Saint Etienne: Foxbase Alpha/Continental (Deluxe Editions)
Saint Etienne: Foxbase Alpha/Continental (Deluxe Editions)
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Friday, 15, May 2009 04:31
Heavenly, out May 18th.
In a nutshell...
Joy, pop, fresh, sweet, so damn cool
What's it all about?
In 1991, Saint Etienne brought a little of swinging London of the 60s to summer of love. Foxbase Alpha merged 60s pop sensibilities, dance music, indie guitars into one big flower pot.
Foxbase Alpha is all about being young in summer, having a broken heart and running around London - all before the days of alcohol pops when going to work on an E was allowed.
Meanwhile, Continental came out in Japan and is only now being made available in the UK - except on import.
Both CDs come with extra discs of previously unreleased tracks, rare gems, b-sides and remixes.
Over the next year a bit, the rest of Saint Etienne's back catalogue will be released in similar fashion with bonus tracks galore.
Who's it by?
Saint Etienne are Sarah Cracknell, Bob Stanley and Pete Wiggs.
Since 1991 they have racked up a series of album classics, soundtracks, films and a strange number of 'best of' albums while maintaining a solid fan base - no doubt men who have had gooey eyes for Sarah for 18 years - and enjoying general musical fabness.
They have carved a successful niche for themselves for weapons-grade melodies and gorgeous elecronica.
What the others say
"With historical hindsight and the weight of a fine back catalogue to lean on Foxbase Alpha now seems like a faltering first step from the running, jumping creature that the band was about to blossom into." - 6 Music
So is it any good?
Foxbase Alpha
There are some albums that I listened to every note and beat to as a teen (I was 13 when Foxbase Alpha was first released and I taped a copy from my sister) that are now painful to listen to.
The lyrics you thought were so original are revealed as trite and clichéd, while eye-opening innovation dates and jars.
The re-issue of Saint Etienne's then ground-breaking debut Foxbase Alpha is a dangerous mission for me. Would switching from C90 (I had the Reservoir Dogs soundtrack on the other side and it wasn't long enough for the last track) to MP3 lead me to shattered memories?
Would it be better just to remember a great album and leave the memories unshattered? Could I write a review instead on how I remembered Foxbase Alpha and not actually listen to it?
A major iPod disaster - all my music deleted - meant I headed out with just Foxbase Alpha rattling around the 32Gb capacity and I had no escape.
The album opens with a smile. I forgot about this - it starts with the intro to a French football match avec Jacques Vendu live from Saint Etienne.
I think I may become teary - it is like meeting up with an old friend.
But this is unfair. Foxbase Alpha is not at all for tubby 30-somethings turning 40 listening to the soundtrack of their lives like 60-year-olds getting dressed up to see a Beatles cover band
Let's get this straight - and I may be a little drunk - but Foxbase Alpha is amazing still and as fresh as ever.
Originally the release was delayed due to the need to get clearance for the samples - including Richard Whitely, a poker match from the film, and Leonard Rossiter lecturing Billy liar on the dangers of London - and all these fun and games come wrapped around some pop classics and some really odd trippy stuff.
And if that is not enough, then you get classics Only Love Can Break Your Heart and Nothing Can Stop Us Now.
Go on treat yourself and buy a copy, you won't regret it.
Continental
Continental is not an old friend - but many of the tracks are.
It was originally released only in Japan -and available with a price tag on import.
But many of the tracks have appeared elsewhere and it was more of a compilation than an album proper - presumably released in Japan to capture the interest from He's On The Phone.
Some of the tracks appear on Casino Classics - an album of remixes which is also set for reissue - and the Etienne Daho collaboration He's On The Phone - reportedly written over the phone - will be well known to fans.
So Continental leaves you with a feeling of not having the cohesion of a proper album.
However there are some excellent tracks and a real level of diversity. And as with Foxbase Alpha these tracks have not aged.
The sampling, scratches and crackles of Winter Melody are old school cool, and Stormtroopers in Drag could fill any dance floor.
Then there is glam pop of Star, drum 'n' bass The Sea and the just amazing Angel, remixes by Broadcast.
Foxbase Alpha - 9 /10
Continental 7 /10
Daniel Barnes