Golddiggas, Headnodders & Pholk Songs

On the strength of the first Greatest Hits Album (Carry On Up The Charts) I bought both 'Blue Is The Colour' and 'Quench'. Imagine my disapointment when I found the only songs I rearly enjoyed were the singles!

So It was with some trepidation that I got me self a copy of 'Golddiggas, Headnodders and Pholk Songs'. The new album from B.S. I think the reason I got this is that it's a collection of cover's rather than totally new material.

Wow I've not been disapointed! This is there greatest album, end of story. The whole album gels in a way very few albums do. Fantastic.

Only two songs rearly don't work. The first track and the last. The last, 'I'm stone In Love With You' sounds good but it's missing that speacil something the rest of the album has. As for the first, 'You're the one that i want' - they just shouldn't have bothered. It is diabolical. The only totalt cr*p track on the album, and to put it first! If 'Livin' Thing' wasn;t next I would have turned it off - thankfully I had already heard the first single from the album and liked it so the album get playing.

My fav. track is 'Rebel Prince' which I can't stop singing to myself, and it'd be a crime if neither 'Don't Stop Moving' or 'Don't Fear The Reaper' don't get released as singles.

Also dispite what other reviews might say I actually found 'Blitzkrieg Bop' to be one of the albums strenghs.

All in all worth the asking price, I must have even more so than 'Carry on up the charts' and proves that B.S. are still current and relevant.

The big plus point is, of course, that they have, by and large, sung and played these songs as if they were their own, and some they have twiddled with radically. It is right, and rather strange, to have "You're The One That I Want" slowed right down to a smooch; it's no less camp for it. ELO's "Livin' Thing" is turned into a Western jazz/country swing number, though they've retained some very ELO strings in the background. Lush's "Ciao!" becomes an upbeat chugger - the "Ying Tong (Tiddle-I-Po)" notation in the booklet is very apt. I love the new rumbha version of Blue Oyster Cult's "Reaper", and on "Rebel Prince" they give the best impression of Sting I've heard in a long time.

I suppose it was expecting a lot for all twelve tracks to be as innovative. "Don't Stop Moving" repeats the trick done on John and Olivia, and the lyric doesn't really match; it sounds funny once, but does it bear repetition? Similarly they take the old Brrok Benton / Ray Charles warhorse "Till I Can't..." uptempo like "Ciao".

"This Old Skin", a relatively obscure number, sounds just like a Beautiful South song, and the Ramones' "Blitzkrieg Bop" is
also done as a BS number. Which leaves "Stone In Love With You"; I confess this never has been a favourite of mine and nothing changes here, because they sound just like the Stylistics, or Johnny Mathis in tight pants.

The musicianship and production is, as ever, excellent, and they sound suitably laid-back and as if they had fun recording it. On the whole I like it, but not as much as I was expecting, based upon their brilliant track record. You do get the impression they had to get an album out and had a bout of writer's block so did some covers instead; it is very unlikely they will get away with it again.

We needn't have worried.

The Beautiful South have really bounced back with this album; twelve cover songs all sounding different but all having that typical BS quirkiness put on them. The CD opens with 'You're The One That I Want' (yes, the one from 'Grease'), a much less sprightly affair than the original. But somehow it is pulled off marvellously with Paul Heaton and new vocalist Alison Wheeler providing the heartfelt vocals as they always successfully do.

Following on from this is 'Livin' Thing', originally done by ELO. Here, Dave Hemingway takes charge on lead - is it me or is he getting even better? Onwards we go to hear covers of songs by the likes of The Zombies, Willie Nelson and The Ramones amongst others. My personal favourite track is a cover of 'Ciao!' by the long forgotten (and may I state underrated) Lush. Jaunty and bold, this track really opens your eyes.

My favourite cover however is a different story. How The Beautiful South have taken S Club 7's 'Don't Stop Moving', turned it into a dark and bitter affair and make it work is beyond me. But that's what I love about The Beautiful South - they can take anything and make it sound wonderfully original, and that's why this cover album works so well.

Closing with the touching 'I'm Stone In Love With You', you finally feel that after a few years in the wilderness The Beautiful South are back to their best. All I can hope for now is that their next studio album is a brilliant affair and I hope that this album has given them the inspiration to once again provide that BS sound over a variation of songs.

If you bought 'Gaze' and were disappointed, do not be afraid to buy this album! 'Golddiggas, Headnodders and Pholk Songs' is simply brilliant, and even if you don't know the original versions of these songs, The Beautiful South sound is well and truly back and nobody else can match it. A wonderful addition to any CD collection!