Parted ways with Ed Buller

By the time the compilation was released in 1997, the Britpop movement was clearly losing momentum, and the band had chosen to part ways with their longtime producer, Ed Buller, before beginning work on the follow-up to Coming Up . Prior to focusing on their next album, the band recorded a version of “Poor Little Rich Girl” for Twentieth-Century Blues: The Songs of Noël Coward in 1998. Despite being backed by their second-highest-charting single, ” Electricity “, Suede’s fourth album, Head Music , failed to generate the same critical and listener enthusiasm as their previous records, though it once again topped the UK Albums Chart. A synthesizer-driven album that placed less emphasis on guitar riffs and more on keyboards, it was produced by Steve Osborne , who had worked with Happy Mondays and New Order . While the album received heavy promotion and substantial financial backing, and garnered near-universal critical acclaim from the UK music press, the consensus among people close to the band was a feeling that things were not quite right. Richard Oakes was aware of the fans’ disapproval of the album, as well as Anderson’s more gaunt-like appearance and Oakes’ own admission of spending two years “being pissed out [his] face and being out of shape.” Moreover, many critics felt the record’s lyrics were too shallow and lacking in substance. Though others praised the album, feeling that the band were again taking a different direction and charting new territory.