Showing posts with label Keane. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Keane. Show all posts

Sunday, 19 May 2024

You are young / Sea fog - Keane

The album Strangeland is not Keane's best known album - that honour would go to Hopes & fears, celebrating its 20th anniversary this year - but back in 2022, a special 10" single, released on Record Store Day, commemorated the 10th anniversary of that album. Like all Record Store Day releases, the disc was overly expensive.

Fast forward two years and it is available for half price in some stores (but not all, I noticed recently). Pressed on clear vinyl, this 10" single presents alternative versions of the album tracks 'You are young' and 'Sea fog'. Only the biggest Keane fans still remember those tracks, but it's a nice little item - especially for half price.

My collection: 10" single [unnumbered]
Found: Paagman, Leidschendam, 12 May 2024
Tracks: 'You are young (alternative structure - work in progress)' / 'Sea fog (full band version - work in progress)'

Monday, 23 September 2019

Sovereign Light Cafe - Keane

Keane is back! They released a new album last week, and earlier this year they released a green vinyl single featuring two tracks from the so-called Dave Fridmann Sessions. 'Sovereign Light Cafe' and 'Disconnected' were taken from their previous album, 'Strangeland', released in 2012.

The Dave Fridmann Sessions took place in 2011, and were never released before. The single was released in April for Record Store Day for ridiculous amounts of money - but on the record fair this weekend I was able to get a copy for less.

My collection: 7" single no. 6180
Found: Record fair, Amsterdam, September 21, 2019
Tracks: 'Sovereign Light Cafe' / 'Disconnected'

Monday, 16 April 2018

Tear up this town - Keane

Keane's most recent single release was 'Tear up this town', a track for the feature film 'A monster calls'. This picture disc single was released on Record Store Day in 2017, a few months after its digital release in September 2016. The picture disc only has one track; the B-side is blank.

It looks like this single is the last one Keane has released, as they went their separate ways. Singer Tom Chaplin went solo, while Tim Rice-Oxley started the project Mt. Desolation together with fellow Keane band member Jesse Quin.

My collection: 7" single no. 5903
Found: Record fair, Utrecht, April 14, 2018
Cost: 8 euro
Track: 'Tear up this town'



Wednesday, 31 August 2011

We might as well be strangers - Keane

'We might as well be strangers' was the fifth single to be released from their 2004 debut album 'Hopes & fears'. It was a bit of a strange release, as it was only released on 10" single. It featured a remix of the track by a certain DJ Shadow.

The single didn't chart in any territory, although the 10" single was readily available in the UK, where the band had had four top 20 singles until then.

My collection: 10" single [unnumbered]
Found: Discogs.com, received August 5, 2011
Cost: 5 euro
Tracks: 'We might as well be strangers (remix)' / 'We might as well be strangers (remix instrumental)'

Friday, 19 February 2010

Bedshaped - Keane

'Bedshaped' was released as the third single from Keane's debut album 'Hopes and fears' in August 2004. According to Tim Rice-Oxley, the song is 'about feeling that you've been 'left behind' by an old friend or lover, and about hoping that you'll be reunited one day so that you can live out the end of your lives together the way you started them (...) a hope that they'll eventually want to get away from the bright lights and come back home. it's a sad and angry song, but also full of hope. I think I'm right in saying that in hospital when someone is ill and has to spend a lot of time in bed they can become 'bedshaped'. It sounds a bit depressing (...) but in the context of the song I wanted to suggest old age and frailty.'

A 7" vinyl single was released as a numbered limited edition in the UK. My copy is number 249.
'Bedshaped' reached number 10 in the UK singles chart and number 26 in the Dutch Top 40.

My collection: 7" single no. 4569
Found: Discogs.com, received February 19, 2010
Cost: 5 pounds
Tracks: 'Bedshaped' / 'Something in me was dying'

Wednesday, 7 October 2009

Better than this - Keane

'Better than this' was the last single release from Keane's 2008 album 'Perfect symmetry'. The single did not reach the UK singles top 100.

The 7" single came with a pair of 3d glasses, by way of promoting a concert that was shown in 3d on the internet a few months ago. That concert is still accessible via the band's official website, www.keanemusic.com.

