Nine years later, Belle and Sebastian returned to their second album for a one-off gig in which they played the record through in its entirety. The gig was recorded, then released via iTunes for charity. The setlist was chosen as the band themselves weren’t ever so happy with the final result of the original album. Personally, I’d rather listen to this version.
There are no radical departures here – every track is played more or less as it was originally, but with a greater confidence – almost a swagger. Almost a decade on, the difference in how the band sounds is striking. There’s a great sense of relaxation throughout this album, and this brings the album a real sense of joy. Tracks like ‘Like Dylan In The Movies’ and ‘Get Me Away From Here, I’m Dying’ lose their slightly pained and restrained edge and become songs that are a sheer pleasure to listen to.
It’s rare, I imagine, for an exercise like this to be any more than an exercise in vanity, or at best, something which works well on stage but is unnecessary on record. But not this time – this is great.
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