The Libertines (album)

The Libertines is the second studio album by the English indie rock band The Libertines. Released on 30 August 2004, it is particularly biographical of the relationship between frontmen Carl Barât and Pete Doherty. The album debuted at number one on the UK Albums Chart, selling 72,189 copies in its first week of release.

The Libertines
Studio album by The Libertines
Released	30 August 2004
Recorded	Spring 2004
Genre	Garage rock revival indie rock
Length	42:04
Label	Rough Trade
Producer	Mick Jones
The Libertines chronology
Up the Bracket (2002) The Libertines (2004) Time for Heroes – The Best of The Libertines (2007)
Singles from The Libertines
"Can't Stand Me Now" Released: 9 August 2004 "What Became of the Likely Lads" Released: 25 October 2004

Professional ratings

Aggregate scores
Source	Rating
Metacritic	80/100[1]
Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[2]
Entertainment Weekly	C[3]
The Guardian	[4]
Mojo	[5]
NME	9/10[6]
Pitchfork	7.1/10[7]
Q	[8]
Rolling Stone	[9]
Spin	A−[10]
The Village Voice	A−[11]

The album is included in the book 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die.^[12] In 2006, NME placed the album 47 in a list of the greatest British albums ever.^[13] In 2013, NME ranked the album at number 99 in its list of The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time.^[14] On the other hand, The Libertines was voted the third-most overrated album ever made in a 2005 BBC public poll.^[15]

The Libertines, like its 2002 predecessor, Up the Bracket, was re-released with a bonus DVD on 22 November 2004. The DVD, entitled Boys in the Band, is a collection of live shows, band interviews, and the "Can't Stand Me Now" promotional video.

The song "Arbeit Macht Frei" featured in the 2006 film Children of Men.

Cover art

The album's front cover art features a photograph of Carl Barât and Pete Doherty taken by Roger Sargent during the emotional "Freedom Gig" at the Tap 'n' Tin club in Chatham, Kent, on 8 October 2003, when Doherty reunited with the Libertines for a gig just hours after being released from jail, where he was sentenced for breaking into Barât's flat and stealing various items, including an old guitar and a laptop computer.^[16] Doherty returned to the Tap 'n' Tin club on 20 December 2008 for a one-off gig with Chas & Dave.

Singles

• "Can't Stand Me Now" 9 August 2004, (Rough Trade) No. 2
• "What Became of the Likely Lads" 25 October 2004 (Rough Trade) No. 9
• "What Katie Did" was released as a one-sided, 7-inch flexi disc given away with Amelia's Magazine^[17][18]

Track listing

1. "Can't Stand Me Now" (Peter Doherty, Carl Barât, Mark Hammerton) – 3:23
2. "Last Post on the Bugle" (Doherty, Barât, Michael Bower) – 2:32
3. "Don't Be Shy" (Doherty, Barât) – 3:03
4. "The Man Who Would Be King" (Doherty, Barât) – 3:59
5. "Music When the Lights Go Out" (Doherty) – 3:02
6. "Narcissist" (Barât) – 2:10
7. "The Ha Ha Wall" (Doherty, Barât) – 2:29
8. "Arbeit Macht Frei" (Doherty) – 1:13
9. "Campaign of Hate" (Doherty) – 2:10
10. "What Katie Did" (Doherty) – 3:49
11. "Tomblands" (Barât, Doherty) – 2:06
12. "The Saga" (Doherty, Paul Roundhill) – 1:53
13. "Road to Ruin" (Doherty, Barât) – 4:21
14. "What Became of the Likely Lads" (Doherty, Barât) / "France" (Barât) (Hidden track) – 5:54

Japanese bonus tracks

15. "Don't Look Back into the Sun" (New Version) (Doherty, Barât)
16. "Cyclops" (Doherty, Peter Wolfe)
17. "Dilly Boys" (Doherty, Barât)

Australian bonus tracks

15. "France" (Doherty, Barât)
16. "Never Never" (Doherty, Barât)
17. "I Got Sweets" (Doherty, Barât)

Japanese and Mexican bonus DVD

1. "What a Waster" (Live at The Factory, Japan)
2. "Death on the Stairs" (Live at The Factory, Japan)
3. "Up the Bracket" (Live at The Factory, Japan)
4. "I Get Along" (Live at The Factory, Japan)
5. "The Boy Looked at Johnny" (Live at The Factory, Japan)
6. "The Boy Looked at Johnny" (Live at Moby Dick, Spain)
7. Busking for Beer + Assorted Covers and Song Segments (Live at Filthy McNasty's Pub, London)
8. "Can't Stand Me Now" (Video)
9. Photo Gallery
10. Extras (Footage of Band, Interviews and NME award footage)

As well as the songs listed above, there is a hidden track, titled "France", composed by Barat, which starts at 3:28 of "What Became of the Likely Lads". A re-recording of an old Libertines song which originally appeared on one of their first demos, recorded at Odessa Studios, "France" was written and performed by Carl Barât. The final listed track is a nod to the British sitcom Whatever Happened to the Likely Lads?.