My collection: 7" single no. 3615
Found: Keanemusic.com webshop
Cost: 3 pounds
Tracks: 'Better than this' / 'Better than this (Stuart Price demo mix)'

Thursday, 1 October 2009

The lovers are losing - Keane

'The lovers are losing' was the second single taken from Keane's 2008 album 'Perfect symmetry'. It was released in October 2008.

Despite being the first physical release taken from the album ('Spiralling' was released as a digital download only in the UK), the single only reached number 52 in the UK singles chart. It had a three week chart run.

My collection: 7" single no. 3517
Found: eBay.com, received December 30, 2008
Cost: 3 pounds
Tracks: 'The lovers are losing' / 'Time to go'

Sunday, 13 September 2009

The night sky - Keane

'The night sky' was written and performed by Keane and released as a non-album single in aid of War Child in October 2007. The song is written from a child's point of view on war. Originally the song was meant to be included on Kean's 2006 album 'Under the iron sea', but it was dropped from the track listing on the last minute.

The single did not chart in the UK due to controversial chart rules. The 7" single was not eligible for chart placing because of the free poster included with it.

My collection: 7" single no. 3492
Found: eBay.co.uk, received December 20, 2008
Cost: 3 pounds
Tracks: 'The night sky' / 'Put it behind you (Ffrisco mix)'

Thursday, 10 September 2009

A bad dream - Keane

Keane's song 'A bad dream' was partially based on the poem 'An Irish Airman foresees his death' by W.B. Yeats. Tim Rice-Oxley explains: 'We wanted to get a balance between a kinda dream sequence. It starts very quietly, and I love the idea of being in a plane, like a Spitfire or something, being so high up in the sky that you can't hear the guns below you and so on. And it's almost got a serene silence which is what this Yeats poem seemed to really express. The song starts very quietly, but it gets huge and angry as it goes on... The big distorted washy piano sound in the middle is a pretty vast sound and it's I guess an attempt to express all that anger bursting out.'

The track was released as the sixth and final single from Keane's album 'Under the iron sea' in January 2007. Although it became Keane's first single to fail to reach the UK Top 20, it peaked at number 23 in the UK singles chart.

My collection: 7" single no. 3491
Found: eBay.co.uk, received December 20, 2008
Cost: 3 pounds
Tracks: 'A bad dream' / 'She sells sanctuary'

Thursday, 3 September 2009

Nothing in my way - Keane

When I listened to 'Under the iron sea', Keane's second album, for the first time, 'Nothing in my way' was one of the first songs to jump out of this new batch of songs. It was only right when this song was released as a single. Tim Rice-Oxley, who wrote the song, explains: 'The song's actually written about some people I know who are married, and their marriage was essentially just bringing a lot of misery to both of them, but for some reason they just refused to acknowledge it. I hate the idea of people being so much in denial that they're prepared to almost let their lives fall apart rather than acknowledge what's going on.'

The single became a modest hit, peaking at number 19 in the UK singles chart and number 20 in the Dutch Top 40. This 7" single is a numbered limited edition; this is number 2278.

My collection: 7" single no. 3575
Found: eBay.co.uk, received February 2, 2009
Cost: 3 pounds
Tracks: 'Nothing in my way' / 'Thin air'

Thursday, 27 August 2009

Crystal ball - Keane

Tim Rice-Oxley from Keane commented about 'Crystal ball': 'That was a really scary for me, because I've always had lots to say, and lots of opinions whether right or wrong. We then ended up having a massive row about something a couple of days later and it came out of that that we were all feeling this sense of numbness, this feeling of kinda fading away as people. I struggled to find one last song to complete the album, and found I could not write. I was left looking around song directories written by the sheer desperates of London, thus explaining how I discovered Crystal Ball...'

The track was released as the second single of Keane's second album 'Under the iron sea'. It reached number 20 in the Dutch Top 40 and the UK singles chart. This 7" single is a numbered limited edition; this is number 30.

