Customer Reviews

Lazy Line Painter Jane

5 star:		(21)
4 star:		(10)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I have always heard B+S spoken well of, but pretty much only in indie rock circles which can be kinda stuffy and closed-minded, so I didn't know to put much stock in it. I figured I'd give them a shot when the opportunity presented itself instead of going out of my way. That day came when I saw this box set at a retail store "going out of business sale" and I snapped it up for 4 bucks.

OK- a few things here: best 4 bucks I've spent in a LONG time. I would have gladly paid more than full price for this sucker had I know how great it was. Also, I'm SO angry at myself for waiting so long to get to know this great music! The EP set is only the tip of the iceberg, as they have four or five full-lengths, but I so admire their dedication to the EP format. Each of these (and Jonathan David, which I also got and strongly recommend!) have their own character and flavor.

Major highlight is "Lazy Line Painter Jane" which is the kind of song that could have ruled the airwaves back when Tina Turner's "River Deep, Mountain High" was a miserable failure. It reaches such orgasmic heights of Phil Specto-rama, with layer upon layer of sound building and building (AND BUILDING AND BUILDING) around the duet between Stewart and the soulful white girl Monica White. The lyrics are vague in a Stewart kind of way, with enough evocative references to "boys" and "girls" who's lives are potentially altered by the "last bus out of town" to make you buy into this grandiose drama of human feeling without knowing exactly what the hell is going on (Dylan-esque? Yes!) It's a total geek-out! And I just LOVE how that bass line recenters the focus after the first verse, breaks it all down and then builds it back up! You da man, Stewart!

He isn't afraid to bring alot to the party, either. There's a home in this indie-rock for slide guitar, pedal steel guitar, harmonica, violins and strings and synths that sound like violins and strings- and it's deadly sincere. There's no joking around here. The people in charge of making this light and airy music are serious craftsmen and super-talented arrangers. They give a damn about making the best song they can.

I can't wait to absorb more of their music. This is such a great band, and I'd urge people to buy this box set. I found it an incredible way to start in on Belle and Sebastian!

I am from Manhattan and one day as I was in a chain record store, another person and I started chatting about music (these things happen all the time in Manhattan). It turned out that both of us were HUGE Belle & Sebastian fans (the lucky sod owned an ORIGINAL copy of "Tigermilk"--I almost mugged him there on the spot! These things happen all the time in Manhattan...LOL. Not really.). When he heard how much I love B&S, he literally dragged me over to the cd singles section and thrust the three original import singles at me and said, "Do yourself a favor." As I didn't even KNOW that B&S had issued the singles at the time (it had been a difficult year), I immediately ran, debit card in hand, to the register and then sat impatiently at work the rest of the day until I could get home and thrust these into the cd player. And then promptly hit the repeat button. My favorite of these three absolutely wonderful, tuneful, whimsical, perfect cd single bonbons is "3...6...9...Seconds of Light" (he preferred "Dog on Wheels" I remember), but all of them are ABSOLUTELY INDISPENSIBLE. And then I think how lucky all you people out there can be to get ALL THREE at one time without having to pay import prices and want to drag you--or your mouse--to the "Put this in my shopping cart" button so you can bliss out yourselves. Now if you will pardon me, I need to hit that repeat button again...

Belle and Sebastian have been making great pop music for nearly a decade now, and some of their best work isn't on any studio album. You'll find great gems like "Lazy Line Painter Jane" and "The State I Am In" on this set, but why stop there? You could pay $18 for this box set. But there's a better option now.

A new 2 disc set has surfaced, thanks to Matador. It's called PUSH BARMAN TO OPEN OLD WOUNDS, and it contains all these songs and more for a cheaper price. If you're looking for non-album tracks from Scotland's best band, I'd say the decision is a no-brainer. Buy PUSH BARMAN instead - it's the price of a single disc album, and you get 25 tracks from all EP's 1997-2001. What a deal.

Tis I. The one, the only, the music fan from Ponca City, Oklahoma. If there's one review I regret, it is my anonymous review of the 'Lazy Line Painter Jane' box, and so I shall now re-review it, ep by ep. Dog on Wheels: The first of the three, this really, really sounds like just a demo tape, but it's a fantastic demo tape. From the looseness of the 'Belle and Sebastian', to the near-flamenco guitar part of 'String Bean Jean', from the spanish tinge of 'Dog on Wheels', to the alternate version of 'State I Am In', this is a great ep, and worth the price of all three if you ask me.

Lazy Line Painter Jane: This one is really the odd one out. The first song is one of my least favorite Belle and Sebastian songs out there. It's not that it's too long or anything (past the five minute mark), it's just that the lead singer in the song is a guest vocalist and her voice clashes with the music. The next song is 'You Made Me Forget My Dreams', which is one of the saddest and sweetest songs Stuart Murdoch ever wrote. The third song on the ep is 'Photo Jenny'. It is very poppy (think 'Mayfly') and very silly and very Belle and Sebastian. The last track is a Stuart David pre-Looper song in which he speaks of his wife, his father, and his cat named Elvis. Very funny and very sweet, this is my favorite track on 'Jane'.

