How does it compare to the artist's other releases
Good
Value for Money
Good
Advantages:
Clever, catchy pop
Disadvantages:
A bit nerdy and twee at times
Recommend to potential buyers:
yes
Full review
I was never a big fan of the Housemartins (a bit nerdy) or the Beautiful South (too twee) but feel more kindly towards them after seeing main man Paul Heaton play Stoke's Sugarmill the other week. I'm not a fan of his bands and didn't know his solo material yet had a really good time.
This greatest hits collection contains the condensed Housemartins (only seven tracks) and the cream of Beautiful South (the remaining 15 songs).
From the HMs you get "Happy hour", "Think for a minute" and "Caravan of love", while from the BS hits such as "Rotterdam", "Don't marry her" and "Perfect 10". (All but "I'll sail this ship alone", "36D", "Prettiest eyes" and "Just a few things I ain't" were on the "Solid bronze" collection, I have to point out).
After seeing Heaton I actually sat down and read his lyrics. Thus I had forgotten the rude word in "Don't marry her" that lifts it above a soppy love song or that Heaton himself had drink problems, which probably helped when he came to write "Old red eyes is back", the Sinatra-inspired image of the title at odds with the lyrics.
"Soup" was released just in time for Christmas (07) and is available on cd, cd/dvd and an exclusive custom made tin designed by long-term Beautiful South and Housemartins collaborators Ryan Art and David Cutter. This will include a T-shirt, mug and cd / dvd. Whoo hoo.
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How does it rate alongside the competition
Good
Cover / Inlay Design and Content
Satisfactory
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Heaton is as quintessentially English as they come. Given his service to pop over the past 20 years, he's fairly valuable too. But he's certainly not the shiny so...
Soup -
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Heaton is as quintessentially English as they come. Given his service to pop over the past 20 years, he's fairly valuable too. But he's certainly not the shiny so...
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