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Product Description
Review
On the verge of recreating this, their 1991 debut, live on stage, Saint Etienne find Universal giving their earliest works the 'deluxe' treatment: all bells, whistles and extra tracks, demos, dvds and what have you. Marvellous. But does Foxbase Alpha stand such scrutiny. The answer is a very palpable 'maybe'.
The tentative verdict arises from such tentative material on offer. Still to really find their feet as arch pop stylists, easy in their ability to nick the choicest obscurities and seamlessly meld them with their own knowing songcraft, FBA sees the band taking the contemporary tropes of house music and emerging with a hybrid that promised a little more than it delivered.
One of the reasons for this was the fact that the band had still to find its focus in lead singer Sarah Cracknell, who was yet to become a full-time member. As a result the biggest hit on offer here; Neil Young's Only Love Can Break Your Heart is sung, rather flatly, by Moira Lambert. Elsewhere there are traces of dub (Carnt Sleep) and, in Nothing Can Stop Us, a hefty slice of 60s pop in the shape of a Dusty sample.
It's by no means a failure, but with historical hindsight and the weight of a fine back catalogue to lean on FBA now seems like a faltering first step from the running, jumping creature that the band was about to blossom into. --Jerome Blakeney
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
10 of 11 people found the following review helpful
Format:Audio CD
I love this album to bits, it's the greatest collection of songs, samples, humour and feelgood charm I've ever listened to. I listen to all sorts of music from classical and jazz to rock, but still I keep coming back to this album, over and over again.
I saw Saint Etienne live at Leicester Poly in 1992 or 1993, they were awesome (and supported by a then-obscure band called Pulp).
Buy it, love it, chill out.
16 of 19 people found the following review helpful
Format:Audio CD
I admit it - I was completely suckered by Foxbase Alpha. I loved Only Love Can Break Your Heart and had been waiting for the lp to drop - and what a diverse surprise it was. Their more experimental stuff has aged better than the housey stuff, which is why the bonus disc is such good value. The 5 unreleased demos are just the icing on a very rich cake, including 2 versions of Kiss And Make Up, the brilliant Filthy and the original version of Winter In America (previously known only as a Psychonauts mix on Casino Classics). But the extra tracks complement the original album, which remains a classic of modish cool. It is very much of its time, so it may work better on people who lived it, but this is a very nice definitive deluxe edition type product.
7 of 9 people found the following review helpful
Format:Audio CD
Saint Etienne's debut album, now over ten years old, sounds as fresh to me today as it did the first time I heard it. A mixture of Northern Soul tinged dance, atmospheric strings and blissed-out pop, Foxbase Alpha is one of the classic albums of the last fifteen years. From the timeless cover of "Only Love Can Break Your Heart", through the stoned summer groove of "Spring" to the joyful pop of "Nothing Can Stop Us" and the breathtaking "London Belongs To Me", this album oozes quality from start to finish. Even the dark and brooding "Carn't Sleep" and "She's The One" are packed with classic pop moments you'll want to hear again and again - and with the inclusion of the disco-tastic "People Get Real" on the import version, perfection is acheived. Summer just wouldn't be summer without it.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
Improving on a Classic
Foxbase Alpha is already a classic album by Saint Etienne. The extra disc of tracks makes it even better. Read more
Published on 25 Aug 2009 by M. K. Delorean
Why do you not own this already loser?
This is one of the finest records ever made and belongs in any music collection worth the name. Without this you just own a pile of cd's.
Published on 23 Jan 2004 by "lord-pop"
Pure summer pop bliss
Foxbase Alpha is possibly one of the most uplifting ablubs I have ever had the pleasure to listen to. Read more
Published on 24 July 2001 by "figbella"
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