Charts

Weekly charts Chart (2004) Peak position Australian Albums (ARIA)[19] 53 Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria)[20] 31 Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)[21] 24 Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia)[22] 60 Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)[23] 53 French Albums (SNEP)[24] 27 German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[25] 20 Irish Albums (IRMA)[26] 5 Italian Albums (FIMI)[27] 51 Japanese Albums (Oricon)[28] 18 Norwegian Albums (VG-lista)[29] 34 Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan)[30] 18 Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[31] 51 UK Albums (OCC)[32] 1 US Billboard 200[33] 111

Year-end charts Chart (2004) Position UK Albums (OCC)[34] 75 Chart (2005) Position UK Albums (OCC)[35] 190

References

1. "Reviews for The Libertines by The Libertines". Metacritic. Retrieved 26 October 2012.
2. Phares, Heather. "The Libertines – The Libertines". AllMusic. Retrieved 26 October 2012.
3. Adams, Jason (24 September 2004). "The Libertines". Entertainment Weekly. Archived from the original on 24 September 2015. Retrieved 11 August 2015.
4. Costa, Maddy (20 August 2004). "The Libertines, The Libertines". The Guardian. Retrieved 26 October 2012.
5. "The Libertines: The Libertines". Mojo (130): 94. September 2004.
6. Thornton, Anthony (7 August 2004). "The Libertines: The Libertines". NME. Archived from the original on 24 October 2005. Retrieved 26 October 2012.
7. Carr, Eric (30 August 2004). "The Libertines: The Libertines". Pitchfork. Retrieved 26 October 2012.
8. "The Libertines: The Libertines". Q (218): 108. September 2004.
9. Hoard, Christian (16 September 2004). "The Libertines: The Libertines". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on 7 February 2009. Retrieved 29 August 2015.
10. Pappademas, Alex (September 2004). "The Libertines: The Libertines". Spin. 20 (9): 115. Retrieved 29 August 2015.
11. Christgau, Robert (3 April 2003). "Consumer Guide: Inter-Century Freundschaft". The Village Voice. Retrieved 26 October 2012.
12. Robert Dimery; Michael Lydon (23 March 2010). 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die: Revised and Updated Edition. Universe. ISBN 978-0-7893-2074-2.
13. "Rocklist.net...NME Writers Lists". Rocklistmusic.co.uk. Retrieved 26 October 2012.
14. "Rocklist.net....NME: The 500 Greatest Albums Of All Time : October 2013". rocklistmusic.co.uk.
15. "Most Overrated Album in the World". BBC 6 Music. 2005. Archived from the original on 11 November 2005. Retrieved 10 June 2017.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
16. "Libertines reunite at freedom gig". BBC News. 9 October 2003. Retrieved 26 October 2012.
17. "French Dog Writtles • View topic – Libertines et all 7' records". Frenchdogwrittles.myfastforum.org. Archived from the original on 18 July 2012. Retrieved 26 October 2012.
18. "Disposable Pop: A History of the Flexi Disc – Article". Stylus Magazine. Archived from the original on 2 December 2010. Retrieved 26 October 2012.
19. "The ARIA Report" (PDF). Australian Recording Industry Association. 6 September 2004. Retrieved 3 March 2016.
20. "Austriancharts.at – The Libertines – The Libertines" (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved 3 March 2016.
21. "Ultratop.be – The Libertines – The Libertines" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 3 March 2016.
22. "Ultratop.be – The Libertines – The Libertines" (in French). Hung Medien. Retrieved 3 March 2016.
23. "Dutchcharts.nl – The Libertines – The Libertines" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 3 March 2016.
24. "Lescharts.com – The Libertines – The Libertines". Hung Medien. Retrieved 3 March 2016.
25. "Longplay-Chartverfolgung at Musicline" (in German). Musicline.de. Phononet GmbH. Retrieved 3 March 2016.
26. "GFK Chart-Track Albums: Week 37, 2004". Chart-Track. IRMA. Retrieved 3 March 2016.
27. "Italiancharts.com – The Libertines – The Libertines". Hung Medien. Retrieved 3 March 2016.
28. "ザ・リバティーンズ". Oricon. Retrieved 19 July 2009.
29. "Norwegiancharts.com – The Libertines – The Libertines". Hung Medien. Retrieved 3 March 2016.
30. "Swedishcharts.com – The Libertines – The Libertines". Hung Medien. Retrieved 3 March 2016.
31. "Swisscharts.com – The Libertines – The Libertines". Hung Medien. Retrieved 3 March 2016.
32. "The Libertines | Artist | Official Charts". UK Albums Chart. Retrieved 3 March 2016.
33. "The Libertines Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved 3 March 2016.
34. "End of Year Album Chart Top 100 – 2004". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 8 October 2021.
35. "ChartsPlusYE2005" (PDF). UKchartsplus.co.uk. Official Charts Company. Retrieved 22 November 2021.