Shotters Nation - Babyshambles

It's safe to say I'm not a Pete Doherty fan. It's not just his drugs, its the fact that I don't see his talent. Oh yes, he was good in the Libertines they tell me, but just how much of that was down to Carl Barat is still open to question (and truth be told, I never rated the Libertines either).

Down In Albion certainly suggested cynicism was in order; to be frank it was a complete mess. But that's what you get when you let a junkie have control over proceedings.

Still at least someone has had the sense to draft in producer Stephen Street in for the recording of this album. The producer, famous for his work with The Smiths and Blur to name but two, brings a nice touch of decorum to proceedings. Indeed this album actually feels like a finished product and, quite surprisingly, results in some decent tracks.

The likes of Lost Art Of Murder and There She Goes approach something special, which I suppose will add fuel to the fire of those who insist that Doherty is a genius, not just a dirty, disaffected drug abuser.

The thing is that this is only a handful of tracks. Most of the rest is the kind of standard indie Rock that is slightly a cut above The View's of this world but is still distinctly average. More depressing still is the realisation that this counts as an improvement in the world of Doherty. The main problem remains that Doherty has confused the endless Tabloid stories about himself as a sign that his life is interesting or worth talking about. It's not. And not even Stephen Street can make it worth listening to.