Customer Reviews

Sweet Ride: Best of

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What makes this cd a joyous occasion rather than a sad one is that it came after two incredible Tanya Donelly solo albums. So we can rest assured that some of the spark that was Belly continues on.

So knowing this we can take a "Best of" cd and reminisce fondly without too much of the grief that comes when a band such as this ends far, far too soon.

Belly lived a relatively short life only producing two studio albums but they also left behind a whole slew of b-sides, rarities, and other little gems. Most of these are included on Sweet Ride along with the top attractions from Star and King.

Really well-known songs aside, I would recommend Spaceman, Thief, Dream on Me, and Lilith which was previously unreleased.

Bottomline, every single song on this disc is a masterpiece. Belly is one of the most under appreciated alternative acts in recent memory. Sweet Ride is the perfect send-off for hardcore fans and a beautiful place to start for new ones.

Tanya Donelly has a truly unique and beautiful voice that I just can't get enough of. That is why I was so excited when I saw this album. While I've enjoyed Tanya's 2 solo albums, I can't help but hope that Belly will reunite and give us just one more album to savor. The 9 b-sides on this album obviously are not new, but they have satisfied my desire for fresh (at least to my ears) Belly tunes. Unlike some b-side albums, when you hear these tunes you don't think "no wonder this wasn't on the original album". Instead you get 9 songs that belong with all the rest from Star and King. There's not one song that I don't love. In addition to those b-sides you get some good tunes from the bands two albums. True, it is not exactly a "best of" album - if you are looking to be introduced to the group you'd be better off just getting their first album, Star (an album no CD collection should be without!). But if you are a die hard Belly/Tanya Donelly fan this is a must-have addition to your collection.

This album is indispensable for Belly/Tanya fans. Unless you are lucky enough to have collected all of the CD single releases, there are treasures here that you really can't do without, starting with the opening track ("Spaceman"), a gorgeous recording that was inexplicably never included on the official album releases. Hot Burrito #1 is simply beautiful; in a perfect world, it would be a #1 hit.

Belly only released two albums, so to simply place hits from these on a CD would have been redundant. Having said that, the "hits" are all here, and if there are some painful omissions ("The Bees"), this only underscores the fact that Belly released very little material that isn't indispensable. The B-sides that have been included here are mostly at the same high level as the material on Star and King.

There are still some B-sides floating around that didn't make it unfortunately, but this collection does a great job of showing us what a great loss the disbanding of Belly really was.

I was thrilled to see alt rock queen Tanya Donelly decide to release the best of Belly.

Not only will you find hits like Feed the Tree and Gepetto. You can also find B sides from both albums. One of my favorite gems on this disc is a cover of the Hedrix classic "Are you Experienced?"

Being from the New England area, I had the fortune seeing Belly many times. For those of you who have never got the chance, pick up "Sweet Ride"

Before Kurt Cobain namedropped the Pixies, there was also Throwing Muses (Kristen Hirsh and Tanya are step-sisters), and the "Blind Faith" of Boston alt-rock, The Breeders.

Donnelly formed Belly with the Gorman brothers, and proceeded to put out 2 bona fide classics of the 90s, "Star" and "King". The former got some MTV play with "Feed the Tree" and "Gepetto" but unfortunately, the latter got lost in the shuffle in '95 and they shortly disbanded afterwards.

In my opinion, both CDs are just as fresh in 2005 as they were a decade ago, music that is almost pop but far more edgier and darker.

This is the type of music Liz Phair wound up making it mainstream a decade later, as well as Fountains of Wayne, who were far from "overnight". It's also the type of music that if you like Weezer will love this. Fellow New Englanders Letters to Cleo (who also had similar problems to Belly although they did have success in the end) used to do a lot of shows with Belly at the time.

When you hear Ashlee Simpson, Pink, Lindsey Lohan, Avril, and the other "chicks who rock", you put on "Sweet Ride", and it literally devastates any of the pop stars out there today on so many levels.

THis collection wraps up the known songs, the b-sides, covers (Gram Parsons' "Hot Burrito", Hendrix's "Are You Experienced", "Trust in Me" from "Jungle Book" that Siouxie and the Banshees had also covered) and the soundtracks they took part in.

