Search - Higsons :: It's a Wonderful Life

Charlie Higson on life before the Fast Show

Ivan | 04/12/2001

(3 out of 5 stars)

"Norwich, England. An unlikely place for a musical revolution. Well during the early 80`s Norwich had one, not on the same scale as say Liverpool or Manchester but for those that loved the bands it will always have a special place in our hearts.Along side stable mates `the Farmers Boys` The Higsons released a handful of singles on various labels with a musical manifesto of indie mixed with a splattering of jazz=funk, two-tone and laugh out loud song titles.This Higsons album features 21 tracks taken from various BBC Radio sessions, giving the listener the opportuniy to hear the band in a raw and free-form mode that was one of te bands best assets. Featuring various singles including: `I don`t want to live with monkeys`, `Push out the boat` and their wondrful take on the Andy Williams classic `Music to watch girls by` the album is a great way to discover what the Fast Show`s Charlie Higson did in a past life and for fans of the band a great way to recapture those long forgotten and lost monents from underneath the bed covers listening to John Peel discovering what llfe below the top 40 sounded like."

The higsons are a lot better for you than porridge

A. J. M. Mcdonald | the hague | 09/29/2006

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I swear that i will be buried to the utterly delightful sound of the Higsons. It's difficult to believe that most of these songs are over a quarter of a century old. Charlie 'Switch' Higson wryly notes in the sleeve notes to 'We will never grow old', 'Ah, but we did'. But the music has not, and today sounds as completely and utterly fresh and infectious as ever.



My personal favourites, absolutely designed to still set any party on fire, are I don't want to live with monkeys, Surrender, We will never grow old, Touchdown, I can hear voices, Clanking my bucket, Got to let this heat out, Push out the boat, and It's a wonderful life. Need I continue?



As this disc demonstrates, the Higsons are still the fastest show in town. If I was not an atheist, I would swear that with the goodgodalmighty Higsons, every moment can be a James Steward moment"