BELLE AND SEBASTIAN
Late Night Tales
Azuli
· Belle and Sebastian’s entry into Azuli’s series of artist-curated compilations.
It’s fitting to think the members of Belle and Sebastian would spend most of their time at home listening to the sensitive pop of Felt and The Smiths. While their Late Night Tales compilation features the likes of Donovan (his brilliant "Get Thy Bearings" should hopefully prompt further exploration by the unfamiliar) and Icelandic electronica pixies Mum (their 2002 "Green Grass of Tunnel" still sounds fresh and alien), the primary schizophrenic focus seems stuck on the rarest of Northern Soul and the occasional hip hop outburst.
Put together largely by group pianist Chris Geddes (I still refuse to believe Stuart Murdoch is all that familiar with the likes of RJD2 and Mama Yancey), Late Night Tales has long been the preferred platform for bands to impress listeners with their musical knowledge and compiling prowess. It’s certainly a surprise to see The Steve Miller Band alongside the aforementioned Donovan (and have it work so well), yet Belle and Sebastian’s own "Cassaco Marron" (a cover of Brazilian Evinha) comes off as the work of a group of imposters trying harder for credibility than a truly worthwhile rendition, an opinion that’s a bit hard to shake.
Those hoping for a collection of tracks inspirational to the songs of Stuart Murdoch & Co. won’t find much here that fits. Trying to be all things to all people (how else do you explain Bach’s "Suite No. 2 in B minor" alongside Big Star and Zimbabwe Shona Mbira Music?), Belle and Sebastian’s Late Night Tales leaves one questioning just how often they themselves would listen to it.
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