3...6...9 Seconds of Light: This ep is the reason I am re-writing this review. I terribly misjudged it the first time around and now it is time to set things straight. This is my favorite of the three eps, hands down. The first song is 'Century of Fakers' (which is 'Century of Elvis' minus Stuart David's story and with Stuart Murdoch's vocals in the foreground), and it is a great, great song. The next is 'La Pastie De La Bourgeoise', a fast surf/new wave song with some of the most sharp, bitter and witty lyrics contained in any Belle and Sebastian song. The third track is about Lisa, a recurring character in the band's songs, who has to deal with being blind, naive and just plain messed up. 'Beautiful'. The fourth song on this ep has to be one of my all time favorite songs. The lyrics are almost exactly true to my life and I was shocked at how much I could relate to it. Great song. The last track (a hidden one) is in my opinion, the best song Belle and Sebastian has ever made. It's so simple and cheaply recorded with lyrics about the band being on the radio. Wonderful.

Anyway, this is the end of my incredibly long review, and I hope I have corrected all of my wrongs. Buy this and be happy, or sad. It's all the same.

i must have heard all the tunes over the years, from radio or friends, but only one really sticks in my mind, the title track of this "album" is one of the finest songs i have ever heard, lyrically perfect, musically, in its mood - the slightly hysterical guest vocalist, deadpan narration, for me it captures the combination of rawness and numbness of adolescence (that too often is beaten out of you), the drive to push situations and yourself, the drive to connect, like nothing else, it makes me feel like i'm alive in a way few other songs do. It is unique amongst belle and sebastians' catalogue, without the sometimes TOO knowing arch feyness they sometimes exibit, the calculated bitterness that leaks in to their tales of quiet urban desperation, has a directness and honesty and is worth every penny of your hard earned money.

The other songs are pretty good as well, dont worry.

Lazy Line Painter Jane is not merely just a collection of three 4-song E.P.s that the band released back in 1997 but a definate must have for die hard fans over here in the states. The set consists of "Dog on Wheels", "Lazy Line Painter Jane" and "3-6-9 Seconds of Light". Each of those E.P.s have one thing in common a relaxed and laid back feel unmatched on their LP releases. The quality of these songs stand up as well as any of their other songs, yet the sound quality is more in the area of demos. That is exactly what makes this collection so magical in the first place. When your listening to the E.P.s it gives you more of a personal insight as to how they go about arranging and writing their songs. It gives you a weird feeling as if you were a freind of theirs and one of them gave you a demo tape you weren't supposed hear yet. The real standouts here are the demo version of "The State that I'm In", the beutiful reverb and female vocal laiden "Lazy Line Painter Jane" and Stuart Murdoch' very first recording "Le Pastie De La Bourgeoise". I know it was already mentioned in but I also have a problem with "This is Just a Modern Rock Song" E.P. missing from this fine collection. That E.P. will complete my collection and well that is my only complaint. The release of this has calmed me while faithfully awaiting their new album possibly this summer I hear. Til' then my hats off to these gentle, reverb washed, folk tinged, pop flavoured little songs. This is worth buying for longtime B&S fans if you don't already have them. Slainte!

It's not surprising that this disc has the lowest rating among all of the Belle and Sebastian discs (if an average of 4 stars can be construed as low). This if by far the least consistent Belle and Sebastian release. But the glorious title track alone is worth the money and the four stars. But you should listen to the title track before you buy this because even fans of the band have very divided views on the merits of the guest vocalist on this song.

Was there every a point in Stuart Murdoch's life when he wasn't crafting wonderful, wonderful songs? I heard this after already knowing Sinister, Tigermilk, Arab Strap, and Waitress like the back of my hand. I expected that a release of early stuff would be subpar. I couldn't have been more wrong. These early cuts stand out as much as their best work on later albums. If you like B&S, you will love this. If you have no idea who they are, you probably will too.

The state that I am in is absolute elan. "I was surpised, I has happy for a day.. in 1975." It's high time to Get Happy once again, party people. With the domestic release of these hidden gems from Belle & Sebastian comes greater insight into the great phenomenon known as Belle Fever.. "Who can explain it?," the media asks. "How can these unknowns runaway with Best Newcomer at the Brits?" I'll tell you who can explain it. One Mister Stuart Murdoch. It is he, and only he, who can muster the words, the melody - the very reason WHY Belle and Sebastian have gained such esteem. For from his mind, through his fingers, and out from his voice.. comes magic. Majestic.. Pop Grandeur. Take even the simplest of songs in this collection - "String Bean Jean." Listen just once. If you're not shaking your bum and swooning when Mr. Murdoch sings "The girls have got a house, it's like a caravan... and it's like your on holiday whenever you come round..", then you have the blackest of hearts!

It's really just worth it to buy this one, I'm afraid. There's so much Belle & Sebastian stuff out there that one can be almost intimidated, but I assure you, this one's the good stuff.

Of the three EPs my personal favorite is definitely "Belle & Sebastian." All four of the songs are wonderful, but "String Bean Jean" is simply transcendental. Whenever it comes on I have to give a little sigh--it's so good it's almost painful. All in all the entire EP has an absolutely charming sound... the best way I can describe it is to say it feels just like home. If I could, I'd live inside the songs forever.

The other two EPs I don't play nearly so often. There are some gorgeous moments and some slight clunkers. But seriously, if I had to pay fifteen bucks just for the song "String Bean Jean," I'd do it in a heartbeat.