Keane - Hopes And Fears (CD 2004)

Good Points
Wonderful music!! Meaningful lyrics, and beautiful music come together to make every song in this a favourite of mine.

Bad Points
The songs are all very similar in style and have a lot of the same chord progressions and such. But if you love what they have, then you'll love every song! So for me, it's a benefit, for someone not so fond of Keane... well you might hate most of it then.

General Comments
Keane is not the new Coldplay. I think Keane is better than Coldplay! I love the music on Hopes & Fears, the piano, the mood of the songs, and the lyrics. They're intelligent and thought-provoking, and then the music is just glorious. Moody at times, uplifting at others, it's always emotional and beautiful.

I saw them in a live concert on the TV a couple of years ago and they were fantastic, so had to get this album and it doesn't disappoint. A great album of piano rock, not a bad track, so the fact that many sound the same isn't really a bad thing !

Debut album from this 3 piece piano rock group,Keane.
This was released back in 2004 and debuted at number one,remaining in the top 75 for 72 consequetive weeks,selling 5.5 million copies in the process.
Singer Tom Chaplin,pianist Tim Rice-Oxley and drummer Richard Hughes are the guys in question.
Chaplin's vocal is angel like and much like U2's Bono,very much an endearing feature of this band's work.
Stand out tracks are the singles 'Somewhere only we know','Everybody's changing','Bend and break','This is the last time' and my personel favourite 'Bedshaped'a track that reduces me to tears every time i listen to it.
This cd doesn't stop at the single releases as there are no fillers,every track is a belter in it's own right.
Any decent record collection is all the poorer without this outstanding cd amongst it.
Oh,go and see them live if you can,you wont be disappointed!

This is one of the best albums i have ever purchased and come across. It's full of breathtaking songs and i can't get over just how great it is. The first time i heard 'Somewhere Only We Know' on the radio back in 2004 really got me thinking this could be the start of a great new band, and boy was i right, then followed the wonderful catchy song 'Everybody's Changing' this song is just magic in every way and really does excel the true talents of those Sussex lads in every way and for a first time buyer i'd really recommend it and i guarantee that after one listen you'll not be able to turn it off. A truly amazing debut from Keane and im sure these guys will make it big in the business that is the world of music.

i love this album, very chilled, ideal for relaxing on a lovely summers day

brilliant compilation of songs by Keane

I don't know why I bought this album. But it hasn't stirred anything inside me, and it isn't really recomended for anyone who likes good music. Perhaps buy it for you mum or for a funeral parlour or something??? As is easy listening, non offensive and increadibly boring!

Guitarless rock does work and Keane are living proof. It has inserted a breath of fresh air into British mainstream. The success of Hopes and Fears has not suprised me.

Well written, true music crowds this album which is nothing short of a compliment. I am particuarly fond of the sweetly sounding Bedshaped and the highlight of the album Somewhere Only We Know.

The only reason this doesn't get full marks is because the live cd is charged with extra emotion and is simply superb. If you havn't bought this album by now then buy it!

Every song is beautiful and enchanting. Perfect to relax to, perfect to drive to, perfect for everything. My best album ever.

Superb album and one of my favourite bands at the moment, Hopes and Fears is instantly likeable with the entire album packed full of killer tunes. Their unique sound makes a pleasant change to the usual rubbish on the radio. Buy it, you wont be disappointed.

see what all the fuss is about! a fantastic debut album,their non-guitar band seperates them from the rest. a must have to your cd collection

Every song is excellent some are truly superb.

I would buy this just to hear Bedshaped!

Money Very well spent! A modern classic !

Tracks:-


1. Somewhere Only We Know
2. This Is The Last Time
3. Bend And Break
4. We Might As Well Be Strangers
5. Everybody's Changing
6. Your Eyes Open
7. She Has No Time
8. Can't Stop Now
9. Sunshine
10. Untitled 1
11. Bedshaped

