People Move On

People Move On is the debut album from English singer-songwriter Bernard Butler released in 1998. The album proved a successful start to his solo career receiving generally positive reviews from critics. The album charted at number 11 on the UK Albums Chart. Following the album's success, Butler was nominated for a BRIT award as best new male artist.[3]

People Move On
Studio album by Bernard Butler
Released	6 April 1998
Recorded	Spring-summer 1997
Studio	RAK Studios, NW8; Air Studios, NW3, London
Genre	Pop,[1][2] rock[1]
Length	63:39
Label	Creation
Producer	Bernard Butler
Bernard Butler chronology
People Move On (1998) Friends and Lovers (1999)
Singles from People Move On
"Stay" Released: 5 January 1998 "Not Alone" Released: 16 March 1998 "A Change of Heart" Released: 15 June 1998

Background

Following his split from soul singer David McAlmont in 1995 and a three-year absence from the public eye, Butler re-emerged on Alan McGee's Creation label for his debut solo album. A year earlier McGee had, in fact, dubbed him the "Neil Young of the Nineties".[4] Butler wrote all the songs, produced the album and played all the instruments, except drums and strings,[5] which were played by Makoto Sakamoto and The Brilliant Strings respectively. According to Butler, most of the ideas on the album were created in the studio, with only four songs written beforehand.[6]

Drawing influences from classic rock from the late 60s and 70s, Lucy O'Brien of The Independent wrote: "People Move On echoes the early Seventies cool rock singer/songwriting era in its heartfelt sentiment and warm, melodic approach." Though Butler has stressed that it isn't a "retro record".[4] Some songs on the record have a Spector-esque influence, which according to Mac Randall of Rolling Stone, display an "old-fashioned big-pop-production quality."[2]

Reception

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[7]
The Guardian	[8]
The Independent	[9]
Melody Maker	[10]
NME	7/10[11]
Pitchfork	5.1/10[12]
Q	[13]
Rolling Stone	[2]
The Times	[14]
Uncut	[15]

The album was released to generally positive reviews.[16] Writing in 1999, Neil McCormick of The Telegraph said that "People Move On, was greeted with a kind of astonished acclaim," which was "far better, quite frankly, than anyone expected."[17] Bernard Zuel of The Sydney Morning Herald said: "I was prepared to like this; I was surprised to find myself loving it."[18] However, several critics picked up on Butler's vocal abilities as a point of criticism.[1][4][7] One reviewer felt that "his voice doesn't carry enough weight to give the songs a killer instinct."[9] In response to the criticism Butler stated: "I'm not claiming I'm a technically talented singer... but my voice allowed me to express a part of me I had found very difficult to express in conversation before."[19] However, David Cheal of The Telegraph disagreed with other critics' views, saying "he hits all the notes and his voice has a distinctive quality."[5]

Simon Evans of the Birmingham Post highly praised the album awarding it five out of five. He felt that, "Butler has at last delivered the kind of high-grade solo album he always seemed capable of when he finally gave up the celebrity sessioning." Comparing the album to the last output by fellow Creation label band Oasis, he said: "this is the kind of tuneful, fun, album Oasis should have made after Morning Glory, until their ambitions expanded exponentially with their egos."[20] Andy Gill of The Independent alluded to the album's classic rock influences, and aside from "the occasional ponderous moment... it is a notable, and welcome, success." He went on to say: "Butler's sheer ambition hoists most tracks to their optimum level, allowing him for the first time to be defined by his future rather than his past."[21]

Commercial performance

Singles released from the album were "Stay", "Not Alone" and "A Change of Heart". The album peaked at No. 11 on the UK Albums Chart. "Stay" was the highest charting single, peaking at no. 12.[22] The album was certified gold in the UK selling over 100,000 copies.[3]

Track listing

All songs written by Bernard Butler

No.	Title	Length
1.	"Woman I Know"	7:51
2.	"You Just Know"	4:39
3.	"People Move On"	4:39
4.	"A Change of Heart"	4:41
5.	"Autograph"	8:45
6.	"You Light the Fire"	3:53
7.	"Not Alone"	3:52
8.	"When You Grow"	5:25
9.	"You've Got What It Takes"	4:50
10.	"Stay"	5:18
11.	"In Vain"	4:55
12.	"I'm Tired"	4:54

