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All or Nothing | 
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| Artist: Subways
Label: Wea
Category: Music
List Price: $13.99
Buy New: $6.06
You Save: $7.93 (57%)
New (47) Used (16) from $4.04
Rating:  4 reviews
Sales Rank: 21814
Media: Audio CD
Discs: 1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.2
Dimensions (in): 5.6 x 5 x 0.5
UPC: 825646952717
EAN: 8256469527172
ASIN: B0019I16A0
Release Date: September 9, 2008
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Shipping: Expedited shipping available
Shipping: International shipping available
Condition: Same day shipping. Free upgrade to 1st Class mail for all CDs. Professional packaging material. Friendly customer service.
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| Tracks:
| • | Girls and Boys | | • | Kalifornia | | • | Alright | | • | Shake! Shake! | | • | Move to Newlyn | | • | All or Nothing | | • | I Won't Let You Down | | • | Turnaround | | • | Obsession | | • | Strawberry Blonde | | • | Always Tomorrow | | • | Lostboy |
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| Editorial Reviews:
Album Description
Long-awaited 2008 sophomore outing from the youthful, Grunge-inspired Brit trio. This album saw the band decamp to L.A. to work with legendary U.S. Alt-Rock producer Butch Vig (Nirvana, Smashing Pumpkins), who beefed up and smoothed out their sound. The result is a considerable sonic progression from the rudimentary Garage Punk of their debut, which sees them absorbing various influences from U.S. Rock history and beyond. Includes the singles 'Alright' and 'Girls & Boys'. Warner.
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| Customer Reviews:
 Who are these people? They are not The Subways! December 6, 2008
J. Stacy
This is a Hollywood, sell-out version of the band. They had such raw talent and so much potential for becoming even better until they ruined themselves with this terrible album. This music sounds just like all the other factory, mass-produced, cookie cutter trash music. I am hugely disappointed.
 Excellent Sophomore Effort! September 11, 2008
Mikie (Goldsboro, NC USA)
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
I've listened to clips from the first Subways album and wasn't impressed for a number of reasons; principally, because it seemed rushed and inconsistent. No offense intended, it just reminded me of a less-mature effort.
On the other hand, I've no such issue with the "All or Nothing" album. Five Stars out of Five Stars! The cohesiveness is evident in the abundant hooks, harmonies, rhythms, and lyrics. The musicianship in general, and guitar work in particular, are seamless and near-flawless! Standout tunes include Shake, Alright, Kalifornia, All or Nothing, Strawberry Blonde, and I Won't Let You Down.
This album rocks with a punk edge, and it's musical twists and turns are unexpected, pleasant surprises. I love the way these three people feed off each other's energies. And it's FUN to dance to! Well Done, kids!
 The Subways are back. September 11, 2008
Bman3rd (United States)
I first heard this band one night while watching the Tonight Show and when he mentioned the name of the band I was about to change the channel like I mostly do when bands play on the Tonight Show but for some reason this time I didn't and they played their song "Oh Yeah" and I was hooked.
Upon first listen, you might think the Subways are yet another American group with a obsession for British pop music and 90s alternative bands. Well you'd be wrong because they're from England.
This is the 2nd album from the British three-piece The Subways. They may remind you of bands like CKY, Paramore, The White Stripes, but they mostly play just good fun indie rock. The band is made up of Brothers Billy Lunn (Singer and guitar), Josh Morgan (Drummer) and Charlotte Cooper (Bassist and singer).
Considering all that The Subways have gone through in the build up to this album (discovery of Josh's autism, breakup of Billy and Charlotte, Billy getting surgery) it is a miracle that this album came out at all. But, like the stuntman (Spanky Spangler) on the album cover, the band have gone through flames and come out the other side and lived to tell the tale. What is more they have come out the other side smiling and they should be smiling. "All or Nothing" is a fantastic album, one that maintains and then builds upon the fantastic pop-song writing from their debut.
After overcoming a number of obstacles that could've put an end to the band and while, the band as a whole have made dramatic improvements all around, the most obvious progress has been made by bassist/vocalist Charlotte. Not only are her vocals featured more prominently but her bass lines are at times superb, and are much more audible as Butch Vig has helped to achieve a fantastic tone from her. Case in point, album opener "Girls & Boys" not only features Lunn and Cooper trading boy/girl vocals in the verse but also a superb bass line that is then repeated by the guitar.
The Subways were close to calling it quits a little over a year after the release of their debut album Young For Eternity. Vocalist Billy Lunn developed nodule, abnormal structures that effect the functioning of an organ, on his vocal cords and for a while it was feared that he would lose his voice. On top of that, Lunn and bassist Charlotte Cooper, who had been dating, went through a messy split. But Lunn overcame his vocal problem and he and Cooper worked through their differences. All of their physical and personal problems led to their second album getting the title All Or Nothing, as they questioned whether they would be able to maintain their popularity following their lengthy absence.
