Editorial Reviews Songwriter Heaton finally hits his stride with track four, the instant Beautiful South classic "Life vs. the Lifeless" ("That's why cynics deep-sea dive / Just to watch someone healthy lose breath"). "Let Go with the Flow" is understated but lyric-heavy--something that has become a trademark over the years, but which needs addressing here. An editor is badly needed, something that's particularly evident on "101 Per Cent Man." Ideas and phrases are drowned in a biblical flood of words. The best is saved for both the album's end and Wheeler herself, who delivers a stunningly warm and evocative vocal on "Half of Him"--a stirring, sitting-out-under-the-stars, campfire song to which her voice is completely suited. If she'd been given more songs here, the album would have been much stronger. As it stands, this is fine for fans, but others could find it lacking. --Cortman Virtue
Music Review:
Music Review
You Spin Me Round 2003, Pt. 2 [CD-single] [Import]
Bach: Brandenburg Concertos 4, 5 & 6
Armida Parsi-Pettinella: Unknown Recordings 1906 - 09
Alpha Centauri/Ultima Thule [Import]
Asleep in the Back [Bonus Track]
Absolute Rock in the UK [Import]
André Rieu - The Vienna I love - Waltzes From My Heart / Johann Strauss Orchestra
Aladdin Sane [Original recording remastered]
3 Compasso Samba & Choro [Live] [Import]
Amazon.co.uk
The world doesn't need a new Beautiful South album, but here's Gaze anyway. Paul Heaton's motley crew are now nearly three years on from their previous album, Painting It Red. Their last major hit (and decent tune), "Perfect Ten," came back in 1998. Not much has changed in the songs (although they're noticeably not as dark as they were in 2000), but new addition Alison Wheeler has a beautifully haunting voice that puts all of the Pop Idol contenders to shame. Openers "Pretty Things" and "Just a Few Things That I Ain't" possess simple, shuffling arrangements of balsa-thin longevity and "Sailing Solo" takes navigational and exploration metaphors in human relationships to dull, Arctic Circle extremes.
Album Description
Gaze is the eighth album from the Beautiful South and their first in three years since 2000's Painting It Red. The album continues in the vein of previous works featuring their distinctive brand of jazzy pop topped with Paul Heaton's witty lyrics. 11 tracks. Universal. 2003.