Paul Heaton, and his UK outfit The Beautiful South, have built their musical foothold as one of pop music's greatest talents and biggest dissidents. Their sound has tunes for marrying melodic hooks with wry sometimes twisted lyricism, The band's subversive streak was only obvious after you realized what you were singing along to.
Back in 1989 on their debut, they made their introduction to the world as a new breed of jaunty indie-pop with bite. Although Heaton's winning formula of sharp lyricism couched in bright pop melodies really began with the seminal 80s pop-soul band, The Housemartins, the band that in1988, during the very peak of their popularity, the group split, and Heaton and Hemingway shifted their sights from garage pop to Top Of The Pops. With a new line-up consisting of former Housemartins' roadie, bassist Sean Welch, Hemingway's former Velvetones bandmate, guitarist and co-songwriter Dave Rotheray, and drummer Dave Stead, the group was primed to make their entrance.
There are certain things about this debut the lilting harmonies and finger-snapping choruses, the controversial cover hinted at the dark comedic streak that would become the thru-line of the band and I consider classic, this was conceived by artist Jan Saudek, the cover depicted a woman with a gun in her mouth, and another with a man smoking, which was famously banned by the American retail chain Woolworths, resulting in an alternative cover with an innocuous teddy bear.
Welcome To The Beautiful South doesn’t follow a linear narrative, but is best represented by the two songs that bookend the album. "Song For Whoever." is Heaton’s hilarious parody of a songwriter who can't remember the name of his lovers is delivered in such a beautiful timbre, the sting of the critique is almost missed. The entirety of the album is one pop hook after another, merging Heaton's socialist politics with gospel harmonies and clever vocal interplay, particularly on their second single, "You Keep It All In," which featured Northern Irish singer Briana Corrigan as guest vocalist and later full-time band member. True to form, the song paired a 60s jazz-pop instrumental with lyrics around a deeply dysfunctional relationship that you could whistle along to, cracking both the UK and US charts at No.8 on the singles chart and No. 19 on Billboard’s Alternative Chart, respectively. Is curious but this vocal sparring would be just one of many that would characterize The Beautiful South's catalog.
"I'll Sail This Ship Alone”"throws another curveball, with Heaton in a rare moment of vulnerability finally shows a chink in his armor on this melancholic ballad. Along with the usual suspects in his crosshairs: alcoholism "Woman In The Wall", the music industry "Straight At 37", and politicians "Oh Blackpool", Heaton turns his pen on the audience on the grand, penultimate track "Love Is…" asking the elusive music fan.
Critics were fairly nice, stated that Paul Heaton and Dave Hemingway places killer-clever lyrics against clean, techno-free arrangements. On the other hand, the album offered little advance in compare Heaton's former band The Housemartin, and maybe that was the reason NME include this album in their awfully "Top 100 Album You've Never Heard" in spite the great singles.
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