When record producer James Sanger began working with then-unknown rock band Keane, a radical idea emerged: piano rather than guitar as lead instrument, facilitating greater focus on frontman Tom Chaplin's powerful yet gentle vocals. The departure of guitarist Dominic Scott around that time (he was not replaced) was a catalyst in the evolution of the band's now familiar piano-oriented sound which became the basis for this breathtaking debut album.
Though described by some journalists as "the new Coldplay", Keane's style sounds influenced more by bands popular in the 1980s, such as A-ha and U2.
Hopes And Fears includes 4 UK hit singles, including a couple of the catchiest pop songs ever written; but don't expect the rest of the album to be mere B-side quality (not that Keane's B-sides normally sound B-sidey!) At least 10 of the 12 tracks would be suitable A-side material, from majestic sing-a-long ballads such as the hit "Somewhere Only We Know" through the understated intensity of "We Might As Well Be Strangers" to the ethereal, slightly psychedelic delicacy of "Sunshine". If the melancholic "Can't Stop Now" doesn't quite seem to gel in some parts and sounds more like a work in progress than a completed masterpiece, perhaps it's just because masterpieces are what the preceding tracks lead the listener to anticipate.
The lyrics are subtle, poetic, sometimes enigmatic, and express the complexity of real relationships. You won't find any "We love each other - woo-hoo/ you don't love me - boo-hoo" black-and-whiteness here. Instead, you'll find extraordinary uses of ideas and words like:

"Bedshaped and legs of stone
You'll knock on my door and up we'll go
In white light
I don't think so
But what do I know?"

Occasionally, similar imagery is echoed in more than one song, e.g. "When you forget your name" in Bend And Break, and "Trying to stay awake and remember my name" in Everybody's Changing.
Soaring melodies make good use of Tom Chaplin's impressive vocal range, both in technical and stylistic terms though there is perhaps less experimentalism here than in their later work.
The sleeve includes lyrics (albeit with a few errors) and some superb photography by Alex Lake in grainy monochrome.
Once the songs contained therein get inside your head, they might nestle there for all eternity... but that's no bad thing.

places only we know must be one of my favourite pieces of music which heads up a quite superb cd.Emotive and melodic ,best enjoyed with your favourite tipple and your eyes closed.................enjoy

while giving a car a test drive, i wanted to test the cd player out (it may have tipped the balance) - i didnt have a cd so - the salesman gave me keane 'hopes & fears' to play - i think i test rode the car for 10 mins and the cd for 20 mins - i was hooked!! an absolutly brilliant album - the salesman gave me the cd

Keane have to be one of my favourite bands due to this album! I bought it in 2004 and is still in my top album list! Keane are like no other band, they produce music that is like no other and the result is a great album!

Got this album two years ago and played and played it. Then I mislaid it and after a while needed to hear it badly. Bought it again on ebay and hey presto like it usually happens I found the original one! It brings back the feelings of the time I had first listened to it way back in 2005 . . .

A firm favourite of mine. Reminds me of my holidays in Scotland 2004... The music is so different to anything I've liked before. The vocals, the songs I love them all... I couldn't honestly say there's anything I don't like about this CD and the sound of Keane.

wow,brilliant album,you have got to buy this! i also recomend their lastest album:

Under The Iron Sea

two great albums

I love it because it transports me back to good shouting times working outside.. where have Keane gone?

KEANE ARE MY FAVOURITE BAND.. I ALREADY HAVE THE CD BUT I COULDN'T RESIST BIDDING AT THE PRICE I GOT IT.
IT WAS IN MINT CONDITION AND PLAYS PERFECTLY SO I NEED SAY NO MORE.
KEANES DEBUT ALBUM HOPES AND FEARS BROKE NEW GROUND IN RESPECTS THAT THEY ARE SOLELY DRUMS AND PIANO BASED. IT WORKED WELL AND THEY KEPT IT LIKE THAT FOR THE SECOND ALBUM UNDER THE IRON SEA WHICH WAS EQUALLY AS GOOD, BUT THEY BROKE NEW GROUND WITH THE RELEASE OF THEIR THIRD ALBUM PERFECT SYMETTRY WHICH IN MY EYES WASN'T AS GOOD AS THE TWO BEFORE BUT WHAT DO I KNOW, AS IT WAS CRITICALLY ACCLAIMED ALL OVER THE GLOBE.
REGARDS FROM A CONVERT TO THE KEANE WAY OF LIFE..............

VERY FAST DELIVERY! EXCELLENT SERVICE AND VERY REASONABLE PRICE! WELL PACKAGED/ THANK YOU! WILL BUY FROM YOU AGAIN! x

love all of it great cd!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!​!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!​!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!​!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!​!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!​!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!​!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!​!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!​!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!​!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!​!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!