Time For Heroes - The Best Of The Libertines

We Say...

Review by Johnny Black

It’s inevitably controversial when a band with just two albums to its credit releases a best of compilation, so here’s what I suggest: Imagine you know nothing about the Libertines (unless, of course, you actually do know nothing about the Libertines). Nothing about Pete Doherty’s drug problems, nothing about the on-again off-again feud between Pete and his co-Libertine Carl Barat, nothing about the media frenzy that surrounded Pete’s romance with Kate Moss, nothing about their self-confessed origins as a deliberate clone of the Strokes. Nothing.

If you can do all of this, and just listen without prejudice, there’s a lot of fun in store on Time for Heroes. Listening to the Libertines with fresh ears delivers all the edgy frisson of watching a decidedly tipsy high wire act performing blindfolded with no safety net — you know it’s brilliant but you can’t help worrying that it’s all about to come tumbling down.

Listen to the tracks in order of release and it becomes evident that on their double a-side debut "What Waster"/"I Get Along," and on the second single, "Up the Bracket," they seem completely in control, tight, smart and powerful without being bombastic. The foot eases off the accelerator a little for their second single, the compilation’s title track, a bizarre mixture of conflict with the police and romantic yearnings. ("Mayday" sticks with the same thematic material but dressed in much more appropriately aggressive musical clobber.) By the time they get to "Don’t Look Back into the Sun," an unmistakable touch of Itchy & Scratchy madness is creeping into the proceedings. They’re still clearly the most passionate British band of their era, but musically things are falling apart a bit, a state of affairs confirmed by "Tell the King" which bears all the hallmarks of a truly great song coming off the rails.

Great songs, of course, are what hold the whole thing together. Unlike some of the critically lauded drug-addled albums of yore (think Syd Barrett or late-period Hendrix) Time for Heroes never flags in terms of its material. There are fans who will carp at the absence of "Good Old Days," but even the oft-criticised "What Katie Did" is a fine piece of work with its cod '50s vocal intro and its insights into the Doherty-Moss relationship. (Dammit, I forgot you know nothing about that.)

Inevitably, it came as something of a blow to their hip credibility when the Libertines dared to have a huge UK hit with "Can’t Stand Me Now" but, in retrospect, it’s another beautifully written song, melodically and lyrically, even if its finer qualities are undercut somewhat by Doherty’s slurred vocal and a hilarious closing harmonica solo that even Bob Dylan, the master of dodgy harp riffarama, wouldn’t have allowed onto his debut album.

Both of the band’s producers, Mick Jones, formerly of the Clash, and Bernard Butler, formerly of Suede, had enough sense to keep the sound loose and splashy, setting the songs in an expressionistic sonic landscape that suits them well. Also, although the compiler of this set has suffered some criticism, it’s obvious that some thought has gone not just into the selection but into the running order. Think of those two consecutive riot-related songs, or the fact that the set closes with "What Became of the Likely Lads," which details the deterioration of the relationship between Barat and Doherty.

Personally, I’d have liked to have both versions of maniacally over-driven "I Get Along" on here, and with just 13 songs total, there’s room to spare. Even so, this remains a cracking collection of great songs by a band that was doomed never to fulfill its abundant potential.