I am indeed a Leicester City supporter.
Jordan is from Middlesbrough, but as far as I know, he doesn't support
Middlesbrough. Mary is an adopted Leicester City fan and Johnny, Jake,
Cornelius and Steven are all stateside. Which allows me to say... Music Review
Database is a (un)official Leicester City follower. There's something quite
profound about football songs. New Order's only number one single was a
football song, "World In Motion". It's catchy, and incredibly cheesy. John
Barnes delivers a rap verse and Keith Allen's penned chorus (in-ger-land) adds
to the humour and worldwide recognition as England's number one football song.
I feel cherished to own a copy of this album. An album which many Leicester
City fans may not have heard, and may not ever hear. This album is dated and
it's very subjective in terms of lyrical content, but it's astonishingly
beautiful.
It starts with a wah-wah guitar and an
instrumental dating back to 1974. City legends Frank Worthington and Keith
Weller are among the Leicester team giving the vocal. "This Is The Season For Us" has lovely vocal hooks and the brass endings are significant over the wah
wah and distorted team vocal. The same team return on the following track "The
Tank". Peter Shilton (Leicester's best keeper since Gordon Banks) is present
and adds to the fame. This track has a military twang. The country beat is
noticeable and the talkative vocal shines bright among the brass hooks and
drumming breaks. The football traditional anthems can be heard as the
pre-chorus.
"Champions" has a lad vibe. The vocal
is respectful and has a banging trumpet running in the background. The vocal
takes control as the lads talk about other teams 'fearing' then manager Jock
Wallace. This period included the well-known Gary Lineker, who may have been
present during the recording (pending response from Gary). The Band of The
Royal Marines perform the "Post Horn Gallop" to great appreciation. This is an
outstanding instrumental and an instrumental used by Leicester City as their
opening music for many years. It's delightful to hear and has many fast paced
segments and slower, more melancholic segments of pure military wooziness.
The jangly "Yes We're Back" is among
the most futile on the album. The lyrics are bland and have and have a
charismatic, subjective approach to Leicester’s 'superiority'. It becomes
tiring listening to the verses because the lyrics don't match reality. The
chorus has some existence, as Leicester are forever jogging between divisions.
It's the longest track at 4.43, and rightfully has a 90's dance theme among the
twinkling percussion and electronic beat. Then "Oh Leicester City" enters with
offensive prejudice to Trinidad & Tobago. The 'calypso' instrumental takes
on a thunderous drum beat and Caribbean percussion to ignite the laddish vocal
with intoxication and 'de man' vocal hooks.
"Follow The Foxes" is among my
favourites from the compilation. It has a brilliant brass section which is used
in allegiance to the electronic football cheers and the high pitched drones.
The drum beat is much like New Order or Kraftwerk, with the vocalists 'The Back
Four' singing with passion. They continue this on the reverberated "The Glory
Boys In Blue". With clapping and 'LEICESTER' screams, the track has a decisive
vocal which raises the spirits of any football fan. I can guarantee they'll
have you singing along in unison. The chorus and verses are like primary school
music lessons. I can't pin their names down to the era, but the four singers deliver
the basics. Sometimes it's the basics that create something quite prolific: "Hear
the cheer of city fans everywhere, showing us that you really care."
"Blue Army Blues" delivers a
lounge-esque instrumental with the 'Jamaican'-esque vocal with the repetitive
'BLUE ARMY!!' chants being used as the chorus. This whole album is both awful
and amazing at the same time. Kev Price sings the woeful "Wembley Roar", the
sad track on the album. It's about Leicester’s ever increasing visits to
Wembley football stadium for play-off hopes and league cup attempts. The track
has a nice acoustic guitar, but the computerized 'reggae' style annoys the
values out of me. Taking a change of direction with "The FNF Rap". "Filbert Fox
Songs" deliver two tracks of Christmas event fun. The FNF Rap has a brilliant
beat and an exciting vocal but has pretty standard lyrics. It's not as
memorable as 'The Filbert Fox Song'. It's like 'Aqua' gone football. Kids
scream in joy with Filbert the Fox, Leicester's mascot. The vocal is very basic
and hyper filled, with energetic computerised beats... Nothing to see here.
High hopes and a past manager is
reflected in the enigmatic "We're Going Up". It has a brilliant pre-chorus
section when the Leicester boys sing the 'e i e i e i o' track only
pre-premiership teams know. This track has a fantastic beat and a courteous
vocal which separates itself from every other track on the album as a clear
standout. The wah-wah guitar returns for the updated version of "This Is The
Season For Us". It's not exactly updated, it's just lost some of its
stature.
"Flowing Tears" is another depressing
Leicester City track. it's about Leicester’s woes at Wembley in 1993 and 1992.
It's not the strongest of tracks, but it does have an exciting chorus. "Come
And Join Us" is both cheesy and brilliant. It's not the fastest or strongest of
instrumentals, but the chorus has its pros. The whole track is one computer
filled mimic. "The Joe Jordanaires" then deliver the best track on the album, "Frank Worthington". Its hilarity is ensured by the outstanding Elvis Presley
impression. Kev Price wraps off his three tracks with the namedropping "Leicester Boys". He mentions Peter Shilton and Gary Lineker among many born
and bred Leicester boys who are now famous. It's a delicious look back at Leicester’s
great football heritage.
Punk guitars and an 'Oi!' styled vocal
closes off the album with 'Ray Nardfox' singing "We're Back Where We Belong".
The pre-chorus build up is outstanding is amazing, and then the blue army
chorus of the title track just blows through the speakers like a Wire track.
It's a delightful ending to the album, from the 1974 "This Is The Season For Us"
to the long winded "Yes We're Back", this album has everything you need to be a well-respected,
well informed Leicester City fan driving to an away game.
~Eddie
