While the members of the short-lived Freebass hail from other places in the great world of rock ‘n’ roll, there’s an air of the Cure throughout the walking basslines of It’s a Beautiful Life. Formed by Mancunian Peter Hook (New Order & Joy Division), Gary “Mani” Mounfield (The Stone Roses & Primal Scream), and Andy Rourke (The Smiths), with Gary Briggs (Haven & the Strays) handling vocals, Freebass brought together three influential bass players and saw them have a go at making some catchy, Britrock tunes with hints of Europop keys (Phil Murphy) thrown in for good measure. Unfortunately, the guys also apparently had a good at each other and have broken up even before It’s a Beautiful Life could be released.
However, what’s fortunate for the music world is that the album was written and recorded. It’s awash in atmosphere as the Cure created on early albums while also recalling some of Disintegration. Yet, tracks like “World Won’t Wait” groove with a dose of Madchester. That groove gets even more funkified and hip-shaking for “She Said,” featuring a lyrical mash up of the Clash and INXS: “When she comes knocking,/How ya gonna come/With your hands on your head or on the trigger of your gun?/When she comes knocking,/are you gonna run/into the arms of your suicide blonde?” The driving pulse of “The God Machine” accompanies an introspective, searching lyric (“I can’t see the light, see it anymore”).
Much more than Freebass’ earlier EP, Two Worlds Collide, the album hangs together cohesively, especially due to the choice to keep Briggs on vocals whereas on the earlier material it was lead vocals by committee of guest stars (Tim Burgess (Charlatans UK), Pete Wylie (The Mighty Wah!), Howard Marks (Mr Nice) and Hook). Still, It’s a Beautiful Life comes equipped with a bonus disc of extras from the EP and other remixes. The instrumental mixes especially showcase the work of Hook, Mani, and Rourke without the vocal distractions.
