You Cross My Path is the tenth studio album by British rock band the Charlatans, released on 3 March 2008 as a free download from radio station Xfm's website. Following promotion for the band's ninth studio album, Simpatico (2006), frontman Tim Burgess and manager Alan McGee devised an idea to give away their music for free. Guitarist Mark Collins and keyboardist Tony Rogers visited Burgess in Los Angeles, California, where they would write new material, and followed this up with jam sessions with the whole band in early 2007. Recording sessions were split across Hollywood, California, Blessington, Ireland, and Cheshire, Greater Manchester, with Rogers given a separate producer credit independent of the band. You Cross My Path is an electro and pop album that evokes the work of Kasabian, New Order, and Simple Minds. Following the reggae direction of Simpatico, Rogers' organ returned to the forefront of the band's sound on You Cross My Path.
You Cross My Path received generally favourable reviews from music critics, many of whom praised the songwriting, though some were less enthusiastic about its quality. It charted at number 25 in Scotland, number 39 in the United Kingdom, and number 96 in Ireland. After their former label folded, the Charlatans announced their decision to release the album for free. Some writers thought they were copying Radiohead, who announced on the same day that they would be doing that strategy with In Rainbows (2007). "You Cross My Path" was released as the lead single from the album of the same name in October 2007 and was promoted with a tour of the UK the following month. "Oh! Vanity" was released as its second single in February 2008, followed by "The Misbegotten" in May 2008. You Cross My Path was released physically through Cooking Vinyl that same month, and the Charlatans toured the UK in support of it. "Mis-Takes" appeared as the fourth single from it in July 2008; over the next two months, they played at a few festivals and held a live show in New Zealand at the end of the year.
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