Miaow - Beautiful South (The)

Advantages: Very clever, dark lyrics. Great musical performances.
Disadvantages: Wish I'd found the album earlier!

...lyrics and general outlook! MIAOW is The Beautiful South's (TBS from now on!) 4th album, realised in March 1994. It boasts 12 tracks, which are as follows: Hold On To What? [6:28] Good As Gold [3:50] Especially For You [3:49] Everybody's Talkin' [2:39] Prettiest Eyes [4:10] Worthless Lie [6:39] Hooligans Don't Fall In Love [4:47] Hidden Jukebox [3:26] Hold Me Close (Underground) [5:28] Tattoo [4:42] Mini-correct [3:48] Poppy [4:26] ...
...am writing the op about MIAOW is that despite being introduced to the band through the album "Blue is the Colour" (which I still thoroughly enjoy), it is MIAOW which in my opinion boasts the most incisive and clever lyrics against lush musical backgrounds. The songs are individually witty, catchy, cutting and sincere whilst working well together as an album. From the opening track "Hold on to What?" through to the finale in "Poppy" (a song focussing ... Read review

Advantages: All round, still probably their strongest album lyrically and musically.
Disadvantages: Songs of despair - but beautifully cast

...many plays, I still find MIAOW to be the album that has left the biggest impression on me. To find a weak song on it is difficult; "Poppy", perhaps? - lyrically the weakest, yet the singing and tune can still compensate; "Everybody's Talkin'", perhaps? - a cover song, lacking the normal TBS "bite", yet rescued by Jacqui Abbot's unique voice, carrying us away, dreaming, with her. The rest is just sheer brilliance, the writing, the singing, the playing. ...
...opening track, "Hold On To What" sets the standard: a song of despair - the woman forced to turn to prostitution, the soldier, lying wounded and forgotten, the old man grieving alone at the spot where his wife died: it is rare to find such despair written about in such a touching manner, and, as the song reaches its intense climax, only the heartless could fail to be moved. "Worthless Lie" is a love song in a similar vein of despair, though perhaps ... Read review

Advantages: Great lyrics and vocals
Disadvantages: None

As a long time fan of the Beautiful South, this is easily my favourite of their albums. Heaton’s lyrics reach their peak here, and the substitution of the divinely voiced Jacqui Abbot in for the somewhat screechy Briana Corrigan improves the vocals on all of the female voiced songs. Track by track review: 1. Hold On To What? – For the first time, a South album starts with one of the best tracks as the opener. Much better than ‘Song ...
...is catchy from the first listen, and draws you into the album straight away. 2. Good As Gold (Stupid As Mud) – Featuring the classic lyrics ‘I want my sun-drenched windswept Ingrid Bergman kiss, not in the next life, I want it in this,’ this has gone down as one of the all time classics of the South. Often wrongly thought to be called ‘Carry On Regardless’, thanks to the tagline, it’s one of the best songs they’ve ... Read review

Advantages: Great tracks, excellent
Disadvantages: None

Miaow was released in 1994 & in my opinion is one of The Beautiful South's best albums. Unlike 0898 & Choke, this album has a great selection of tracks, consistently good, instead of just a couple of good songs, surrounded by several weaker ones. It is hard to pick a particular favourite - there are some wonderful songs - Hold On To What?, Good As Gold, Especially For You, Prettiest Eyes, Worthless Lie ... The Beautiful South's Paul Heaton, once ... Read review

Advantages: Lots of great songs
Disadvantages: A few dodgyish ones.

This is a slightly later album from BS. It does still have some great qualities that are consistent throughout all of their albums. It has 54 minutes of music which is much better going than alot of their albums, as you do feel that you've got more than EP for your money. It includes the classic songs Good As Gold, Prettiest Eyes, and Everybodys talkin'. There are others though that would easily compete with these, such as Hold On To What? which ... Read review