Personnel

• Bernard Butler - guitar, keyboards, vocals
• Makoto Sakamoto - drums, percussion

with:

• Nick Wollage - saxophone on "Autograph" and "Not Alone"
• George Shilling - cello on "When You Grow"
• Richard Bissill - French horn on "When You Grow"
• Denise Johnson - backing vocals on "Woman I Know", "People Move On", "Autograph" and "Stay"
• Edwyn Collins - backing vocals on "Not Alone"
• The Brilliant Strings (Gini Ball, Jackie Norrie, Margaret Roseberry, Anne Wood, Anna Hemery, Sally Herbert, Anne Stephenson - violin; Dinah Beamish, Siân Bell - cello; Chris Pitisillides, Ellen Blair - viola; conducted by Billy McGee) - strings on "Woman I Know", A Change of Heart", "Not Alone" and "When You Grow"
• Bernard Butler, Billy McGee - string arrangements

Technical

• George Shilling, Bernard Butler - mixing
• George Shilling (Air), Nick Wollage (Rak) - recording engineers
• Amber Rowlands, Jill Furmanovsky - photography

References

1. Gershon, Stephen (11 June 1998). "Rotation: Bernard Butler - People Move On". Houston Press. Retrieved 31 May 2013.
2. Randall, Mac (17 June 1998). "Bernard Butler: People Move On". Rolling Stone Archived at Wayback Machine. Archived from the original on 15 July 2007. Retrieved 13 June 2013.
3. Hay, Carla (4 March 2000). "Popular Uprisings". Billboard. Retrieved 6 August 2013 – via Google Books.
4. O'Brien, Lucy (5 April 1998). "We don't need another hero: Interview: Bernard Butler". The Independent. Retrieved 29 April 2019.
5. Cheal, David (4 April 1998). "Pop CD of the week". Daily Telegraph. Archived from the original on 2 April 2011.
6. "Butler Does It For Chrissie". NME. 14 September 1998. Retrieved 30 July 2013.
7. Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. People Move on review AllMusic
8. Sullivan, Caroline (3 April 1998). "Music: Pop cd of the week". The Guardian. p. T019.
9. Lewis, Angela (11 April 1998). "Bernard Butler: People Move On". The Independent.
10. Myers, Ben (4 April 1998). "Bernard Butler: People Move On". Melody Maker. Retrieved 10 June 2017 – via Rock's Backpages.
11. Sutherland, Steve. "Bernard Butler - People Move On". NME. Archived from the original on 17 August 2000. Retrieved 10 February 2017.
12. DiCrescenzo, Brent. "Bernard Butler - People Move On". Pitchfork. Archived from the original on 16 August 2000. Retrieved 20 November 2017.
13. Collins, Andrew (May 1998). "Self-assured". Q (140): 96.
14. Eccleston, Danny (4 April 1998). "Butler did it". The Times. p. 10.
15. Aiken, Kit (May 1998). "Bernard Butler - People Move On". Uncut. No. 12. p. 83.
16. Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "Bernard Butler Biography". AllMusic. Retrieved 17 June 2013.
17. McCormick, Neil (23 October 1999). "The Arts: Too nice Pop CDs". The Daily Telegraph. p. 10.
18. Zuel, Bernard (8 May 1998). "Sounds right". The Sydney Morning Herald. p. 50.
19. McCormick, Neil (8 October 1998). "The guitar man finds his voice". Daily Telegraph. Archived from the original on 13 July 2018.
20. Evans, Simon (4 April 1998). "CD Reviews". Birmingham Post. Retrieved 19 June 2020 – via Questia.
21. Gill, Andy (3 April 1998). "Music: Andy Gill's round-up". The Independent. Retrieved 17 June 2013.
22. "Artist Chart History: Bernard Butler". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 15 June 2013.

External links

• People Move On at YouTube (streamed copy where licensed)