Men's Needs, Women's Needs, Whatever

Men's Needs, Women's Needs, Whatever is the third studio album by English indie rock band the Cribs. It was released on 21 May 2007 through Wichita Recordings in the UK and Warner Bros. Records in the U.S. Critically acclaimed, the album propelled the band into a greater audience, reaching number thirteen on the UK Album Charts, number nine on the annual 'Albums of the Year' by influential UK music magazine NME and various other end-of-year lists. The album's lead single, "Men's Needs", also reached number three in the same NME chart.

Men's Needs, Women's Needs, Whatever
Studio album by
Released21 May 2007
RecordedAutumn 2006 – Spring 2007
Studio
Genre
Length42:23
Label
ProducerAlex Kapranos
The Cribs chronology
The New Fellas
(2005)
Men's Needs, Women's Needs, Whatever
(2007)
Ignore The Ignorant
(2009)
Singles from Men's Needs, Women's Needs, Whatever
  1. "Men's Needs"
    Released: 14 May 2007
  2. "Moving Pictures"
    Released: 30 July 2007
  3. "Don't You Wanna Be Relevant? / Our Bovine Public"
    Released: 15 October 2007
  4. "I'm a Realist"
    Released: 25 February 2008
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
Allmusic[2]
Drowned In Sound [3]
NME[4]
Okayplayer[5]
Pitchfork(6.7/10)[6]
Playlouder[7]
Robert Christgau(3-star Honorable Mention)(3-star Honorable Mention)(3-star Honorable Mention)[1]
Rolling Stone[8]

Background and recording edit

At the conclusion of The New Fellas campaign, the Cribs signed a major label deal with Warner Bros. Records in North America, retaining Wichita Recordings in the UK and Ireland. Recording for the album began in autumn 2006 with Franz Ferdinand lead vocalist Alex Kapranos as producer at the Warehouse Studio, Vancouver, British Columbia. With the majority of the album recorded, the band undertook a run of small club dates to preview the new songs, captured on the accompanying Leave too Neat documentary. Further sessions took place at Avatar, New York City in spring 2007, producing "Be Safe", a collaboration with Lee Ranaldo of Sonic Youth, and "Shoot the Poets", which closes the record. David Corcos engineered the sessions, whereas Andy Wallace mixed the record, with all the songs receiving mastering treatment at Alchemy, London, from John Davis.[9]

Composition edit

Rob Crane designed the cover and inlay artwork with the photograph originally being taken by Bert Hardy, with Bob Taylor photographing the Belle Vue stadium shot and Janette Beckman taking the couch shot. Gary plays bass and provides vocals, Ross sticks to drums and Ryan takes guitar and vocal duties. Lee Ranaldo takes on lead vocals for "Be Safe".

Singles edit

The album produced four singles: "Men's Needs" preceded on 14 May 2007, with "Moving Pictures" following on 30 July. The double a-side "Don't You Wanna Be Relevant?"/"Our Bovine Public" introduced a new song recorded shortly after the album sessions finished on 15 October, and "I'm a Realist" closed the run on 25 February 2008.

Reissue edit

On July 29, 2022, The Cribs released reissues of their first three albums, the main reason for which was because the albums' vinyl editions had been out of print for some time.[10] After regaining the rights and master tapes for the albums through the legal battle that caused the band's inactivity several years prior, they spent 2021 sifting through their archives for bonus material to include on the reissues.[11] All three reissued albums entered the Top Ten of the midweek UK Albums Chart.[10]

Accolades edit

Publication Accolade Year Rank
NME Albums of the Year 2007
NME Tracks of the year ('Men's Needs') 2007
Rolling Stone Tracks of the year ('Men's Needs') 2007
NME Awards 2007 Album of the year 2007
nominated[15]
NME Awards 2007 Single of the year ('Men's Needs') 2007
nominated[15]

Track listing edit

All tracks are written by Ryan Jarman, Gary Jarman and Ross Jarman except where noted

