The BBC Sessions - Belle And Sebastian(2008)

 


Early Belle And Sebastian didn't really play many live shows -- various reasons for that, ranging from Stuart Murdoch's struggle with Chronic Fatigue syndrome, to Isobel's hatred of the road, to to the fact that nobody in the band really knew what they were doing: their shows were legendarily a mess "shambolic" is the word most often used for the ramshackle band -- and you can kind of hear that sort of seat-of-your-pants energy in their early records.

So The BBC Sessions  is all the more valuable a document, capturing as it does several performances from the earliest (and best) period, some songs even pre-dating the release of Tigermilk. There are a handful of songs that are exclusive to the song and all but one of them are pretty much essential for big fans like me. Stevie sings a surprisingly amount of songs, and even more surprisingly he sings on key and in tune for hte most part and we even get treated to a whispery whisker of a vocal by Isoble.  They'd be more professional from here on out,  and remain one of the finest bands of the last three decades, but for me they lost a little something when Isobel and Stuart D left them.

The second disc is a 2001 live concert from Belfast, already post-Isobel and Stuart D.,  and with Bobby Kildare on bass. It's a a good fun little show, featuring some choice covers ("Here Comes the Sun", "The Boys ARe Back in Town", "I'm Waiting for My Man") and of coursre a choice selection of songs from their first four albums, and six or seven EPs. 

Ultikmately The BBC Sessions is for fans only  -- but fans will definitely enjoy it.

4/5

Coming Up:

All This Useless Beauty - Elvis Costello & The Attractions

Alpha Mike Foxtrot -- Wilco

The American Dream

American Idiot - Green Day

Amnesiac Radiohead

Another Life - Another Life

Arrival - ABBA

B

The B-52s

Bachelor No. 2 (Or, The Last Remains of the Dodo) - Aimee Mann

The Ballad of Easy Rider - The Byrds

Bambu - Dennis Wilson

Band on the Run

Bangles EP

The Basement Tapes - Bob Dylan & The Band

BARB

The BBC Sessions -- Belle & Sebastian

The Beatles [The White Album] 

Beatles For Sale 

Beauty and Sadness -- TheSmithereens

Beauty and the Beat -- The Go-Go's

Become What YOu Are - The Juliana Hatfield 3

Before & After - Tim Finn

Beggar's Banquet. The Rolling Stones

Begin Here - The Zombies

Being There - Wilco

The Bends -- Radiohead

Berlin - Lou Reed

The Best of Badfinger

The Best of Dark Horse - 1976-1989 - George Harrison

The Best of Sam Cooke

Best Shots - Pat Benatar

Betchadupa

Between The Buttons - Rolling Stones

Big Canoe - Tim Finn

the Big Express - XTC

Biggest Bluest Hi-Fi - Camera Obscura

Billy Idol

A Bit of Previous - Belle & Sebastian

The Black Album - Prince

Black Gold - Nina Simone

Black List - Alex Chilton

Black Market Clash - The Clash 

Black Sea - XTC

Black Snake Diamond Role -- Robyn Hitchcock

Black Spring - Lush

Black-Eyed Man - Cowboy Junkies

Blind Man's Zoo - 10000 Maniacs 

Blonde on Blonde - Bob Dylan

Blondie

Blood And Chocolate - Elvis Costello & The Attractions

Blood on the Tracks - Bob Dylan

Blue Kentucky Girl -- Emmylou Harris

Boats Against the Current -- Eric Carmen

Bob Dylan

Bob Dylan In Concert: Brandeis University 1963

Book - They Might Be Giants

Bookends -- Simon and Garfunkel

Booker T & The M.G.'s

The Bootleg Series 1-3 Bob Dylan

Born in the USA - Bruce Springsteen

Born toDie - Lana Del Rey

Born to Run - Bruce Springsteen

Bossanova - The Pixies

The Both

Boy - U2

The Boy with the Arab Strap - Belle & Sebastian

Boys Don't Cry - TheCure

Brian Wilson

Brian Wilson Presents SMiLE

Brian Wilson Reimagines Gershwin

Brian Wilson: Long Promised Road

Bridge Over Troubled Water - Simon & Garfunkel

Bringing It All Back Home - Bob Dylan

Brutal Youth - Elvis Costello

Bryter Layter - Nick Drake

Buena Vista Social Club

Buffalo Springfield

Buffalo Springfield Again

Buoys - Panda Bear

Byrdmaniax - The Byrds

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