring schedule. "Floor Nine" was included as its B side. Beggars Banquet were not fond of releasing it and "Crashin' In" so far out from the album, while Burgess said the band "knew better – we were really getting back the confidence and belief we had in the first place". The band made six festival appearances over the subsequent four months, including Glastonbury, Brighton, Phoenix, and T in the Park in the UK, Benicàssim in Spain, and Waterfestival Stockholm. "Just When You're Thinkin' Things Over" was released as the album's final single on 7 August 1995. The CD version included "Frinck", "Your Skies Are Mine", and a remix of "Toothache" as the B sides, while the 12 inch version swapped "Your Skies Are Mine" for a remix of "Nine Acre Court". "Just When You're Thinkin' Things Over" was promoted with an appearance on Top of the Pops and a Mark Radcliffe radio session where they performed it alongside "Crashin' In", "Just Lookin", and "Here Comes a Soul Saver". The Charlatans was released on 28 August 1995. Soon after this, the band embarked on a tour of the US, which was shortened due to juice manufacturer Ocean Spray pulling their sponsorship because of Collins' past criminal record. The full version of the tour would have seen them perform in 1,500 to 5,000 capacity venues in cities they would not have usually played, which is where the Ocean Spray promotion would have helped. They were supported by Britpop band Menswear for the trek; during this time, the Britpop movement had not conquered the US, with Pulp and Supergrass having toured the country previously and Blur touring at the same time as the Charlatans. After ten shows, the Charlatans toured mainland Europe, with a focus on Germany in particular. In early 1996, they toured smaller, lesser known places in the UK for the type of fan that would typically have to travel to see them.

The Charlatans was re pressed on vinyl in 2021. "Just Lookin", "Crashin' In", "Here Comes a Soul Saver", and "Just When You're Thinkin' Things Over" were included on the band's first compilation album, Melting Pot (1998). "Just When You're Thinkin' Things Over" was featured on their third and fifth compilation albums, Forever: The Singles (2006) and A Head Full of Ideas (2021). As part of the 2019 Record Store Day event, "Just Lookin", "Crashin' In", "Bullet Comes", and "Just When You're Thinkin' Things Over" were released as part of the seven inch vinyl box set Everything Changed (2019). A remix EP, under the name The Charlatans UK V. The Chemical Brothers, was released in the US in 1995, featuring remixes of "Toothache" and "Nine Acre Court" done by the Chemical Brothers. This EP was re pressed on vinyl to coincide with the 2020 Record Store Day event, which included a remix of "Patrol", a song originally from Up to Our Hips, as an additional track.

The Charlatans was met with generally favourable reviews from music critics. Erlewine saw it as The Charlatans' "most ambitious, focused, and successful album", though it "relies too heavily on trippy dance instrumentals" at times. Author Susan Wilson, in her book The Charlatans – Northwich Country Boys (1997), said the album "would completely revive their career, putting them back on the map as one of Britain's best bands of the decade". "Just Lookin"/"Bullet Comes" charted at number 18 in Scotland and number 32 in the UK. "Just When You're Thinkin' Things Over" charted at number five in Scotland; it became their highest charting single in the UK since "Then" in 1990, peaking at number 12. Wills theorised that the song would have performed better if it had not been released the same week as the chart battle between Blur and Oasis.