Road to Rouen
The fifth album, recorded in a converted barn in Normandy with strings and horns.
Supergrass, 2005
- Released
- 15 August 2005
- Recorded
- 2004 to 2005
- Studio
- Studio St. Mard, near Rouen, France
- Label
- Parlophone
- Producer
- Supergrass
- Length
- 35:19
The band left Sawmills, where their first three albums were made, for Studio St. Mard, a converted barn near Rouen, working with the engineer Pierre Olivier Margerand. The title refers to the city and to the Ramones' 1978 album Road to Ruin. They used zithers, ukuleles, brass, strings and a drum machine, and St. Petersburg was recorded in one take with no overdubs. Goffey said they chose to make an album without a three-minute single.
It reached number nine in the UK. Singles were St. Petersburg, Low C and Fin. Pitchfork's Joe Tangari called it their least exciting album yet, while praising the title track and Roxy. In 2020 The Observer's Nosheen Iqbal named it, with In It for the Money and Supergrass, among three consistently great albums.
Track listing
- Tales of Endurance (Parts 4, 5 & 6)5:31
- St. Petersburg3:09
- Sad Girl3:37
- Roxy6:17
- Coffee in the Pot1:49
- Road to Rouen3:51
- Kick in the Teeth3:36
- Low C4:16
- Fin3:11
Personnel
- Gaz Coombes vocals, guitar
- Mick Quinn bass, vocals
- Danny Goffey drums
- Robert Coombes keyboards
- Pierre Olivier Margerand engineer
- Michael Ilbert mixing
- Simon Hale string and horn arrangements, conductor
More from Supergrass
I Should Coco (1995), In It for the Money (1997), Supergrass (1999), Life on Other Planets (2002), Diamond Hoo Ha (2008)
Sources
- Road to Rouen, Wikipedia
- Supergrass: Road to Rouen, Pitchfork (2005-08-29)
- Supergrass: 'We've always been about manic energy', The Guardian (2020-02-23)