OK, so I listened to The Life Pursuit on the way to work this morning, and was shocked to learn (this being the very first time I've ever heard anything by Belle & Sebastian) it was in no way the fey twee and crumpets setting I expected. I mean, it's solid upbeat pop...and very well-crafted, at that.

My question to those better versed in all things B&S, is based on my enjoyment of TLP, where should my perusal of their back catalog begin? Something tells me Dear Catastrophe Waitress should be my next stop on the B&S Express, but I wanted to solicit your expert advice before proceeding.

DCW is very good and probably closest in sound to TLP, but in general I like to explore from the beginning and I still think their first, Tigermilk, is their best.

I would go with Dear Catastrophe Waitress next as it is closest in sound to The Life Pursuit. After that, opinions will vary as to what you should grab next. I personally would recommend this order

Tigermilk
The Boy with The Arab Strap
If You're Feeling Sinister
Fold Your Hands Child You Walk Like A Peasant

They have plenty of EPs and b-sides, many of which are as good as anything on their regular albums. A lot were collected on Push Barman to Open Old Wounds.

I can hook you up with some of those as well.

I am a fan of their second: If You're Feeling Sinister.
There aren't too many songs better than "Get Me Away From Here, I'm Dying".

if you like the most recent, DCW is the most similar (and a little better in my opinion).

I dont think they have made a "bad" record although the worst one, for me, is Fold Your Hands Child...

they put on a hell of a show - much better showmanship than I expected. Stuaret brought a girl up on stage to sing Laze Line Painter Jane - pretty cool.

If you're feeling sinister
is hands down their best album, imho

I only own Dear Catastrophe Waitress and The Life Pursuit, so this thread will help me.

you seem to be forgetting "Storytelling," not that its awful but I think most would agree its not as good as "Fold Your Hands..." I actually like "Fold Your Hands..." more than DCW. But the first three albums are all really good. Hard to separate out a personal fave among them.

my picks are dcw & if you're feeling sinister but haven't heard tigermilk or fold (although i should rectify that soon) or push barman ... but i LOVE the artwork for push barman.

Belle & Sebastian are one of the best bands of the last ten years and you can stamp that in red ink FACT.

'Storytelling' is the least essential, 'Fold Your Hands' divides opinion to some respect (Like Billy, I'm on the pro side of that argument) and everything else is very good indeed.

Their sound has developed and changed with each album though so don't expect 'Tigermilk' to sound exactly like 'The Life Pursuit', it doesn't.

So many classic songs to hear Bob, 'State I Am In', 'Get Me Away From Here, I'm Dying', 'Seymour Stein', the list is long indeed.

Don't fear the "twee" presentation of the early stuff. There's lots of good stuff in there.

If you're not that into the fey twee, as you make it sound, Dear Catastrophe Waitress should be your next stop. It's been an evolution.

After those two, though, I would probably suggest the Push Barman To Open Old Wounds two-disc. It's a comp of a bunch of EP's and gives you an idea of their sound over time. Disc 1 is basically how they used to sound back in the day, with disc 2 being more of where they are now and how they got there.

dcw

Bob,

I haven't heard the new one. Truthfully, I wasn't a big fan of DCW so when people said it was similar but not quite as good, I steared clear.

DCW might be the safest choice based on your liking the new one, but really its so inferior to the first three that I can't in good conscious recommend it as the next purchase. Just get any of the first three or the barman comp. All of those are really good. As much as you are a fan of pretty light pop like Allen Clapp, Beulah, etc., I can't imagine any B&S being too twee for you.

I suspect that you'd like DCW more than I do but still don't go there next. Its just not as good. I think most would agree.

Belle And Sebastian are my favorite band and DCW is my second favorite album of theirs, just behind Tigermilk.

ok, my complete order of albums and ep's (i have a couple of the singles - Jonathan David and Legal Man)

1. If You're Feeling Sinister
2. The set of EPs I have (This is Just a Modern Rock Song, Dog on Wheels, Lazy Line Painter Jane, and 3...6...9 Seconds of Light)
3. DCW
4. Tigermilk
5. The Life Pursuit
6. The Boy With the Arab Strap
7. Fold Your Hands Child, You Walk Like a Peasant

have not heard storytelling

Oh yeah, I forgot about the EPs. That collection of 7 EPs has a lot of their best stuff.

my favorite band by a mile. i rank their records like this (right now)

sinister
tigermilk
life pusuit
dcw
arab strap
fold your hands
storytelling

i would recommend to you to pick up the 'books' ep for 'your cover's blown' for sure.

Yeah, gotta go with some major Top 3 Love for DCW. I think Life Pursuit is a fine, well-made, balanced affair, but there are some highs on DCW that they just don't hit, imo.

That being said, I think the EPs probably contain some of my favorite B&S songs (Jonathan David, Modern Rock Song, Legal Man, Waking Up to Us, Lazy Line, etc.).

awesome! i'm always happy to hear about new B&S fans. I just brought in DCW for our front desk girl and i am waking up to us and arab strap for a fellow coordinator.

rank:
#1. tigermilk --> life pursuit --> arab strap --> dcw --> fold your hands --> sinister -->storytelling

good stuff.

?


but seriously, get dcw next just for proximity in sound. if you're feeling sinister is the best though.

oooh, i want to play the ranking game:

1. if you're feeling sinister
2. push barman ep collection
3. the boy with the arab strap
4. dear catastrophe waitress
5. the life pursuit
6. tigermilk
7. fold your hands child...
8. storytelling

ALL definitely worth picking up.

I'm surprised at the love of Sinister, I like the album but it's never one I typically grab if I feel like hearing some B&S.

yup. i agree with this list.