Friends and Lovers (album)

Background

The album is a lot different from his debut, displaying a more upbeat and pop-rock sound. Butler trimmed away the folkier elements of his debut, which relied a lot on strings. Instead, Friends and Lovers sees Butler bring the guitar to the forefront of the musical output. Butler has described the record as: "More direct, more concise, no strings." The album was recorded in London and Chipping Norton, and mixed in New York by Andy Wallace.

David Simutis of Phoenix New Times concurred that the record is an upbeat affair. He wrote that "the main emotion captured on Friends & Lovers is happiness. From the up-tempo power chords, organ and handclaps of "I'd Do It Again If I Could," to the bouncing beat and guitar textures of "What Happened to Me," it's a powerful record of hope."

Singles released from the album were "Friends and Lovers" and "You Must Go On". "Friends and Lovers" had a limited release of one thousand 10" vinyl one sided singles. These were given out to visitors to Butlers website on a first come first served basis. "You Must Go On" charted at no 44. "I'd Do It Again If I Could" was released as a single in the U.S. on Columbia Records in February 2000.

Critical

Some critics saw it as a step forward from his debut. Sarah Zupko of PopMatters wrote: "Friends and Lovers is more anthemic and self-assured than People Move On, as though Butler has been steadily gaining confidence in himself as a frontman." Stephen Thomas Erlewine of AllMusic felt that Butler has greater focus on this record, however he felt that the music needed "a larger-than-life personality, a vocalist on the level of Brett Anderson."

Jay Hedblade of the Chicago Tribune had a similar mixed sentiment, saying: "Bernard Butler offers more textured, palatable rock cast in a classic mode. Like his debut, People Move On, Butler demonstrates he's adept at building gorgeous mile-high melodies that hit all the right buttons, yet as agreeable as it is, there's still a nagging feeling that something's missing." Although he did say the album had "brilliant moments", he concluded by saying: "elsewhere Butler spends too much time waxing poetic without the verbal dexterity to hold up the grand nature of the tunes."

Commercial

The album was not a commercial success, this was mainly due to the breakup of Creation Records shortly before Butler was due to embark on a UK tour. As a result, the tour was cancelled and he was unable to fully complete his promotional duties for the album. The album charted at no 43 on the UK Album Chart.

Track listing

All songs written by Bernard Butler.