With legendary producer Butch Vig by their side, The Subways have gone all out on their new album and the results are somewhat spectacular.
Billy Lunn: Guitar, vocals
Charlotte Cooper: Bass, vocals
Josh Morgan: Drums
I find something about The Subways to be really refreshing. Perhaps it's their humble background and the fact that they're a trio who have worked so hard to get to where they are and have done it entirely on their own, gaining something of a nice following along the way. They never changed their style to suit what's cool or popular at the time; they've always played the kind of music that they love to play and listen too.
There's been a ton of debate in regards to what kind of band The Subways are. Some label them punk, perhaps primarily because of their look and song lengths. Indie and garage rock are two other labels I've seen thrown at them though those are pretty unfounded. I do think that the band are something of a throwback and yes there are elements of punk, even garage and grunge but at the end of the day, they're simply a rock band and that's all this album is just fun rock music.
"The world is always
some kind of daydream
Another message
that they just don't see
I won't forget
The day you said
The simple things
They are the best
I'm just a kid
An alien
Among the people"
- Girls & Boys
There's no technical masterpiece here. Lunn's vocals aren't that great, the drumming is frantic but all over the place and there's certainly nothing overly complicated about anything Lunn is doing with the guitar (although the album's opening riff is sweet) but all that aside, All Or Nothing is a tremendous fist-pumping album packed with high-octane choruses and anthem like verses.
Subject matter is varied on this album, unlike their previous effort where most tracks were written about Lunn's childhood. Here, Billy expresses his views on a range of subjects. The first three tracks center primarily on the state of society as he sees it, while others examine the break up between Lunn and Cooper and others are about Lunn's relationship with his new partner. The varied topics cover the past, present and future of The Subways and make for a pretty reflective album, and reinforces the "go for broke" attitude that was a big part of this album's creation.
"I'm calling out to you from the basement
I got a need to feel so I Shake! Shake!
You got a problem with me, say it
I couldn't care if we lose"
- Shake! Shake!
"Shake! Shake!", definitely one of the best songs on the album, is a track about escaping that monotony of life, which was the reason Lunn created The Subways in the first place. The song is about letting go of pent up emotions and not caring about what's going on around you and want people think of you. The lyrics themselves are not overly complicated but they do a good job of getting the message across, which is a pattern throughout the album.
While the likes of "Shake! Shake!" and "Kalifornia" will get the pulse rating and head banging, The Subways seem to have finally mastered the more melodic approach to song writing. "Move To Newlyn" is a song of hope that starts off with some acoustic strumming and is driven by a subtle drumbeat. It picks up pace as it progresses but still has more of chilled out vibe. "Strawberry Blonde" is the closest thing this album has to a ballad, but the chorus prevents it from becoming cliched and the sing-along line of sing a song for my lonely soul, makes it not just memorable, but one of the best tracks. "Lostboy", the album's closing number is similar but fails to leave that same lasting impression.
"You're the matador and I'm the bull
You're the brass key hole I fit into
You're the wind
and I'm the weathervane
You're the strawberry blonde
and I'm the grey
You're the light
and I am the firefly
You're the star and
I am the blackened sky"
- Strawberry Blonde
What I think helps make All Or Nothing so much stronger than the band's previous effort is the fact that Charlotte has much more vocal work to do on this one. Her voice shines through on many of the better songs ("Turnaround", "Shake! Shake!", "Move To Newlyn") and is a fantastic compliment to Lunn's gruff tones. Her voice is obviously much more soothing and comes more naturally but I think the pairing works together really well.
All Or Nothing delivers and it delivers big time. All the promise that the band showed on their debut could have gone to waste following all of their struggles but thankfully they got through them because this is a very good rock album that shows why so many people really like this band. What you see is what you get with them. They're just three people who love making music and they do it so well, presenting a collection of songs that are nice to listen to.
If I had to make one criticism it would be that Charlotte gets almost no solo singing time like on the first album and that's quite a shame because she has an absolutely fantastic voice and was a real stand out on the first album.
dissapointment August 6, 2008
Mr. L. Pokorny (Czech Republic)
0 out of 1 found this review helpful
after having been blown away by the young for eternity I could not wait to hear Subways' new album. what a dissapointment! i just did not find a single track I would enjoy as much as I enjoyed the simple beuaty of Rock'n Roll Queen or, more so, With You, song I totally fell in love with. i don't know what are the reasons for that, it just did not live up to my expectations and it's a shame
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