At the last count I had 8 Belle and Sebastian albums, 1 EP and 2 singles all on CD. With the exception of If You're Feeling Sinister and Dear Catastrophe Waitress they are all charity shop purchases mostly over the last four or five years. Scotland, and Glasgow in particular, are rich hunting grounds for their stuff which pops up pretty often.
If You're Feeling Sinister is their second album from 1996 and their first on the Jeepster label. I bought it reasonably soon after it came out and it was the only one of theirs on the shelves for years.
There are those who claim that Dear Catastrophe Waitress or even The Boy With The Arab Strap is their best album but they are wrong there. This one is by far their best a fact I confirmed by playing it for the first time in ages last weekend.
All the tracks are written by Stewart Murdoch with some brilliant lines and are just on the right side of twee a line they sometimes cross on other records.
Here are three fine examples:
Belle and Sebastian - The Stars of Track and Field
A very good record but if I could only have one I would go for "Write About Love". I realise this goes against the Music Bloggers Code, Article 2.3(a) of which specifies that we should always prefer their earlier stuff, but I'm a crazy maverick.
ReplyDeleteYou march to the beat of a different drum.
Delete"This one is by far their best a fact I confirmed by playing it for the first time in ages last weekend."
ReplyDeleteAnd who am I to argue with such solid reasoning and faultless logic?
You've got a tough crowd here CC! I'm by no means a Belle and Sebastian completest, but of the handful of their albums I have, I'd also give the nod to If You're Feeling Sinister.
ReplyDeleteGeorge got in first but your 3rd para made me laugh out loud. I'm sure I'll be pinching that line for future use in some other context. I have a fair few B & S albs, Dear Catastrophe Waitress is probably my fave
ReplyDeleteI'm with Spence. And George, obviously.
ReplyDelete