I Could Be Dreaming: the Belle and Sebastian song-by-song, album-by-album thread

I want it to be better. That's all.

 

I like "Beyond The Sunrise". Send out the hit squads.

 

Looking forward to the XTC thread - could you mention it here when it's about to start?

 

Sure.

 

Today it's the turn of If You're Feeling Sinister

A lot happened between the recording and release of Tigermilk. The six people who went into CaVa studio coalesced as a band rather than a group of people that Stuart Murdoch knew, and decided to continue as such. They quickly signed a contract with Jeepster in between fulfilling their obligations to Stow College. Stuart had already written half of the songs that were destined to become their second album, and they were rehearsing them in their new space at Hyndburn church hall.

After listening to the results last night my current favourites are

Fox In The Snow
Get Me Away From Here, I'm Dying
Mayfly (mainly because of the unexpected Stylophone solo from Sarah)

But, as with Tigermilk, it's a difficult choice, because they're all so good

Least successful? Probably The Boy Done Wrong Again. But it's still a good song

 

If I had to pick a top three it would be
Stars of Track and Field
Get Me Away...
Judy

I think Mayfly is the weak link (relatively speaking of course)

 

Fox in the Snow
Ma and the Major
If You're Feeling Sinister

weakest: Mayfly

 

Like Dylan In The Movies
The Stars Of Track And Field
The Fox In The Snow

weakest: The Boy Done Wrong Again

I've played The Boy Done Wrong Again over and over because I really want to like it, as this would make Sinister (one of my top-3 albums by anyone) even more perfect, but no luck so far.

 

I've been following this thread since the start, but haven't contributed (until now). I only own one B&S record, and it's If You're Feeling Sinister. Bought it in a vinyl sale at HMV a year or so ago. I remembered hearing some of their stuff in the 90s, and I know they're highly-rated (even the guy at the counter said "that's a great album"), so I thought I'd give it a go. And my verdict was...it's OK, but I'm not completely bowled over by it. So when I saw this thread starting I thought I'd follow it to see what the general opinion on this album was. And of course - everyone loved it, with 5/5 ratings all over the place. So I think it's safe to conclude that they're just generally not for me. I've continued to follow the thread though, listening to most things along the way, and the fact is that on every album, even the recent ones, there are a couple of songs that I really like, but then a few more that I really don't. And most of those songs that I liked got lower ratings!

So thanks to Lance for the thread - when you do the XTC thread I'll be totally on board.

 

And I just realised what the thread format is now...3 favs and one weak nomination, basically. Not set in stone or anything...this early stuff is SO good I'm just picking 3 tracks for the sake of picking 3 tracks. Just about any of them could be picked...but...

Tigermilk like:

The State I'm In
I Don't Love Anyone
You're Just a Baby

There's no weak tracks on Tigermilk

Sinister:

The Stars of Track and Field
If You're Feeling Sinister
Get Me Away From Here I'm Dying

No weak tracks

As for the first EP's...I love them all.

 

It's difficult third album time - The Boy With The Arab Strap

Most bands would have spent the time between their second and third albums touring relentlessly and opening up new markets. But, of course, B&S aren't most bands, so they hardly played live at all in 1997; but instead recorded new material and released three EPs. Then it was time to make the third album. Instead of taking the highly disciplined approach that they'd used for the first two they decided to suck it and see, so the sessions dragged on and cost them/Jeepster a fortune.

Best tracks (in my humble opinion)

The Boy With The Arab Strap
Is It Wicked Not To Care?
Dirty Dream #2

Weakest? - Simple Things (not actually bad, but up with some stiff competition)

 

I should clarify: difficult for the band, not the listener. This was the first B&S album I owned.

 

Best (since I've developed an allergy to the title track)

Seymour Stein
Dirty Dream #2
A Summer Wasting

I'm going to copy hello people and not nominate a weakest song if I don't want to!

 

Best:
1. TBWTAS
2. Rollercoaster Ride
3. It Could Have Been a Brilliant Career. EDIT- actually it’s Sleep the Clock Around.

worst- spaceboy dream, by miles

 

The Boy With The Arab Strap

Best:
Sleep Around the Clock
Is it Wicked Not to Care
Boy With the Arab Strap

I love them all pretty much. They are all tremendously atmospheric

 

Best:
Dirty Dream #2
The Boy With The Arab Strap
It Could Have Been A Brilliant Career

Worst:
A Space Boy Dream

 

The cracks are showing. It's Fold Your Hands, Child, You Walk Like A Peasant

After the marathon sessions needed to complete The Boy With The Arab Strap the band decided to try and return to their previous approach of rehearse it to hell, then record it quickly. Stuart reckoned they could nail this one in two weeks, and the band must have agreed, as Isobel booked studio time to do the second Gentle Waves album. Of course it didn't work out that way and, like Arab Strap, the recording dragged on (they actually did it twice). The band suffered its first casualty, as bassist Stuart David (in his own words "always my own man") stopped turning up to the studio once the promised fortnight was over, although he didn't formally leave the band until a few months later.

Best songs for me?
I Fought In A War
Chalet Lines
The Wrong Girl

Weakest?
Nice Day For A Sulk (if only for the worst rhyming couplet ever)

 

Best:
1. The Model
2. Too Much Love
3. I Fought In a War

Worst:
If the answer is Beyond the Sunrise, the question will always be which is the worst song B&S have ever recorded (even including spoken word tracks)?

 

To me it's probably something on The Life Pursuit or Girls In Peacetime, but I'll come to them in due course.

For me this album marks the end of the golden era. Sad, but true.

 

Wrong thread, that’s a Metallica song!

 

That’s undoubtedly true. It also happens to mark a delineation in my life as I’d been around listening to their 1995\6 BBC sessions on the radio doing my A-levels, then really got into them at university having met a bunch of friends with similar tastes (in my 6 person university house in the 2nd and 3rd year we must have had at least 4 copies of each album and EP released up to 1998) and FYHC came out just as we were all leaving university for the big wide world and nothing was quite the same ever again.

 

Best:

I Fought in A War
Waiting For the Moon to Rise
Family Tree

I could have picked almost any 3. Another gorgeously atmospheric album with no tracks I dislike.

 

Don't Leave The Light On Baby
I Fought In A War
The Model

weakest: Nice Day For A Sulk

 

Best:
The Model (one of my top-5 B&S songs)
There's Too Much Love
Women's Realm (would have been Family Tree if Stuart has sung it - lovely melody but spoiled by Isobel's weak vocals)

Worst:
Beyond the Sunrise - literally unlistenable

Overall, this album is worse than the sum of its parts because of the terrible sequencing with the slump in the middle and 3 great upbeat songs all together at the end.

 

Don't apologise, your movie's a hit (um, no, it isn't) - Storytelling

So. Dysfunctional band decamp to LA. Waste a lot of movie company money writing and recording music that isn't going to be used as the soundtrack to a film that changes on a day-to-day basis. Return to Glasgow. Waste record company money finishing it off. Release mercifully short album. Get dropped by record company.

Best tracks (they saved them until the end)
Wandering Alone
Scooby Driver
Big John Shaft

Least successful (apart from the bits of dialogue)
I Don't Want To Play Football

In the run-up they do something sensible, which is recruiting Bobby Kildea to replace Stuart David. In the aftermath Isobel leaves mid-tour to embark on her solo/collaborative career; much of which leaves me cold to be honest.