The Charlatans formed in West Midlands, England in 1988, and while having virtually no success in the U.S. (none of their singles have hit the Billboard Hot 100, and only two of their albums have reached the Billboard 200, with their debut LP peaking the highest at #73), they have had a mammoth career in their native U.K. They released their debut album in 1980 and it was an immediate success, hitting #1 on the U.K. Albums Chart. The Charlatans have put together a nice string of hit singles and albums, while expanding and experimenting with their sound, over the past thirty-five years, and not surprisingly have mixed in numerous tours. For their career, they have released thirteen studio albums (nine of which have hit the top ten in the U.K., with three #1's), three live albums, and six compilations. The band has also released 48 singles, four of which peaked in the top ten on the U.K. Singles Chart. The band is still touring; sadly, original members Rob Collins (auto accident, 1995) and Jon Brookes (cancer, 2013) are no longer with them. The Charlatans haven't released a new studio album since 2017.
Fun Fact: Due to there already being a band called The Charlatans in the U.S., for a number of years the English version had to dub themselves The Charlatans U.K. here in the States.
"Impossible" was the third single from their 1999 album the rather selfishly entitled Us and Us Only. The single hit #15 on the U.K. Singles Chart, while the album reached #2 on the U.K. Albums Chart.
Opening with some thickly strummed and stark acoustic guitar, "Impossible" lets you know right off the bat that it's not going to be just another single. A little later a jaunty piano joins in, followed closely by some driving drums and the song becomes catch-catch-catchy as all hell. The lyrics chronicle a dying (if not dead) relationship, and while they're definitely a cut above the usual pop music fare, they're also a bit on the bitter side--not quite a "fuck you" but not far from it either. As I listened to it while doing my weekly half-assed research, it struck me that the song--both musically and vocally--was reminiscent of mid to late sixties Bob Dylan, only to discover that, sure enough the band had been fans of, and the album was influenced by, Dylan (among others). When my daughter first sent it to me, it was a song I wanted to hear again and again--and some twenty odd years later I still turn the volume up just a little bit more when I hear it, and it won't be long before I'm back for yet another listen....
Lyric Sheet: "You can't kill an idea cause it's raining/Keep it in the family, keep it in the kids/You know, they're all handing out free tickets/This big old boat is-a-startin' to sink..."
Enjoy:
Republicans = Nazis
Peace,
emaycee
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