S4L Presents: The Best Debut Albums #18 - All Change - Cast (1995)

John Power had previously been in The La's but had grown frustrated by the endless delay in getting back into the studios to record new music. During this time Power had begun himself penning songs and that came to fruition once he had left The La's in 1991 and by January 1994 the band were ready to perform their debut show in Hull. Within a short space of time Cast had secured support slots with Elvis Costello and then Oasis.

It was whilst touring with Oasis that they came to the attention of Polydor's Paul Adam, who was clearly stunned that they were not signed to anyone, of course he promptly signed the band to Polydor late 1994. The date of the sigining was quite a significant one for John Power because it fell three years to the date that he had left The La's (13th December).

Their first two singles (Finetime and Alright) both secured spots in the Top 20 Singles Charts and the release of their debut album was a real event as it became the highest selling Debut album on Polydor (a feat that is quite interesting when you see that they surpassed sales of: The Who, The Jimmy Hendrix Experience and The Jam).

Two further singles were released from the album (Sandstorm and Walkaway) and both were Top Ten hits for the band.

There are a bunch of albums that still get a regular airing at home and 'All Change' is one of them. There's not a single track on that I would ever skip because it is loaded with classy tunes from beginning to end.

'Alright' was apparently a song performed by The La's under the title 'Fly On' and I've often wondered what some of these other songs would have been like if Lee Mavers had decided to get his act together and take the band into the studio but in a way I'm glad he never did because I'm not totally sure if we would have seen all of John Power's lyrical and musical creativity being maximized to full effect.

Click on the links to enjoy the music of Cast.

All Change - Cast

Released 16th October 1995

Polydor

Produced by John Leckie
UK Chart #7

 The Band
    John Power – vocals, guitar
    Peter Wilkinson – backing vocals, bass
    Liam "Skin" Tyson – guitar
    Keith O'Neill – drums

 Track listing
All songs written by John Power.
   1. "Alright" – 3:37
   2. "Promised Land" – 4:37
   3.  "Sandstorm" – 2:41
   4. "Mankind" – 3:44
    5. "Tell It Like It Is" – 4:41
    6. "Four Walls" – 3:09
    7. "Finetime" – 3:06
    8. "Back of My Mind" – 3:04
    9. "Walkaway" – 3:51
    10. "Reflections" – 3:05
    11. "History" – 4:25
    12. "Two of a Kind"/"Instrumental (Hidden Track)" – 9:54

Singles from All Change

"Finetime" Released: July 1995 UK #17

 "Alright" Released: September 1995 UK #13

"Sandstorm" Released: January 1996  UK #8

"Walkaway" Released: March 1996 UK #9

Alphabet Beats #015: The Letter C is for...Cast

C is for...

Today's spotlight shines upon Cast. They have enjoyed two tenures 1992-2001 and 2010 to the present day. They have released a number of fantastic albums and singles as well in that time and these days they are still out playing live with passion.

Noel Gallagher of Oasis described watching the band live as being like a "religious experience" and they were labelled "The Who of the 90's". It has been suggested that the name "Cast" was taken from the final word on The La's eponymous album (the song "Looking Glass" ends with the repeated line "The change is cast"), John Power has since confirmed this to be true, stating that he avoided answering this question for some time.

The Albums

All Change (1995).

Mother Nature Calls (1997).

Magic Hour (1999).*

Beetroot (2001)

Troubled Times (2012).

The Collection (2004).

The Complete BBC Sessions (2007).

 *Only title track as I can't find a link for the full album

The Singles

Finetime.

Alright.

Walkaway.

Flying.

Free Me.

Guiding Star.

Live The Dream.

I'm So Lonely.

Beat Mama.

Magic Hour.

Desert Drought.

See That Girl.

Time Bomb.

Live

Troubled Times Tour 2012 Live.

Happy Birthday John Power of Cast

Born on this day John Power lead vocalist of Cast and former bassist of The La's. Click on the links to enjoy the music.

Walk Away (Live TFI Friday).

Fine Time (Live at Glastonbury 1999).

Alright/Sandstorm (Live The White Room).

Promised Land (Live at Shepherds Bush 2010).

Tell It Like It Is (Live at Buckley 2010).

Guiding Star (Live 2012).

Timebomb (Acoustic) - John Power.

Working Class Hero - John Power.

Mariner (Live in Dublin 2006) - John Power.

There She Goes - The La's.

Gems From My Collection - All Change by Cast

Released in 1995 'All Change' the debut release by Cast still sounds brilliant. Four of the twelve tracks were released as singles:
Finetime

Live @ T in the Park 1996


Alright

Live @ T in the Park 1996


Sandstorm

Live @ T in the Park 1996


Walkaway

Live in Buckley November 2010


16 years on from it's release it still sounds like the perfect pop/rock album to me.

Other tracks from the album:
Promised Land @ Barrowlands, Glasgow 2010

Mankind @ Buckley 2010

Tell It Like It Is @ O2 Academy, Liverpool 2010

Four Walls @ O2 Academy, Liverpool 2010

Back Of My Mind @ Academy, Manchester 2010

Reflections @ Academy, Manchester 2010

History @ Rehearsals For All Change Reunion Tour 2010

Two Of A Kind @ Academy, Oxford 2010