Now That's What I Call Quite Good [Import]

Housemartins | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (October 26, 1992)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Import
• Label: Universal I.S.
• ASIN: B000005S0K
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  Audio Cassette  |  Vinyl
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (16 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #33,625 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)
  • #62 in Music > Alternative Rock > Indie & Lo-Fi > Jangle Pop

Track Listings

1. I Smell Winter

2. Bow Down

3. Think for a Minute

4. There Is Always Something There to Remind Me

5. The Mighty Ship

6. Sheep

7. I'll Be Your Shelter (Just Like a Shelter)

8. Five Get Over Excited

9. Everyday's the Same

10. Build

11. Step Outside

12. Flag Day

13. Happy Hour

14. You've Got a Friend

15. He Ain't Heavy, He's My Brother

16. Freedom

17. The People Who Grinned Themselves to Death

18. Caravan of Love

19. The Light Is Always Green

20. We're Not Deep

See all 24 tracks on this disc

Editorial Reviews

1987 release on the Go! Discs label, a 24 track hits, B-sides & rarities collection spanning 1985-1987 for this British Smiths-ish pop group featuring pre-Beautiful South members vocalist/ leader Paul Heaton and drummer Dave Hemingway. Includes 'Sheep', 'Flag Day', 'Happy Hour', 'The People Who Grinned Themselves To Death' and many more. The full title is 'Now That's What I Call Quite Good'.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

22 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A pure aural treat, end to end, August 16, 2000

By 

Pat Kelly (Here, There & Everywhere) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Now That's What I Call Quite Good (Audio CD)

I own over 800 CDs, from Frank Sinatra to Cypress Hill. If there were a fire in my house, this is the first CD I'd save. Brilliant musicianship - listen to the angelic acapella versions of the Isley Brothers "Caravan of Love" or James Taylor's "You've Got A Friend". Lyrics that are paradoxically deep and light. A wonderful combination of covers and original works.

If you've got this far you probably know by now that the lead singer went on to front the almost equally brilliant Beautiful South, and that Norman Cook, the bassist is now better known as Fatboy Slim, Pizzaman, AND Beats International. But don't expect any trace of Fatboy on this CD.

Their wit is all self-effacing. Consider the title: a parody of the Now That's What I Call Music compilations that are now the rage in America but were hugely popular in the UK at the time of this release. The album notes even boast of selling an incredible 75 copies in New Zealand!

This is the group that the Barenaked Ladies based themselves on. In fact, BNL toured England as the opening act for the Beautiful South, and the South were originally scheduled to do the opposite on the last North American tour.

Folky without being corny, clever without being self-important, and endlessly listenable, this CD is going to be one of your all-time favorites too.

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Idealism at its best, July 3, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Now That's What I Call Quite Good (Audio CD)

After Billy Bragg came the Housemartins, born of the working class ethic in Hull with the left wing morals of Marx and a belief in honesty. With their self-defacing merchandising ("The Housemartins are quite good" badges etc) and a fearless attitude to expression of politics. They left on a high with this album. Although many people didn't understand the satirical barbs against the evils of thatcherism and capitalism in general, they remain an excellent example of agitrock born of the disallusionment of the late eighties.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A real charmer, November 16, 2004

By 

Christian Buckley (Washington State, United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Now That's What I Call Quite Good (Audio CD)

Introduced to the band in college back in early 1987, I instantly connected with what I viewed as a "happy version of the Smiths". Looking back, I'm not sure why I made that connection, but a lot of people seemed to have done the same thing. Always upbeat and fun, the Housemartins squeezed 2 albums and more of a compilation+extras (this album) out of their three years together. If you're looking for one album to buy and you don't own their first two, get this one. It has the hits, plus some great acapella and slow numbers that are simple and beautiful.