Belle & Sebastian

When Scottish twee pop masters Belle & Sebastian announced that they were compiling an album from their BBC sessions, some would-be wags groused that the honor of a "BBC Sessions" record should be reserved for bands that are 1) legends (like Led Zeppelin and the Jimi Hendrix Experience, both of whom have released Sessions discs) or, at the very least, 2) no longer with us. While there are plenty of bands who have already violated those silly requirements, there is also evidence at hand to suggest that Belle & Sebastian nearly qualifies on both counts anyway.

"Legend" is a lofty word, of course, and may still be beyond the reach of a pop band that's never quite achieved substantial commercial success. Still, few bands in Belle & Sebastian's genre have been more vital over the past decade. A proper "Greatest Hits" album would make a better case than The BBC Sessions, which charts the band from 1996-2001. Back then, their presentation was lovingly ramshackle and their live shows were few and far between. Since then, they've lost singer Isobel Campbell–and some of their vulnerability with her. They've transformed into a polished live act that plays with orchestras. Frontman Stuart Murdoch now struts around and banters with the audience with all the apparent confidence in the world.

Some of the tracks don't diverge far from their studio versions–including key tracks like "Like Dylan In The Movies" and an excellent rendition of "Sleep The Clock Around." They are therefore easily enjoyed but far from vital. Of more interest to fans will be the divergences, like a much more tranquil version of "Lazy Line Painter Jane" titled simply "Lazy Jane." The real gem for fans will be a closing quartet of tracks taken from a John Peel session in 2001. That begins with the quirky, spoken-word "Shoot the Sexual Athlete" and then the bubbly "The Magic of a Kind Word"–the latter a little more indicative of the direction that the band would be moving. Campbell was about to go her separate way at this time, and "Nothing In The Silence" is her showcase, a delicate piece of baroque pop featuring her fragile vocals. Closer "(My Girl's Got) Miraculous Technique" is the best of the "new" tracks, featuring a reliably laidback melody, more of Murdoch's memorable lyrics (just note the title for a clue) and a tasteful orchestral flourish.

A bonus disc captures a full concert from Belfast – including covers of The Beatles's "Here Comes The Sun," Thin Lizzy's "The Boys Are Back In Town" and The Velvet Underground's "I'm Waiting For The Man"–all of which should be of high value for Belle & Sebastian diehards.

—Adam McKibbin
12.08.08

Belle and Sebastian cut their first BBC session for the Mark Radcliffe Show in July of 1996 just a few months before their seminal If You're Feeling Sinister album was released. The four songs they recorded were live and intimate versions of three of the record's best tracks: "Like Dylan in the Movies," "Judy and the Dream of Horses," and "Stars of Track and Field." Hearing these songs (as well as "The State I Am In," from Tigermilk) in such a raw and unadorned state (complete with vocal wavers and assorted bum notes) isn't a revelation now, though one can imagine people tuned in to their radios that night were thrown for a loop, but it is pretty great. Of course, the songs are amazing, but just as impressively, Stuart Murdoch's vocals are heartbreakingly sincere and soulful, and the band definitively belie their image as shamblers by sounding tight and together. If they had never written or recorded more than just these four songs, they still would be legendary, but luckily they didn't quit while they were ahead and kept recording and releasing brilliant pop music. They also continued making trips to the BBC studios and The BBC Sessions collects songs recorded there between 1996 and 2001. The track list is made up of mostly album tracks and singles (highlights being an insistent "Sleep the Clock Around," a folky take on "Wrong Love," and a truly beautiful "Slow Graffiti") but the real treat for fans is the inclusion of the group's 2001 session for John Peel, for which they trotted out four songs that hadn't been released previously (or since) on record. Any one of them could have comfortably fit on a single, EP, or album and a couple even qualify as lost treasures: "The Magic of a Kind Word" pits Isobel Campbell's breathy vocals in the quiet verses against rich group harmonies in the insanely sunny choruses, and ends up as one of the band's brightest and lightest tunes that just could have been a hit single, "(My Girl's Got) Miraculous Technique" has a wonderfully relaxed groove built on samples and fleshed out with some wonky synth squiggles and lovely harmony vocals by Campbell and Stuart. It was Campbell's last recording made with the band and she really shines. That session alone is worth the price of the disc, and when you add the 1996 session, it becomes damn near essential for Belle and Sebastian fans. ~ Tim Sendra, All Music Guide