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10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Worth a second look...., July 1, 2000
With St. Etienne's recent release of thier latest album, Sound of Water, I find myself looking back over their past works, and as I do, I find that this is really their best album. So Tough really builds well on what St. Etienne started on Foxbase Alpha - it has a similar but much more mature feel while sounding a lot more polished. After this, I feel that they wandered off course a bit with Tiger Bay, and then really lost it on Good Humor. With thier "Misadventures of St. Etienne" sound track, they really righted the ship, and Sound of Water prooves that they are firmly back on track, but they've never equaled what they achieved on So Tough. So, if your a fan of the group, but somehow missed this one, go out and buy it, I promise that you won't regret it. The album starts out with quintessential Etienne, a song called Mario's cafe with quirkly lyrics but with a chorus that only Sarah Cracknell could pull off - such vocal majestry that you find yourself repeatedly listening to the song just to get to the chorus. Then we continue to a song named for tennis player Conchita Martinez (what other band would do such a thing?) and then onto what I believe is Etienne's most innovative masterpeice, Avenue, a song that contains beutifuly layered backing and foreground vocals that is just one of these achingly pretty songs that are really hard to pass. Then we continue into more traditional pop fare with You're In a Bad Way - sort of a straight forward pop tune that was reasonably successful in England as a single. Next up is Hobart Paving, a beutiful ballad where we hear lyrics like "Rain falls, like Elvis tears", but the highlight of the song is when Sarah sings "and baby, don't forget to catch me" over and over - perfection. Following this is Leafhound - this very etheral sounding popish piece where past acquaintences of the singer seem to come to life around her. Then there is Junk the Morgue, an even more etheral sounding piece that is even more instrumental - its my all time favorite song to just sit back and listen to with the light's turned off - it has just an amazing feeling. Last, Join Our Club - another straight up pop song where Sarah implores "We all want to / kiss the sky / join our club / we're going to try" and with her voice, you just can't resist.
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6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
so tough - so good., December 21, 2004
five stars? i wish i could have given this one more! this was my first introduction to the saints and i've been hooked ever since. there are no weak songs on this album and the production is almost flawless. the samples are amazing and if you give this one a listen to, you'll undoubtedly find your self repeating the clips, from old tv shows and movies, that are littered throughout. the saints really created a masterpiece with this one. if you're a newbie to the saints, and you're intrigued in their sound, this is the perfect album to get as it is a great example as to how diverse their sound is. if your an existing fan of the saints, no doubt you already own this one, or your trying to replace your copy that's been played one to many times.
(as for the question below from two years ago i'm guessing it's birdie (Deborah Wykes & Paul Kelly), hope you found it already though...)
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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
if you buy one saint etienne record..., October 26, 2005
...you could do much worse than 'so tough,' the et's second proper l.p. 'so tough' built on 'foxbase alpha's' blend of sophisticated pop and clever experimentalism ('calico,' 'here come clown feet' etc). consequently, 'so tough' is a difficult record to digest upon initial listens. it's hard to tell whether the saints are simply too clever for their own good, sampling everything from rush's 'spirit of radio' to marc almond saying 'non-stop erotic cabaret' and writing a song about spanish tennis star conchita martinez. and that virtually every song on 'so tough' has some sort of spoken word intro, it's all the more wonderfully puzzling.
experiments aside, however, at it's core, 'so tough' is an exceptional pop album. some of saint etienne's finest songs, 'you're in a bad way,' 'avenue,' 'mario's cafe,' 'leafhound' and 'hobart paving' come from 'so tough.' it's an album steeped in swinging london nostalgia, hitting all the right notes in terms of style and substance. saint etienne embrace a sophisticated, glamorous, stylish brand of pop, incorporating keyboards, flutes, harmonicas, mellotrons, flamenco guitars. their sound ranges from heavy post-madchester beats, to lilting piano ballads, all despite all the samples and references, saint etienne remain an utterly original band. no one else around can hold a candle to the band in terms of sheer originality.
and considering the band released 'so tough' in the wake of the post-nirvana grunge climate of 1992, it's all the more impressive and important. kurt and co. could have their nihistic, existentialist brand of rock. such doom and gloom could never fit into saint etienne's brand of blissed out pop, and thank heavens for that.
'so tough,' in all its technological weirdness and pastoral beauty, is perhaps the defining record of the pre-britpop explosion of 1993. five stars.
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