My collection: 7" single no. 3490
Found: eBay.co.uk, received December 20, 2008
Cost: 3 pounds
Tracks: 'Crystal ball' / 'Maybe I can change'

Sunday, 2 August 2009

Is it any wonder? - Keane

Since this single is also included in the box set for 'Atlantic', I've got two copies of it. But originally I bought this single soon after it came out in 2006. The song was written about the war in Iraq. Tim Rice-Oxley explained: 'It's probably the one song that most expresses our dismay and confusion about what it means to be a British citizen, in terms of what our society's contributing to the world at large. It's very hard to make sense of why Britain feels it needs to sign up with George Bush's attacks on Iraq and the whole Afghanistan thing. It feels like there's a whole lot of trouble brewing up over Iran, and you just don't know where it's going to end. On a personal level, for people of our age, it's really unsettling...'

The single peaked at number 3 in the UK singles chart. It reached number 7 in the Dutch Top 40 during an amazing 17 week chart run.

My collection: 7" single no. 3438
Found: HMV, London, June 19, 2006
Cost: 3 pounds
Tracks: 'Is it any wonder?' / 'Let it slide'

Monday, 27 July 2009

Atlantic - Keane

'Atlantic' is a track from Keane's second album 'Under the iron sea', released in 2006. This one-sided vinyl 7" single was released in a numbered limited edition of 1000 copies (this is number 34) in a boxed set together with the first single taken from that album, 'Is it any wonder'. 'Atlantic' was promoted with a music video before the album was released, but it wasn't released as a single commercially.

My collection: 7" single no. 3489
Found: eBay.co.uk, received December 20, 2008
Cost: 4 pounds
Tracks: 'Atlantic'

Wednesday, 24 June 2009

Somewhere only we know - Keane

'Somewhere only we know' was the first single from Keane's debut album 'Hopes and fears'. The first demo was composed by Tim Rice-Oxley circa 2001. Rice-Oxley composed this song out of hammering with the piano and based on David Bowie's song 'Heroes'. It was first played on the guitar, just before Dominic Scott left the band, and recorded as a demo the same year with a Yamaha CP70 instead of the guitar.

Keane recorded the final version in 2003 at the Helioscentric Studios, Rye, East Sussex for the album. This song was the first Keane item released on vinyl format. The records were numbered and limited to 5000 copies, only sold in the UK. My copy is number 2135. The single peaked at number 3 in the UK and number 15 in the Netherlands.

My collection: 7" single no. 3798
Found: eBay.co.uk, received June 24, 2009
Cost: 5 pounds
Tracks: 'Somewhere only we know' / 'Snowed under'

Monday, 8 June 2009

Everybody's changing - Keane

After Keane had hit it big with 'Somewhere only we know' in 2004, they had the major task of following the single up with something equally successful. They succeeded: 'Everybody's changing' peaked at number 4 in the UK singles chart while reaching number 18 in the Netherlands.

I had actually sortof stopped buying 7" singles during that year, so when I decided to revitalise my collection last year I had to start finding those old Keane singles. I bought a whole bunch of them from an online dealer. This single was released as a limited numbered edition. This is number 28.

My collection: 7" single no. 3488
Found: eBay, received December 20, 2008
Cost: 3 pounds
Tracks: 'Everybody's changing' / 'Fly to me'


Wednesday, 13 May 2009

Perfect symmetry - Keane

The title track of Keane's most recent album, 'Perfect symmetry' was released as a single in December 2008. The song was written by the band and was released as a digital download, a cd-single and this 7" vinyl single. Its limited availability made it difficult for me to get hold of it (and, by the way, partly explains the fact that this single did not chart in the UK).

At first I ordered it from the band's official website, but this proved to be a mistake. The online shop went bankrupt or something, and although they did send me all the other (older) singles I ordered, this 7" vinyl and cd-single never showed up. To this day I don't know whether I actually paid for it or not. Itried finding the singles somewhere else, but they were unavailable in most of the online stores I knew. So in the end, I ordered it last month from the new online shop on Keane's official website. With success, this time! It's a miracle.

My collection: 7" single no. 3710
Found: keane.com, received May 13, 2009
Cost: 5 pounds
Tracks: 'Perfect symmetry' / 'Staring at the ceiling'

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