Track Listing 1. Step Into My Office, Baby 2. Dear Catastrophe Waitress 3. If She Wants Me 4. Piazza, New York Catcher 5. Asleep on a Sunbeam 6. I'm a Cuckoo 7. You Don't Send Me 8. Wrapped up in Books 9. Lord Anthony 10. If You Find Yourself Caught in Love 11. Roy Walker 12. Stay Loose
| Details | | Producer: | Trevor Horn | | Distributor: | BMG (distributor) | | Recording Type: | Studio | | Recording Mode: | Stereo | | SPAR Code: | n/a |
Album Notes For a band with such a modest, homespun feel as Scottish cult heroes Belle and Sebastian, the utilization of a big pop producer like Trevor Horn could easily have been a tragic mistake. Instead, it proves to be a stroke of brilliance. Rather than doling out the kind of overblown mountains of sound he's heaped on artists like Seal and Frankie Goes To Hollywood, Horn simply expands the B&S palette in a completely organic, extremely effective manner. The arrangements are more fleshed-out than usual, the textures more varied, and the overall sound a bit more sprightly and sunny. All this is to the good, however, as the band's unerring melodic sensibility and gently quirky lyricism remain joyfully intact. The interaction of Belle and Sebastian's trademark twisted-twee songcraft and the effervescence of Horn's production makes DEAR CATASTROPHE WAITRESS one of the group's most instantly appealing albums.
Editorial Reviews ...Working with producer Trevor Horn...has given the group a renewed upbeat pop sensibility that will leave you tapping your feet, rather than crying in your vodka tonic... CMJ (09/29/2003)
...The songs are always smart....Vocalists Stevie Jackson and Sarah Martin get better cameos here, and the album feels like more of a piece... - Grade: B+ Spin (11/01/2003)
3 stars out of 5 - ...The sound hasn't significantly slickened, the performances are tighter, confident, even bouncy, bringing the band much closer to the vintage pop and soul records it adores... Rolling Stone (10/30/2003)
Ranked #4 in CMJ's Top 10 of 2003 CMJ (12/29/2003)
5 stars out of 5 - ...It's by far the strongest collection of songs the band have ever assembled... Uncut (11/01/2003)
Ranked #44 in Uncut's Albums Of The Year 2003 Uncut (01/01/2004)
4 stars out of 5 - ...The band's most magical record to date... Mojo (11/01/2003)
Ranked #18 in Mojo's The Best of 2003 Mojo (01/01/2004)
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