Customer Reviews

The BBC Sessions

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

The other two reviews for this new belle and sebastian release appear to represent completely opposing viewpoints. I think the truth about this release requires a little more balance. If you are a big belle fan you would probably enjoy the bbc sessions release because first of all, there are 7 previously unreleased tracks (some live on disc 2 and some bbc session tracks on disc 1) and secondly, big fans of any band usually welcome a chance to hear different takes of songs (be it live or otherwise). With that said, both reviewers spoke some truth. The live performances are, at times, strained or labored. The band's version of the Beatle's Here Comes the Sun lacks the clarity and peaceful energy of the original. It feels as though they were either nervous or too tired to perform because it has the sound of distraction and preoccupation with something other than the song at hand. However, big fans may simply enjoy hearing the cover!
The Magic of a Kind Word is a very fun, poppy song reminiscent of some of Belle and Sebastian's b sides that ended up on Push Barman to Open Old Wounds (see Legal Man as a late sixties reference and Jonathan David as an energy reference).
The fact that some of disc two's performances are lacking in sheer execution/ feel (and by the way, a cover of The Boys are Back in Town helps to validate any suspicion of 70's rock influence on the Life's Pursuit) is made up for by solid bbc sessions that recall some of the band's earlier trademark sound.
Overall, if you enjoyed the b sides B & S released in the past and you cared enough to buy Push Barman (which had no previously released songs at all) you would likely not regret spending the money on this.

Ten out of fourteen songs on this disc have been previously released, on Belle & Sebastian's first four albums, so there's little to surprise fans of the group. What makes it worthwhile is the way these songs were recorded: they've got a very close, intimate feel that makes it sound as if you are in a cosy cafe listening to the band play their greatest hits to a small audience. "Stars of Track and Field", "Judy and the Dream of Horses", and "Sleep the Clock Around" all sound wonderful.

The new songs are a little more unexpected, dating as they do from several years ago. "Shoot the Sexual Athlete" is a bit more experimental in its rhythm than most B&S tunes, but is actually quite nice once it gets going. "My Girl's Got Miraculous Technique" is perhaps a more standard Stuart Murdoch song, and would have sounded right at home on "Fold Your Hands Child..." along with "A Woman's Realm" and "There's Too Much Love".

All in all it's a pleasant little collection to pass the time until another proper album appears.

I've been waiting for a new Belle and Sebastian album... This one doesn't have new material, but it's different enough from the originals and the mix is entertaining. At first I didn't like the sound quality... It kind of sounds like you're listening to an AM radio broadcast... But I quickly got over that and now find that to be part of the album's charm...

Be warned that there are two versions of this album out... One contains a second disk full of live material... I didn't get that one and now I wish I did.

The BBC session songs do not sound that much different than those on the studio albums. There are a few previously unreleased tracks, however none of these really stuck out to me. The real find here is the bonus live CD. The band just sounds like they seem to have a blast playing in front of an audience. It gives you a completely different appreciation for the band, and in particular Stuart Murdoch. He is a very uplifting performer. Very different from the feel of the studio recordings and the BBC recordings included on the first CD in this set.

In the very depth of our hearts we all have certain things that, either obscure or shiny, stand there waiting for the time to show up. I guess thats the "essence" of this 14 tracks: pieces of something quite intimate that writting down a critic seems to be almost profanic.
The 14 tracks that constitute the first part of THE BBC SESSIONS are not only rareties but pieces of museum. Some may like them, some may not. One thing is certain: no non-bowlies are allowed here. If you are a real, true fan of Belle and Sebastian you're gonna tremble at every track; you're gonna miss some words in this "primitive" version of "The Wrong Girl" called "Wrong Love" or Monica Queen's voice in "Lazy [Line Painter] Jane". But still, the trembling will not stop until you listen to those never before released tracks. I loved two of them: "Nothing In The Silence" and "(My Girl's Got) Miraculous Technique". They just make you wonder why did Stuart Murdoch and the rest of the collective did not put them in some of their albums.
Now, about the "Live in Belfast 2001" album, the second part of THE BBC SESSIONS, there's no much to say: again, if you are a real Belle and Sebastian fan you've already seen the FANS ONLY DVD, and thus you've seen how they get so excited performing in front of an audience that some times they can make some terrible mistakes. But, again, if you are a bowlie you can understand that too.
The fact of Isobel being in the front cover gives you an idea of how much nostalgia and saudade goes within THE BBC SESSIONS.

Both discs are a real pleasure to hear. The bonus for me were the 3 covers on the green CD (the Belfast, Ireland concert). This was a A+ purchase!

If you love B&S, why wouldn't you want this? A clutch of cool "unplugged" BBC session tracks, including some unreleased songs, plus the great bonus LIVE CD featuring some inspired remakes of WAITING FOR THE MAN and THE BOYS ARE BACK IN TOWN and HERE COMES THE SUN, among others - if you're going to get this, spring for the deluxe version with the extra CD - it's worth it for the fans!

Call me a chump, but with the exception of Storytelling, I put everything that B&S has put out (all the E.P. releases too) on the highest ebb of all musical performances, with an emphasis on their earlier work from the 90's. I think a real turning point for this band's sound happened with the release of Dear Catastrophe Waitress. Isobel Campbell, the female accompanying vocalist and part time writer for the band has her last appearance in a few songs on that album. She leaves later, forever changing the sound of the band. Following, comes the CD The Life Pursuit and it's accompanying E.P.s, which have a much more upbeat, pop-rock feel to them; Good in it's own right, but very different. Only seldom do you hear a song that could be preformed in a cafe on any of that stuff.

I have been a fan since the beginning. My heart is with the earlier stuff that this band has produced. One of the things about B&S that I hope will never change is their ability to catch you listening closely to a song you may have heard 100 times before, but never quite understood until the circumstances of your life situate you correctly. I love listening to the older albums because, often times, I still find new meaning in them.

This album was particularly important to me because It offers some of their older music in a new and different way, and this CD marks the release of several songs from their Jeepster record label days. I don't know how many more little songs from the early days remain unreleased - this may mark one of the last times that you will be able to hear new songs from the band in its original form. Take it in.

First, a disclaimer: I love hearing rougher, more live versions of a band's repertoire. Among my favorites on this compilation are the Peel session tracks from 2001. It's great to finally have them out on an official release.

I have all of B&S's full-length releases so I've heard most of this but the feel of these versions totally took me back to why I fell in love with this band the second I heard 'Stars of Track & Field' back in the late 90's. They totally remind me of fellow Scots, Orange Juice feat. Edwyn Collins - Sloppy (in a good way) and beautiful. I highly recommend this release!