Customer Reviews

Interlude

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

 

 

... "Queen of Polythene" is just absolutely dreamy, something you expect to hear in a cool breezy jazz bar on a Saturday night. If you love Sarah Cracknell's honey-smooth voice (and who doesn't?), hearing her sing in Francaise in "Le Ballade de Saint Etienne" will make your heart melt with delight. "Northwestern" continues the Etienne's tradition of creating fabulous pop music with a dash of evil mixed in. Yes, it's an album of B-sides, but the flow is still surprisingly smooth. And finally, the included video for "How We Used to Live" is worth the purchase alone. Because, hey, where else in the States can you find a SE video?

After spending considerable effort and money buying British imports of hard-to-find Saint Etienne records, I'm relieved to have in my collection this set of songs released for Saint Etienne's American fans. The liner notes explain exactly what this CD is: "Interlude, aka the flipside to Sound of Water." With the exception of four tracks, the songs on the CD are culled from B-sides taken from the "Sound of Water" singles. The liner notes go on to inform us that the many songs which were written for the "Water" project simply didn't fit into the record's final, ethereal sound. Hence, superb songs like the dancy, catchy "Shoot Out the Lights" (which Etienne played live last year during their U.S. tour), "Northwestern," and "Thank You" didn't make it on the album. The songs are strong enough to likely have made any other Etienne album, however, and many easily evoke the casual charm of 1994's "Tiger Bay" (the group's third record). The "bonus" tracks (re-mixes of "Boy Is Crying" and "Lose That Girl") are fine additions. The CD has its own atmosphere, much like "Water" has. Songs like Brian Wilson's "Stevie" and "Roseneck" have the feel of a cool, late-night drink. One qualm: For whatever reason, Sup-Pop printed the track listing on the back of the jewel box slightly out of order with what's on the CD. There was an attempt to compensate for this flaw by including an insertion inside the jewel box which lists the correct track listing, but does not accurately list the song titles. The listings "Boy Is Crying" and "Lose That Girl" omit the "Remix" names listed on the back of the jewel box. All in all, however, this is a fine addition to any Saint Etienne fan's CD collection.

Interlude provides further insight into Saint Etienne in 2000, revealing the quiet experimentalism of Sound of Water set into more standard 3 minute dreampop contexts. Not as grandiose as Sound of Water, nor as sublime as their previous b-side collections (You need a mess of help to stand alone, Continental, and Fairfax High) but a fine stopgap collection as we all await the next album. Too bad Sub Pop got the track listing wrong, and the remixes are guilty but unnecessary pleasures.

I have been a fan of Saint Etienne for a while. "Interlude," is just that - an interlude between "Sound of Water" and the next album (hopefully there will be one). This is really a collection of songs that were thrown onto CD singles over the last two or so years. Most of them I have already heard. It is nice to be able to get "Stevie" without having to go out and buy that Brian Wilson tribute CD. The remixes on "Lose That Girl" and "Boy is Crying" are also nice to have since I hadn't been able to find them prior to this. It gets 4 stars from me, primarily because I think Saint Etienne are a great talent and highly underrated (and a good concert too). But since I already have many of the songs, the lack of "new" material doesn't rate it a "5." This is good for true fans only - it may not be the best one to start with if you're new to Saint Etienne's sound.

Once again I fall victim to enjoying 'B' side compilations more than the album counterparts. Right from start, 'Roseneck' sets the mood. I'm happy to hear Saint Etienne at their melodic and creative best. Being a Saint Etienne fan since the beginning, I've always enjoyed the two or three melodic and slower gems per album. Thankfully, most of the songs on this CD are of the classic Saint Etienne style that I love so much -- elegant, sultry, and thought-provoking. Songs such as 'Thank you', 'Queen of Polythene', 'Le Ballade de Saint Etienne' and 'Red Setter' will undoubtedly go down in my musical history book at Saint Etienne favourites. Enjoy.

This b-sides compilation is fantastic. I was so excited when I saw that this album was coming out so soon after "Sound of Water." There is a very definite genius to Saint Etienne's style. It is timeless and classic and new and unsettling all at once. "Interlude" wraps everything I love about this band into one great album. These songs sample the brilliance of all Saint Etienne's previous releases. My favorites from "Interlude" are "Shoot out the Lights," "Queen of Polythene," and "Le Ballade De Saint Etienne." I was also so thrilled to learn that the album contains an INCREDIBLE remix of "Lose That Girl" (which was on 1998's "Good Humor).

As someone who initially got into St. Etienne as a way to tie myself over while waiting for the next Cardigans release, 2000's 'Sound Of Water' came as a revelation: 10 tracks with elements of brit-pop, dance, and lounge, great song-writing and just about the best production you could ask for (and you're missing out if you're not using headphones to pick up all the subtle elements). All in all, it was the best album of 2000, in my opinion. 'Interlude' is more of the same, and almost as good, as the out-takes and b-sides collected here stand their ground next to the main album. Only the meandering instrumental "Bar Conscious" threatens to derail the disc, but it passes and gives way to better material. In the end a good disc for those who like their past work, but start with 'Sound Of Water' if you're a new listener.

This album is an excellent addition to everyone's music collection and another great one from STE.

Svaki put Saint Etienne mi priredi iznenadjenje. Prosto je neverovatno kako su od B strana singlova uspeli da naprave odlican album savrseno uklopljen. Najbolji materijal koji je dosada bend objavio. Od samog pocetka sa instrumentalom Roseneck pa do samog kraja uz pesmu Thank You, bend vam nedozvoljava da se trgnete iz sanjarenja u kojeg su vas strucno uveli. Pesme koje se izdvajaju su: Stevie, Shoot Out The Lights i Mountain Rain.
Posle Thank You slede dve bonus pesme t.j remix za Boy Is Crying i Lose That Girl.
Obavezno za kolekciju.

oh my god, this album is the WORST one they have ever done. EVER. Even Sound of Water was better than this, and that was pretty much rubbish. B-sides of rubbish is even worse. I'm sorry I wasted money on this CD, seeing how I have all of their other albums and from 1991 to 1998, they were sublime. Perfect. Could do no wrong. This music has no beat, no tune, no melody. It's just DULL. If you like all the rest of their music, you will probably HATE this. A real step in the wrong direction.