No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Our Bovine Public" 2:17
2."Girls Like Mystery" 2:51
3."Men's Needs" 3:16
4."Moving Pictures" 3:10
5."I'm a Realist" 3:03
6."Major's Titling Victory" 2:45
7."Women's Needs" 4:34
8."I've Tried Everything" 2:46
9."My Life Flashed Before My Eyes" 3:30
10."Be Safe"
5:55
11."Ancient History" 4:49
12."Shoot the Poets" 3:27
Digital bonus track[16][17]
No.TitleLength
13."Fairer Sex"2:55
Definitive Edition Disc 2
No.TitleWriter(s)Producer(s)Length
1."It Happened So Fast" (Vancouver Version) Alex Kapranos3:12
2."To Jackson" (Vancouver Version) Kapranos3:05
3."Don't You Wanna Be Relevant?" 
  • The Cribs
  • Will Jackson
3:01
4."Fairer Sex" Kapranos2:53
5."Tonight" Kapranos2:47
6."Get Yr Hands Out Of My Grave" 
  • The Cribs
  • Will Jackson
3:38
7."Kind Words From The Broken Hearted" 
  • The Cribs
  • Sebastian Lewsley
3:38
8."My Adolescent Dreams" 
  • The Cribs
  • Sebastian Lewsley
2:29
9."Bastards of Young"Paul Westerberg3:39
10."I've Tried Everything" (Acoustic)  3:15
11."Men's Needs" (CSS Remix) 
4:16
12."I'm a Realist" (The Postal Service Remix) 3:05
13."Our Bovine Public" (Demo)  2:18
14."Men's Needs" (Demo)  3:13
15."Moving Pictures" (Demo)  3:13
16."I'm a Realist" (Demo)  3:03
17."MTV" (Demo)  2:48
18."My Life Flashed Before My Eyes" (Demo)  3:44
19."Ancient History" (Demo)  4:58
20."Tonight" (Demo)  2:57
21."I've Tried Everything" (Demo)  2:48
22."Shoot the Poets" (Demo)  4:07
23."Be Safe" (Rehearsal Tape for Lee)  7:17

Charts edit

Chart (2012) Peak
position
UK Albums Chart[18] 13
Chart (2022) Peak
position]
UK Independent Albums (OCC)[19] 1

References edit

  1. ^ a b Christgau, Robert. "The Cribs: Men's Needs, Women's Needs, Whatever". Robertchristgau.com. Robert Christgau.
  2. ^ Phares, Heather. "The Cribs: Men's Needs, Women's Needs, Whatever". allmusic.com. Allmusic.
  3. ^ Denney, Alex. "The Cribs: Men's Needs, Women's Needs, Whatever". Drowned In Sound. Archived from the original on 7 July 2007.
  4. ^ Jonze, Tim (23 May 2007). "The Cribs: Men's Needs, Women's Needs, Whatever". NME.
  5. ^ Roussell, Adam. "The Cribs: Men's Needs, Women's Needs, Whatever". Okayplayer. Archived from the original on 30 March 2008.
  6. ^ Berman, Stuart (19 July 2007). "The Cribs: Men's Needs, Women's Needs, Whatever". Pitchfork. Archived from the original on 15 December 2007.
  7. ^ "The Cribs: Men's Needs Women's Needs Whatever (2007) review PLAYLOUDER". Archived from the original on 23 May 2007. Retrieved 30 May 2007.
  8. ^ "Rolling Stone : Men's Needs, Women's Needs, Whatever : Review". Rolling Stone. 16 June 2007. Archived from the original on 16 June 2007. Retrieved 7 December 2021.
  9. ^ "The Cribs Find a Home with Alex Kapranos". Spinner.com. Archived from the original on 20 May 2007. Retrieved 15 October 2012.
  10. ^ a b Trendell, Andrew (2 August 2022). "The Cribs on gatecrashing the Top 10 with their first three albums: "It's perverse!"". NME. Retrieved 19 August 2022.
  11. ^ "The Cribs announce deluxe reissues of first three albums". DIY. 26 May 2022. Retrieved 19 August 2022.
  12. ^ "NME's best albums and tracks of 2007". Nme.com. 10 October 2016. Retrieved 7 December 2021.
  13. ^ "NME's best albums and tracks of 2007". NME. 10 October 2016.
  14. ^ "Rolling Stone's Top Single Of The Year Is Not "Umbrella"". Stereogum.com. 13 December 2007. Retrieved 7 December 2021.
  15. ^ a b "Shockwaves NME Awards 2007: nominations announced". Nme.com. 29 January 2007. Retrieved 7 December 2021.
  16. ^ Men's Needs, Women's Needs, Whatever (DMD Album + Bonus Track) [Explicit] https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00122KYPQ/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_glt_G2S683NB6BZ3QMHTSRQB
  17. ^ "Men's Needs, Women's Needs, Whatever by the Cribs". 12 May 2007.
  18. ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 28 November 2010. Retrieved 15 October 2012.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  19. ^ "Official Independent Albums Chart Top 50". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 5 August 2022.

External links edit