Name: Welcome to the Beautiful South
Brand: Universal Internat'l Music Bv
SKU: 213108
Price: 6.46 GBP
Availability: InStock

Welcome to the Beautiful South

Rating

Album: Welcome to the Beautiful South
#	Song Title		Time
1)	Song For Whoever Album Version	More Info...	6:10
2)	Have You Ever Been Away	More Info...	5:11
3)	From Under The Covers	More Info...	4:04
4)	I'll Sail This Ship Alone LP Mix	More Info...	4:39
5)	Girlfriend	More Info...	2:54
6)	Straight In At 37	More Info...	4:29
7)	You Keep It All In	More Info...	2:54
8)	Woman In The Wall	More Info...	5:16
9)	Oh Blackpool	More Info...	3:00
10)	Love Is...	More Info...	7:03
11)	I Love You (But You're Boring)	More Info...	4:31

Album: Welcome to the Beautiful South
#	Song Title		Time
1)	Song For Whoever Album Version	More Info...	6:10
2)	Have You Ever Been Away	More Info...	5:11
3)	From Under The Covers	More Info...	4:04
4)	I'll Sail This Ship Alone LP Mix	More Info...	4:39
5)	Girlfriend	More Info...	2:54
6)	Straight In At 37	More Info...	4:29
7)	You Keep It All In	More Info...	2:54
8)	Woman In The Wall	More Info...	5:16
9)	Oh Blackpool	More Info...	3:00
10)	Love Is...	More Info...	7:03
11)	I Love You (But You're Boring)	More Info...	4:31

Performer Notes

The Beautiful South: Sean Welch, Dave Hemingway, David Rotheray, Paul Heaton, David Stead.
Additional personnel: Brianna Corrigan (vocals); Gary Barnacle (saxophone, flute); John Thirkle (trumpet, flugelhorn); Peter Thoms (trombone); Pete Wingfield (piano, keyboards); Mel Wesson (keyboards, drum progamming); Martin Ditcham (percussion).
Producers: Mike Hedges; John Rowley.
Engineers: Ian Grimble; Dave Meeghan.
Formed from the ashes of the Housemartins, The Beautiful South became one of England's most successful bands. Released in 1989, their debut, WELCOME TO THE BEAUTIFUL SOUTH, introduces the band's style. Musically, the songs are often deceptively sweet sounding, while lyrically brutally sardonic, even cruel. This combination keeps their records extremely edgy and sometimes uncomfortable, though there's no denying the band's skill.
A perfect example of this is "Woman in the Wall," which is musically energetic and triumphal, though its lyrics owe something to Edgar Allan Poe's "The Tell-Tale Heart," telling a horrifying story of spousal abuse that results in murder. Other standouts include "Song for Whoever," which starts as a sweet love song before the narrator confesses that the song was written for at least 10 different women, "Straight In at 37," which takes a couple of memorable potshots at popsters Simon Le Bon and Paul Young, and the epic "Love Is…," featuring three different vocalists, including Briana Corrigan, who eventually became a full-fledged member of the band.

Professional Reviews

The Bob (Fall/90) - "...any fan of classic pop will find this record hard to resist..."