A Grand Don't Come for Free
Encyclopedia
A Grand Don't Come for Free is the second studio album from British garage
and Hip hop
act The Streets
. It was released on 18 May 2004 and is listed in the book 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die
. It is a concept album
which follows the story of its protagonist's relationship with a girl named Simone.
, slightly higher than his previous album, which scored 90/100. Many critics have noted Skinner's difference in style compared to other artists. Trouser Press
said that "Skinner seems both edgier and more contemplative." The Guardian
described that the album "raises the stakes to such an extent that it sounds literally unprecedented: there isn't really any other album like this.", and PopMatters
described that Skinner "is now in a class all his own; nobody else is making music like this. Austin Chronicle
named the album "The first hip-hop classic of the new millennium." However, Playlouder
criticized the album's hooks
, describing most as "Appalling - a few, sung by Skinner, like 'Such A Twat', and opener 'It Was Supposed To Be So Easy' are enjoyable, but when he lets his mates croon soupily all over his beats, shit gets distinctly unpleasant." Online music magazine
Pitchfork Media
placed A Grand Don't Come for Free at number 129 on their list of top 200 albums of the 2000s. Likewise, music magazine NME
placed the album at number 16 on their list of "top 50 albums of the noughties".
1000, or a "grand" in slang terms, and strives to recoup the money.
In the first track on the album, "It Was Supposed to Be So Easy", he attempts seemingly simple events for the day but they do not go according to plan. When he comes home he cannot find the thousand pounds he has saved and his television is broken. In the process of trying to recover the money he:
" reached number four on the UK Singles Charts with the second single, "Dry Your Eyes
" entering the UK Charts at number one. The album itself reached number one in the UK Album Charts, number eleven in Australia and number eighty-two in the United States. Two other singles - "Blinded by the Lights" and "Could Well Be In" - were released, but failed to earn as much recognition as the previous two.
UK garage
UK garage is a genre of electronic dance music originating from the United Kingdom in the early-1990s. UK garage is a descendant of house music which originated in Chicago and New York, United States. UK garage usually features a distinctive syncopated 4/4 percussive rhythm with 'shuffling'...
and Hip hop
Hip hop music
Hip hop music, also called hip-hop, rap music or hip-hop music, is a musical genre consisting of a stylized rhythmic music that commonly accompanies rapping, a rhythmic and rhyming speech that is chanted...
act The Streets
The Streets
The Streets were a British rap/garage project from Birmingham, United Kingdom, led by vocalist and multi-instrumentalist Mike Skinner and has included a myriad of other contributors most notably drummer Johnny Drum Machine, vocalist Kevin Mark Trail and the Italian-American beatmaker Leroy.The...
. It was released on 18 May 2004 and is listed in the book 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die
1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die
1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die is a musical reference book edited by Robert Dimery, first published in 2005. The most recent edition consists of a list of albums released between 1955 and 2010, part of a series from Quintessence Editions Ltd...
. It is a concept album
Concept album
In music, a concept album is an album that is "unified by a theme, which can be instrumental, compositional, narrative, or lyrical." Commonly, concept albums tend to incorporate preconceived musical or lyrical ideas rather than being improvised or composed in the studio, with all songs contributing...
which follows the story of its protagonist's relationship with a girl named Simone.
Track listing
All songs written and Composed by Mike SkinnerCritical reception
Critical response from the album, like from his previous album, was near universally positive. It currently scores 91/100 on MetacriticMetacritic
Metacritic.com is a website that collates reviews of music albums, games, movies, TV shows and DVDs. For each product, a numerical score from each review is obtained and the total is averaged. An excerpt of each review is provided along with a hyperlink to the source. Three colour codes of Green,...
, slightly higher than his previous album, which scored 90/100. Many critics have noted Skinner's difference in style compared to other artists. Trouser Press
Trouser Press
Trouser Press was a rock and roll magazine started in New York in 1974 as a mimeographed fanzine by editor/publisher Ira Robbins, fellow Who fan Dave Schulps and Karen Rose under the name "Trans-Oceanic Trouser Press" ...
said that "Skinner seems both edgier and more contemplative." The Guardian
The Guardian
The Guardian, formerly known as The Manchester Guardian , is a British national daily newspaper in the Berliner format...
described that the album "raises the stakes to such an extent that it sounds literally unprecedented: there isn't really any other album like this.", and PopMatters
PopMatters
PopMatters is an international webzine of cultural criticism that covers many aspects of popular culture. PopMatters publishes reviews, interviews, and detailed essays on most cultural products and expressions in areas such as music, television, films, books, video games, comics, sports, theater,...
described that Skinner "is now in a class all his own; nobody else is making music like this. Austin Chronicle
Austin Chronicle
The Austin Chronicle is an alternative weekly, tabloid-style newspaper published every Thursday in Austin, Texas, United States. The paper is distributed through free news-stands, often at local eateries or coffee houses frequented by its targeted demographic...
named the album "The first hip-hop classic of the new millennium." However, Playlouder
PlayLouder
Playlouder is a digital music and media company. It is a music site which provides news, reviews, and other related content. It also claims to be the world's first Music Service Provider or MSP — a broadband, Internet Service Provider that bundles access to music content with broadband...
criticized the album's hooks
Refrain
A refrain is the line or lines that are repeated in music or in verse; the "chorus" of a song...
, describing most as "Appalling - a few, sung by Skinner, like 'Such A Twat', and opener 'It Was Supposed To Be So Easy' are enjoyable, but when he lets his mates croon soupily all over his beats, shit gets distinctly unpleasant." Online music magazine
Online magazine
An online magazine shares some features with a blog and also with online newspapers, but can usually be distinguished by its approach to editorial control...
