Tiger Bay

Saint Etienne

Product Details

• Audio CD (June 28, 1994)
• Original Release Date: June 28, 1994
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Warner Bros / Wea
• ASIN: B000002MRR
• Also Available in: Audio Cassette  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars See all reviews (12 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #70,133 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Arguably Their Best Record, January 2, 2001

By	Kevin Razban (Dana Point, California) - See all my reviews

Of the five Saint Etienne records released in the U.S., "Tiger Bay" has to be as close to the best work this British outfit ever produced. While many fans are partial to "Fox Base Alpha" or "Good Humor," this is the CD which best combines the band's ethereal instrumental tracks with some of the most maturely crafted pop songs Cracknell/Stanley/Wiggs have created in their 10+ years together. Ironically, the band took a few years off after recording this CD and it was their final release under the American Warner Bros. label. The track list also does not feature a single song written by all three of the bandmates together. Despite this record more or less marking the end of the "early" Saint Etienne era, the individual songs have a maturity to them which suggest that this is about the best Saint Etienne could do during their first few years together. The record features perennial fan favorite "Like A Motorway," along with two of their other big British hits, "I Was Born On Christmas Day" and "Hug My Soul." Their are also some beautiful ballads written by vocalist Sarah Cracknell, including "Former Lover" and "Marble Lions" which stand alongside some of her best work as a solo artist. I think it's an essential part of any fan's Saint Etienne collection (if you have the UK edition with the bonus B-side tracks, it's a plus).

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Get the right copy, May 25, 2000

By	Addebass (Oslo) - See all my reviews

The tracklist of Tiger Bay has been altered into confusion and frustration along with its release in the different parts of Europe, Australia and the US. Be sure to get the original UK-version, highlighting the "St. Etienne by the bay-painting" on the cover. The right edition runs a powerful album "B-side" with "Cool Kids of Death", the merging 3 tracks "Western Wind", "Tankerville" "Western Wind" (part 2), and finally spinning off the eerie and near psycothic lullaby "Boy Scouts...". This will also ensure you getting the tracklist the Etiennes originally wanted for this album.

Etienne themselves think of this album as a bit too pompous and big-headed, refering to their lack of experience in arranging music for a 12-piece orchestra (this beeing their first album to feature live strings and horns). Au contraire, I say! Having listened to this album for six years, I firmly believe that a stronger approach to arranging the strings into this material would have lead to unrewarding censorship, and it would most definetely strip it of its lushfull and highly romantic countryside soundscape. OK, it's pompous, but nevertheless it allows you to hear Etienne aestetically blending europop, or premature techno if you will, with themes and instruments that clearly refer to the British ballroom-tradition. The evidence stands out in tracks such as "Urban Clearway", "Tankerville" and "Cool Kids of Death".

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars THIS IS THE BEST ALBUM EVER MADE IN THE HISTORY OF MUSIC, July 6, 1999

By A Customer

No it's not. But it's really good! It's certainly the best Saint Etienne album to date, and there's a lot of brilliant moments to contend with to make that statement.

"Tiger Bay" sounds like the soundtrack to a movie that was never released. The band doesn't skimp with production, and the melodies are smooth, lush and adorable. Sarah Cracknell has a voice on this album so smooth, you're in love with her by the time she hits her second syllable.

"Tiger Bay" also has a minimum of soundbytes and sample "skits" which litter albums like "Foxbase Alpha" and "So Tough." It's full, clear, uninterrupted melody - much like their most recent LP, "Good Humor." The difference is, where "Good Humor" is straight-forward pop, "Tiger Bay" is sweeping, melodramatic and lush.

Sigh.