Search - St Etienne :: Interlude

B Sides Never Sounded This Good

Kevin Razban | Dana Point, California | 03/25/2001

(4 out of 5 stars)

"After spending considerable effort and money buying British imports of hard-to-find Saint Etienne records, I'm relieved to have in my collection this set of songs released for Saint Etienne's American fans. The liner notes explain exactly what this CD is: "Interlude, aka the flipside to Sound of Water." With the exception of four tracks, the songs on the CD are culled from B-sides taken from the "Sound of Water" singles. The liner notes go on to inform us that the many songs which were written for the "Water" project simply didn't fit into the record's final, ethereal sound. Hence, superb songs like the dancy, catchy "Shoot Out the Lights" (which Etienne played live last year during their U.S. tour), "Northwestern," and "Thank You" didn't make it on the album. The songs are strong enough to likely have made any other Etienne album, however, and many easily evoke the casual charm of 1994's "Tiger Bay" (the group's third record). The "bonus" tracks (re-mixes of "Boy Is Crying" and "Lose That Girl") are fine additions. The CD has its own atmosphere, much like "Water" has. Songs like Brian Wilson's "Stevie" and "Roseneck" have the feel of a cool, late-night drink. One qualm: For whatever reason, Sup-Pop printed the track listing on the back of the jewel box slightly out of order with what's on the CD. There was an attempt to compensate for this flaw by including an insertion inside the jewel box which lists the correct track listing, but does not accurately list the song titles. The listings "Boy Is Crying" and "Lose That Girl" omit the "Remix" names listed on the back of the jewel box. All in all, however, this is a fine addition to any Saint Etienne fan's CD collection."

You could do no wrong with Saint Etienne

M. OYoung | 04/26/2002

(5 out of 5 stars)

"... "Queen of Polythene" is just absolutely dreamy, something you expect to hear in a cool breezy jazz bar on a Saturday night. If you love Sarah Cracknell's honey-smooth voice (and who doesn't?), hearing her sing in Francaise in "Le Ballade de Saint Etienne" will make your heart melt with delight. "Northwestern" continues the Etienne's tradition of creating fabulous pop music with a dash of evil mixed in. Yes, it's an album of B-sides, but the flow is still surprisingly smooth. And finally, the included video for "How We Used to Live" is worth the purchase alone. Because, hey, where else in the States can you find a SE video?"

Satisfying for now

Jeffrey J. Lyons | Pembroke, NH United States | 04/11/2001

(4 out of 5 stars)

"I have been a fan of Saint Etienne for a while. "Interlude," is just that - an interlude between "Sound of Water" and the next album (hopefully there will be one). This is really a collection of songs that were thrown onto CD singles over the last two or so years. Most of them I have already heard. It is nice to be able to get "Stevie" without having to go out and buy that Brian Wilson tribute CD. The remixes on "Lose That Girl" and "Boy is Crying" are also nice to have since I hadn't been able to find them prior to this. It gets 4 stars from me, primarily because I think Saint Etienne are a great talent and highly underrated (and a good concert too). But since I already have many of the songs, the lack of "new" material doesn't rate it a "5." This is good for true fans only - it may not be the best one to start with if you're new to Saint Etienne's sound."