Pitchfork Media
Pitchfork Media
Pitchfork Media, usually known simply as Pitchfork or P4k, is a Chicago-based daily Internet publication established in 1995 that is devoted to music criticism and commentary, music news, and artist interviews. Its focus is on underground and independent music, especially indie rock...
placed A Grand Don't Come for Free at number 129 on their list of top 200 albums of the 2000s. Likewise, music magazine NME
NME
The New Musical Express is a popular music publication in the United Kingdom, published weekly since March 1952. It started as a music newspaper, and gradually moved toward a magazine format during the 1980s, changing from newsprint in 1998. It was the first British paper to include a singles...
placed the album at number 16 on their list of "top 50 albums of the noughties".
The story
In the story, the protagonist loses £Pound sterling
The pound sterling , commonly called the pound, is the official currency of the United Kingdom, its Crown Dependencies and the British Overseas Territories of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands, British Antarctic Territory and Tristan da Cunha. It is subdivided into 100 pence...
1000, or a "grand" in slang terms, and strives to recoup the money.
In the first track on the album, "It Was Supposed to Be So Easy", he attempts seemingly simple events for the day but they do not go according to plan. When he comes home he cannot find the thousand pounds he has saved and his television is broken. In the process of trying to recover the money he:
- Starts seeing a girl called Simone who works in JD SportsJD SportsJD Sports Fashion plc, more commonly known as just JD, is a sports-fashion retail company based in Bury, Greater Manchester, England with shops throughout the United Kingdom and with one in Ireland...
with his friend Dan. ("Could Well Be In") - Tries to recover the thousand pounds by gambling. After a series of wins he frustratingly cannot get to the bookmaker's in time to make a big gamble. Fortuitously, the prediction is wrong — it is his lucky day. ("Not Addicted")
- Is stood up at a nightclub by Simone, but passes the time drinking alcohol and taking cocaine and ecstasy; he thinks he sees Simone kissing Dan but the drug induced high distracts him before he can think about it properly. ("Blinded By the Lights")
- Moves into Simone's house and finds himself comfortable smoking marijuana there, rather than drinking with his friends at the pub. ("Wouldn't Have It Any Other Way")
- Argues with Simone and she kicks him out of her house. ("Get Out of My House")
- Poses to impress a girl ("Fit But You Know It") in a take away restaurantTake-outTake-out or takeout , carry-out , take-away , parcel , or tapau , is food purchased at a...
during a heavy night drinking on holiday. - Flies back from the holiday and remorsefully reviews the events of the previous night during a phone call to a friend, realising he still wants to be with Simone.("Such a Twat")
- Suspects his mate Scott of stealing his coat, money and girlfriend but discovers that Simone is actually having an affair with Dan. ("What is He Thinking?")
- Tries to cope with his girlfriend breaking up with him. ("Dry Your Eyes").
- Deals with the events of his life in one of two ways; the final track, "Empty CansEmpty Cans"Empty Cans" is the ending to A Grand Don't Come For Free, an album by Mike Skinner, AKA The Streets. It is also the longest The Streets song so far, with a running time of 8 minutes and 15 seconds. The song tells two very different endings as follows:...
", features two endings to the plot, a bitter ending and a happy ending (the former where he and a TV repairman get into a fight over the repairman's fee, and the latter in which he reconciles with his mates and finds the thousand pounds hidden in his TV).
- The B-Side to the UK single release of "Fit But You Know ItFit But You Know It"Fit But You Know It" is a song by The Streets and written/produced by Mike Skinner. It was the lead single of The Streets second album A Grand Don't Come for Free and was released on 26 April 2004; it reached number four in the UK Single Charts....
" contains the song "Soaked By The Ale" (Length 3:33). The story of this song takes place between the events of "Fit But You Know It" and "Such A Twat". It documents one of Skinner's mates being annoyed at Mike for stealing a tub of ice cream whilst on holiday in Spain as a result of his excessive drinking. The chronological order is identified in "Such A Twat" where Skinner raps "And that incident with the ice cream I forgot, it all ended in our vodka".
Singles
The first single from the album, "Fit But You Know ItFit But You Know It
"Fit But You Know It" is a song by The Streets and written/produced by Mike Skinner. It was the lead single of The Streets second album A Grand Don't Come for Free and was released on 26 April 2004; it reached number four in the UK Single Charts....
" reached number four on the UK Singles Charts with the second single, "Dry Your Eyes
Dry Your Eyes
"Dry Your Eyes" is a UK garage song written by English rapper The Streets for his second album A Grand Don't Come for Free . The song describes the persona trying to cope with his girlfriend breaking up with him. It was released as the album's second single on 19 July 2004...
" entering the UK Charts at number one. The album itself reached number one in the UK Album Charts, number eleven in Australia and number eighty-two in the United States. Two other singles - "Blinded by the Lights" and "Could Well Be In" - were released, but failed to earn as much recognition as the previous two.
- "Fit But You Know ItFit But You Know It"Fit But You Know It" is a song by The Streets and written/produced by Mike Skinner. It was the lead single of The Streets second album A Grand Don't Come for Free and was released on 26 April 2004; it reached number four in the UK Single Charts....
" Released: 1 March 2004 #4 UK - "Dry Your EyesDry Your Eyes"Dry Your Eyes" is a UK garage song written by English rapper The Streets for his second album A Grand Don't Come for Free . The song describes the persona trying to cope with his girlfriend breaking up with him. It was released as the album's second single on 19 July 2004...
" Released: 31 May 2004 #1 UK - "Blinded by the Lights" Released: 13 September 2004
- "Could Well Be In" Released: 8 November 2004