CD Description
Formed in 1988 from the ashes of the short-lived, socialistpop group The Housemartins by singer/songwriter Paul Heaton(a Scotsman from Hull), The Beautiful South has continued plumbing Heaton's fascination with underdogs, domestic breakdowns, drunkenness (both relative to the previous and for itsown sake) and social inequities. In place of The Housemartins' ringing, British Invasion-inspired guitar backdrops, however, songwriter/guitarist David Rotheray and singers Dave Hemingway and Jacqueline Abbott have crafted a distinctive, folk-laced variety of chamber pop to draw Heaton into a more adult milieu.
Buoyed by great singing and stately melodies, the arrangements pointedly underscore each composition's lyrical content. As the group's fifth studio outing (a sixth, hits package CARRY ON UP THE CHARTS, was the fourth-fastest selling UK album of all time), BLUE IS THE COLOUR breaks no new ground for The Beautiful South, yet for consistent quality and stylistic variety, it ranks with their very best.