For sweet(and sweetly hard rocking)alternative music, I don't see how you could do much better than Belly. This collection(with hard-to-find b-sides like "Spaceman", soundtrack songs like "Broken"[which ended up on 'Twister'!], and where-did-that-come-from? entries like "Lilith"), this represents a tight, luscious rock-n-roll band hitting a personal peak. I didn't care for Tanya Donelly's 2 solo outings--they just lacked the fire and spunk and drive of the Belly songs. Oh...I miss them terribly!! Now you'll sleep all right...

Since Belly only released two proper albums, neither of which exactly produced a slew of hit singles, a straight greatest hits album would be somewhat superfluous. So, instead, we get what amounts to a one-CD boxed set--mixing singles, exceptional album cuts, B-sides, and previously unreleased tracks to create something that will (everyone involved no doubt hopes) appeal to both older fans and newcomers alike.

Does it succeed? I would say largely yes. The B-sides are certainly worthwhile, but the strongest cuts are (tellingly) mostly from Belly's exceptional second CD, "King." On the negative side, "Judas My Heart," arguably their best song, appears here in French (for no discernable reason) and gains nothing from the translation. And their version of Jimi Hendrix's "Are You Experienced" proves that only Devo should cover rock classics.

Still, by and large, this CD provides an interesting re-examination of Belly's work, hangs together reasonably well, and didn't make me feel ripped-off for buying it. "King" is better, but since "Star" has more songs you might actually have heard of, this CD may be the best choice for beginners.

And, I suppose, it sort of closes the book on Belly, since the band's driving force, Tanya Donelly, has already released two solo albums.

As a collection, this cd is great. Now as a Best of collection, well...this cd doesn't fully fufill that title. For the Belly fans, like myself, we're going to love it. These songs are fantastic. But for someone who wants to be introduced to Belly, this isn't the best starting point. My gripe is that there are too many b-sides which are targeted towards the die-hard fans of Belly. Finally I can have Judas Mon Coeur and Lilith in my collection instead of the mp3 I've had for years. However, some of Belly's most shining moments are omitted and replaced with rare tracks. Where is Angel, Low Red Moon, and White Belly? Instead of Trust in Me, why not Star the full band version? Feed the Tree gets the unfortunate radio cut treatment on this album and Gepetto is replaced with a remix, which is hardly noticeable so why not just have the album version? My question is with so many b-sides, why not just release a definitive Belly B Side collection like Baby Silvertooth which was a collection of the b-sides from the Star era? Judas Mon Coeur is a great find, but Judas My Heart truly should have earned it's spot here. Red, Silverfish, and Untitled and Unsung fail to show up too. Fortunately we are treated with some of Belly's best songs Thief, Dream on Me, Broken, and quite possibly my favorite, Sweet Ride, all of which are b-sides. Again, it's not the best way to start your Belly collection but nonetheless, it belongs there.

I love reading these reviews. I think Belly fans are the most interesting and thoughtful people in the world. Some may quibble about the tracks selected. At first, I was disappointed that some favorite album tracks were left out. The track selection is genius because the hits are all there for the hit seekers and it collects Belly's excellent b-sides and covers in one place. Those high quality b-sides and covers, along with the hits, help make this both a fine introduction and a one stop shopping center for completists. I can only fault this collection for leaving out The Bees-Live. Luckily, I have it on an ep. ...

If you are looking for an introduction to Belly, I wouldn't recommend starting here. Some of the best songs from their two studio albums are missing from this collection, so if you want an introduction start with either "Star" or "King." However, if you are already a fan and did not collect the various EPs, Singles, and Live Albums they released in the early 1990s, then this is indispensable.

I've always thought it was a shame that Belly never quite achieved the lasting fame that "The Breeders" or the Pixies have. The Breeders are great and the Pixies were massively influential and innovative, but when it comes to writing killer, infectious, fuzz-pop hooks, there was really no beating Belly's 2 studio albums back in the day. I recently listened to them again (along with a whole slew of my old CDs from my adolescence in the mid 1990s) and was surprised by how well they've stood the test of time. Which says a lot, as there are quite a few bands from the 1990s that just don't work at all anymore (Liz Phair, the Breeders, The Pixies, and The Smashing Pumpkins' first two albums, among others, hold up equally well, but I defy anyone to listen to something like Marylin Manson and not laugh their arse off, or to listen to Pearl Jam, Stone Temple Pilots, or Collective Soul and not fall asleep from boredom). But apart from a few cheesy tracks ("Silver Fish" from "King" has always been kind of schlocky), I think either of Belly's albums could be released today and still hold up really well. I haven't followed Tanya's career post Belly, but I am looking forward to checking some of her stuff out.