Belle & Sebastian - Lazy Line Painter Jane Box Set
(Matador)
The charm, for me, of Belle and Sebastian is their ability to take the
famous British wit (from the tradition of the Smiths and the Beautiful
South) and subtract from it the self-obsession characteristic of some of
their predecessors (particularly Morrissey). Like the Smiths and the
Beautiful South, though, Belle and Sebastian are also fond of writing
pop songs not from the first person, but from the perspective of another
person. The EPs compiled in this box set capture Belle and Sebastian
at their very best, and rank second only to "If You're Feeling Sinister"
in the history of Belle and Sebastian recordings.
Both Dog on Wheels and 3..6..9 Seconds of Life are nearly flawless. The
highlight of Dog on Wheels would have to be "String Bean
Jean," which is one of my all time favorite Belle and Sebastian songs
including the brilliant line, "We call her string bean jean 'cause the
label on her jeans says 7 to 8 years old, that's pretty small." The
highlight of 3..6..9 Seconds of Light for me is "Beautiful," which is in
the tradition of songs like "Mary Jo," and "Judy and the Dream of
Horses." Even with lines like, "everyone she knew thought she was
beautiful, only slightly mental," it manages to be strangely touching.
The EP from which the title of the set was taken is certainly the weak
point. It features two good songs on par with the other EPs: "Photo
Jenny" and "You Made Me Forget My Dreams." It also features, however,
"Lazy Line Painter Jane," which features "guest vocals" by Monica Queen,
who is rumored to be just one of the members of the band singling like
an idiot, and "Century of Elvis," which features the same music from
another song with rambling about Elvis over the top of it.
Overall, in spite of the weakness of the Lazy Line Painter Jane EP, the
strength of the other two is more than enough to make this a worthy
purchase for long time fans (who probably already have it), and also a
great introduction to those who have been hesitant to listen to Belle
and Sebastian. Super, SUPER , SUPER!!!
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