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Original Pirate Material | 
| Artist: Streets
Label: Locked on
Category: Music
New (24) Used (9) from £3.00
Rating:  81 reviews
Sales Rank: 1655
Format: Explicit Lyrics
Media: Audio CD
Discs: 1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.2
Dimensions (in): 5.4 x 4.9 x 0.4
UPC: 809274356826
EAN: 0809274356826
ASIN: B00005V696
Release Date: March 25, 2002
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| Tracks:
| • | Turn The Page | | • | Has It Come To This | | • | Let's Push Things Forward | | • | Sharp Darts | | • | Same Old Thing | | • | Geezer's Need Excitement | | • | It's Too Late | | • | Too Much Brandy | | • | Don't Mug Yourself | | • | Who Got The Funk? | | • | Irony Of It All | | • | Weak Become Heroes | | • | Who Dares Wins | | • | Stay Positive |
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| Editorial Reviews:
Amazon.co.uk Review
In a thrilling UK Garage scene, blighted only by a reliance on drippy soul cliché and tiresome braggadocio, The Streets' eminently quotable Mike Skinner may just be the voice to take it to the next level with Original Pirate Material. This debut is a staggeringly eloquent and fearlessly honest snapshot of gritty street-level existence, as experienced by an ordinary bloke. At first listen, the Birmingham-born Skinner's cheeky cockney affectations grate slightly. But for every line that makes you squirm, there's 20 that drop your jaw. "Has It Come To This?" is "A day in the life of a geezer", a seductive encapsulation of London lifestyle, presented raw as a bootleg, but bulging with sharp wit and feverish detail. "Stay Positive" weaves a fearful tale of heroin addiction, Skinner sneering "I ain't no preaching fucker/ An' I ain't no do-goodie-goodie either/ This is when shit goes pear-shaped". And "The Irony of It All" presents a beguiling case for legalisation, presenting a fictional exchange between a beered-up, self-righteous lager lout and a fey student weed enthusiast. Original Pirate Material is a milestone, the real voice of British youth set down on record. Don't miss this.--Louis Pattison
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| Customer Reviews: Read 76 more reviews...
 The final word on UK garage October 30, 2008
A record that managed to do what no other "urban" garage album had managed before; combine deep bass-driven hooks, intelligent lyrics and sublime melodies. "From Mile End to Ealing ...Brixton to Bounds Green" there wasn't a person I knew living in London 6 years ago whose head wasn't turned by this album. Stories of sitting in cafes debating whether to call the girl you'd met the night before, doing the same drugs you'd done 10 years ago, bemoaning the lack of ambition in the UK music scene, this was a record that spoke to us, shared our experiences and spat them out in a more eloquent way than we thought possible. Turn the Page is the best opening track off a debut album since the Doors' Break on Through, a dark yet joyful, mesmerising statement of intent; "I'm 45th generation Roman", declared Mike Skinner encapsulating the essence of our mongrel nation. Has It Come to This and Let's Push Things Forward are unashamedly glorious slices of Garage Soul and two of the finest singles to grace the UK charts in the last decade. Weak Becomes Heroes is THE final word on the British rave scene as Skinner neither glamourises or condemns, but surmises all its highs and lows, truths and illusions in five and a half glorious minutes. Stay Positive will probably always be the epitaph not only for the album but for Skinner's entire career; brooding, honest and immense it's unlikely to be bettered. There are plenty of other truly great tracks on here. Shame about Who Got the Funk? which is a throw-away filler (and yet probably as good as anything on the truly awful 3rd album) but anything can be forgiven here. In the running for album of the decade, I'd say.
Brilliant - Buy it. April 11, 2008
Heard a track off this album on late night radio - I was hooked.
This guy is a genius - can't get enough of it.
 8g4filh3v8foyf9boy89o February 5, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
"This ain't a track, it's a movement"
This ain't music, it's vicious observation. While the likes of Lily Allen and Kate Nash rely on trite "say what you see" lyrics and try to pass it off as social critique, Mike Skinner dissects what he sees with the skill and precision of a surgeon. Pasty, middle-class chav or glorious poet? Bit of both, really. I nod my head through the entirety of Original Pirate Material, both to the beat and in agreement. You see, I live this album; whether it's just me looking at the world around me or through personal experience, every lyric hits home. This is the sound of modern-day Britain in 45 minutes. Yeah, Mike, I know too well the hypocrisy of the government's law on weed, and I also see dodgy, violent guys on those rare occasions that I bother to go out clubbing. No wonder this completely flew by most Americans. Skinner isn't a rapper; he's just a man in a pub, approaching the listener as if he was trying to sell you a dodgy Rolex. This stands alone. "Stay Positive"? Aww man, that's just emotionally crushing.
This is easily the most honest and truly British album released in years and, as a result, it perhaps the realest experience I've ever had with music. Sharp darts, sharp wit. Without shadow.
 Long awaited breath of fresh air May 3, 2006
2 out of 5 found this review helpful
At last, something ORIGINAL to emerge from the UK music scene! Clever, dynamic and infectious! I hadn't classed myself as a true blue urban music fan, however, there are a couple of gems on this album: 'Has it come to this?' and It's too late' are particularly inspired.
The biggest change has to be the sense of truth and raw admission. Mike Skinner has finally broken the silence. Perhaps not the album to play during a family Sunday Lunch, but I think we could all learn alot from Mike Skinner.
Looking at Life Through a Lens April 16, 2006
4 out of 5 found this review helpful
Here is where it all began. Four years since the release of this album and who would have thought such an ordinary man could become one of the biggest names of the new century.
Original Pirate Material introduced one of Britain's most inspiring lyricist/poets in Mike Skinner. His tales of street-life, drug issues and relationships are gritty to the bone and there's a freshness to them even to this day. Songs like Stay Positive shows Mike talking about the depressing effects that drugs can take on anybody, whilst Weak Become Heroes is great visualisation of club-life.
The music itself is a range of sampled beats repeated over and over. Lets Push Things Forward and Same Old Thing are perfect examples of that. Skinner also displays egotism on Sharp Darts and funky beats on Don't Mug Yourself and the appropriately titled Who Gots The Funk.
The weakest song for me is Who Dares Wins, as it doesn't actually go anywhere. The song seems to stop abruptly as if Skinner did not like where it was headed.
The best song, and probably Skinner's most innovative tune to date, is The Irony of it All. Played as discussion behind a loud mouth alcoholic and a soft spoken drug addict, Mike smoothly rants about legalisation, crime and patriotism.
Original Pirate Material still sounds as unique and fresh upon its first listen. The lyrics are without a doubt the strong point of this album. It must be pointed out that without The Streets, The Arctic Monkeys may never have existed.
Lock down your aerial, this is The Streets and this is Original Pirate Material.
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