Yet another download freebie for you to enjoy. The Charlatans UK decided to give away their latest cd You Cross My Path for free and you can find it at the link below. This is the bazillionth release from this band, ok 10th studio but for a band that has been around as long as them, to release cds every 2 years is unheard of. I will admit I have been out of the loop with the Charlatans for the last decade, I have collected their cds but never really gave them a ton of listening time. I think since I was burned by Wonderland I just gave up. Since then there were 2 more cds, a live one, b-sides and now this.

Getting back to their latest, this cd is very good and I am quite impressed. Its no Between 10th or 11th but it proves that the Charlatans can overcome the stale and predictible rut many bands find themselves in so late in their careers.

Some of my favorite tracks are Track 2 "Bad Days" with its Nirvana bassline beginning and New Order keyboards. Track 4 "The Misbegotten" harks back to the early 90s haunting church organ and the Charlatans initial flirtation with electronic. Track 7 "Missing Beats (Of A Generation) is a fast paced, hard swirling keyboard romp that begs to be played live.

My favorite track has to be "You Cross My Path". This song does a great job at blending the early sound with a bit of rock and heavy guitar. Tim's vocals still sound great after all these years and he knows what works and what doesn't.

My favorite era of the Charlatans had to be at the beginning where the keyboards dictated the direction and Tim would hide behind them vocally. By their 5th cd, the Charlatans began to embrace a more organic sound and started their transition into guitar friendly music. This is where classic rock, R&B and folk rock entered into the mix. I started to drop off at this point and lost interest. The band has come back around and picked up where they left off in '95. They are not playing dated music tho, they are taking bits from that era and mixing them into a new and fresh sound.