''It's All About the Stragglers'' is the sole studio album by the English
garage
A garage is a covered structure built for the purpose of parking, storing, protecting, maintaining, and/or repairing vehicles. Specific applications include:
*Garage (residential), a building or part of a building for storing one or more vehicl ...
duo
Artful Dodger
Jack Dawkins, better known as the Artful Dodger, is a character in Charles Dickens's 1838 novel ''Oliver Twist''. The Dodger is a pickpocket and his nickname refers to his skill and cunning in that occupation. In the novel, he is the leader of th ...
. It was released on 20 November 2000 by
London Records
London Recordings (or London Records and London Music Stream) is a British record label that marketed records in the United States, Canada, and Latin America for Decca Records from 1947 to 1980 before becoming semi-independent. The London nam ...
. The album contains eight different vocalists, including
Craig David
Craig Ashley David (born 5 May 1981) is an English singer. He rose to fame in 1999, featuring on the single " Re-Rewind" by Artful Dodger. David's debut studio album, '' Born to Do It'', was released in 2000, to great commercial success. In to ...
.
Production
The album was recorded on a small budget in the empty production studios near
Fareham
Fareham ( ) is a market town at the north-west tip of Portsmouth Harbour, between the cities of Portsmouth and Southampton in south east Hampshire, England. It gives its name to the Borough of Fareham. It was historically an important manufac ...
of the Ocean Radio Group, then owned by Capital Radio. One of those stations was
Power FM
Capital South Coast was a regional radio station owned by operated by Global Radio as part of the Capital (radio network), Capital radio network. It broadcast to Hampshire from studios in Segensworth, Fareham. In 2019, Capital South Coast was r ...
where the band also hosted a weekend dance show and headlined the 2000 day festival Power in the Park.
Critical reception
''
The A.V. Club
''The A.V. Club'' is an online newspaper and entertainment website featuring reviews, interviews, and other articles that examine films, music, television, books, games, and other elements of pop-culture media. ''The A.V. Club'' was created in ...
'' wrote: "Artful Dodger has always represented the lighter side of two-step, but without other artists' tracks to counter its airy levity, ''It's All About The Stragglers'' is a middling effort that makes for a less-than-thrilling introduction to an otherwise thrilling genre." ''
Exclaim!
''Exclaim!'' is a Canadian music and entertainment publisher based in Toronto, which features coverage of new music across all genres with a special focus on Canadian and emerging artists. The monthly ''Exclaim!'' print magazine publishes seven ...
'' thought that "Craig David effortlessly commands the pulsing groove of 'Whatcha Gonna Do'." ''
Billboard
A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...
'' called ''It's All About the Stragglers'' an "R&B-conscious, club-rooted, classically arranged album." The ''
Chicago Tribune
The ''Chicago Tribune'' is an American daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Founded in 1847, it was formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper", a slogan from which its once integrated WGN (AM), WGN radio and ...
'' opined that "chances are that teens will be befuddled by the studio geekery and dance experts will scoff at its conscious fluffiness, but tunes like 'Think about Me' are an apt reminder that not all contemporary pop has to be a guilty pleasure to be fun."
Track listing
# "Think About Me" – 4:35
# "
Re-Rewind" (Radio Edit) – 4:02
# "Outrageous" – 4:14
# "
Please Don't Turn Me On" (Radio Edit) – 3:43
# "
TwentyFourSeven
''Twentyfourseven'' is a documentary-style reality show on MTV that documented the lives of seven male friends seeking fame and fortune in Hollywood. The show was described as a "real" version of '' Entourage'', in the same manner that ''Laguna ...
" – 3:48
# "Something" – 4:18
# "
Movin' Too Fast" – 3:54
# "R U Ready" – 4:39
# "I Can't Give It Up" – 4:03
# "
Woman Trouble" (Radio Edit) – 4:00
# "What You Gonna Do?" – 4:00
# "It Ain't Enough" (Radio Edit) – 3:41
# "We Should Get Together" – 4:06
# "Think About Me" (Artful Dodger 3 Step Mix) – 5:29
# "Please Don't Turn Me On" (Artful Dodger UK Garage Remix) – 5:44
Charts
Weekly charts
Year-end charts
References
{{Authority control
2000 debut albums
Artful Dodger (duo) albums
London Records albums
Sire Records albums