Audio CD review:
Saint Etienne - You Need a Mess of Help to Stand Alone

Saint Etienne - You Need a Mess of Help to Stand Alone

Band: Saint Etienne Title: You Need a Mess of Help to Stand Alone Rating: Release Date: 01 August, 2000 Media: Audio CD Tracks: 1: Who Do You Think You Are 2: Archway People 3: California Snow Story 4: Kiss and Make Up 5: Duke Duvet 6: Filthy 7: Join Our Club 8: Paper 9: People Get Real 10: Some Place Else 11: Speedwell

Customer Reviews Odds and Ends. If you haven't collected all the Saint Etienne albums this is a good sampler of some of their pre-Good Humor stuff. I happend to stumble onto this import in my local record store in the "used" section believe it or not. I have heard a few of these track before (i. e Fox Base Alpha, and So Tough), but a few where new to me and they turned out to be pretty good. Most of the album's content still have the House/hip-hop sound circa F. B. A and S. T. If you feel like listening to their earlier work (which I often do) pop this record on and you will not be disappointed. Although it dose not replace their first three releases, it's a good "Best Of" from Saint Etienne's past. Better than "Foxbase Alpha" However, this compilation is a very solid selection of some of Saint Etienne's earlier singles and B-sides, most of which you can't find on their albums. Although still a lot of fun in their own way, the early Saint Etienne albums sound pretty dated now (almost embarrassingly so at times), which is always a problem with dance music. "Who Do You Think You Are" is just as memorable as the classic "Only Love Can Break Your Heart," and other excellent tracks like "Paper" and "Some Place Else" allude to the more recent super-catchy indie-pop songs that the group focused on more in their later years on "Good Humor" and their best LP so far, "Sound of Water. " Even if you prefer Saint Etienne's pop songs to their dancier stuff, this is still well worth checking out if you can find a copy. It's better material than what you'll find on "Foxbase Alpha," so you'll find yourself humming along with the music more than cringing at how stale it may sound. Beautiful. Every Saint Etienne release contains at least three perfectly misty moments-- those perfect-pop songs that are so lush, rhythmic, and real that you can't help but dance with tears in your eyes. . "Mess" is no different, with the standout tracks being "Archway People" and "People get Real," as well as the defiantly funky trip-hop of "Filthy" and the bassy sass of "Kiss And Make Up. " It's the stand-out post-mod ballads "Paper" and "Some Place Else," however, that place lead singer Sarah Cracknell in the perf-pop pantheon. A must have for anyone who loves pop music!!. . You can see a complete list of all Saint Etienne discography, or go back to the Saint Etienne tabs