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Smile UK Store - Youth and Young Manhood
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List Price: £8.99
Our Price: £5.98
Availability: Usually dispatched within 24 hours
Manufacturer: Hand Me Down
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Average Customer Rating:  
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Binding: Audio CD
EAN: 0828765568722
Label: Hand Me Down
Manufacturer: Hand Me Down
Number Of Discs: 1
Publisher: Hand Me Down
Release Date: 2003-08-21
Studio: Hand Me Down
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Editorial Reviews:
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Kings of Leon are four members of the Followill family, three brothers and a cousin. The title Youth & Young Manhood is an accurate summary of their places in life--the oldest member, drummer Nathan Followill, is 23, while the youngest, bass player Jared Followill, is just 16. The brothers had a childhood that was both eccentric and peripatetic, living out of a car while their preacher father toured the southern United States, and have most recently been living in Nashville; they don't appear, judging by this startlingly assured debut, to have been unduly traumatised by either experience. Kings of Leon, up to and including their haircuts and moustaches, are steeped in the rock & roll of the American south: Youth & Young Manhood is largely four-square boogie whose ideal setting would be a bar with sawdust on the floor and chicken wire protecting the stage. The Kings of Leon do not have a single formative influence drawn from within their own lifetimes--they clearly whiled away their father's long road trips listening to radio stations that broadcast an unleavened diet of Lynyrd Skynyrd, Creedence Clearwater Revival, the Allman Brothers and a pre-sequencers ZZ Top (although vocalist Caleb Followill sounds more than anything else like AC/DC's Bon Scott). Perhaps Youth & Young Manhood manages to be significantly more than an exercise in pastiche because the Followills are still too young to be jaded by these old noises. Whatever the reason, this is a fine start. --Andrew Mueller
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Spotlight customer reviews:
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Customer Rating:
Summary: Brilliant
Comment: I was quite slow on the uptake with KOL, I only bought this album a year ago but it remains possibly one of my favourite albums and is rarely far from my CD player. I've never once got bored of it and can sit through the entire album without skipping a single track. Happy Alone, Molly's Chambers and California Waiting are possibly the best on the album. Can't wait to see them for the first time in Glastonbury! Utter brilliance.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Excellent Stuff
Comment: I love it...not in an instant, first hearing way, but in a play it a few times and watch the sensation of "This is REALLY good" creep up on you.....I have been re-listening to this lately, and it is ageing well!
Basic, clever, loud, furious and masterful. Highly recommended - one of my top 20 albums. Excellent.
Customer Rating: 
Summary: Great album
Comment: I got this because I heard Red Morning Light on FIFA 04. It is a great album although sometimes I do get a bit bored with it. But it is worthy of 4 stars and I would recommend this to anyone who likes good music.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Long live the Kings!
Comment: I heard two tracks from this album as I was walking through an HMV store, and it was so good I had to buy it there and then. And boy am I glad I did - Youth and Young Manhood is about as fine a debut album as I have ever heard.
It is a great mix of hard-rock meets Southern country, with a dash of boogie thrown in, to create a refreshing, unique sound.
Right from the opening riffs of "Red Morning Light" I was blown away by the energy and enthusiasm of the Followill clan. Full of catchy riffs, sharp solos and great drumming (with plenty of cowbell from Nathan!) - not to mention Caleb's trademark scratchy, twangy Southern vocals (admittedly almost indecipherable at times!) - this is a powerful statement of pure energy from a young and talented band who are saying out loud to the music world "The Kings are here - and you'd better believe it!"
What is also impressive is the consistency of the tracks. Now and then you come across an album where there's not a bad track to be found (eg. Gun's n' Roses "Appetite for Destruction" or Alanis Morrisette's "Jagged Little Pill"). YAYM can certainly be added to the list. The opening track, "Red Morning Light" sets the tone for the rest of the album, with the pace and energy maintained through the next three tracks (check out the superb lyrics in "Joe's Head" and "Happy Alone"). "Trani" can be a hard track to like, what with Caleb's screaming and all, but it's a good contrast to the rest as the pace is slower and the feel is more moody. Solid tracks continue through to the end, stand-outs being "Spiral Staircase" (my favourite song on the album),"California Waiting" and "Genius".
And despite the reputation that they quickly gained as hard-drinking and hard-partying, their live performances are top-notch too. They obviously are committed enough to put every effort in to recreating their studio sound. And this they can certainly do.
If the KOL were hoping to impress with their first album, they certainly succeeded. This album is simply terrific. And due to the appeal that their sound has to so many people, they'll be around for a long time to come.
Customer Rating:
Summary: RAW with a capital R
Comment: This was a pure suprise record for me, i was lucky enough to be handed a copy of this by a friend, and ive just about worn it out. Pure rock n roll with a smidgin of angst mixed with stories of fun and frivolity. It trundles along taking in the odd detour to southern americana. I dont know if its blues, I dont know if its country, I dont know if its rock n roll but I like it, I like it a lot. Grab yourself a bourbon whisky, open your window and enjoy this eclectic piece of paradise......
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