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If You're Feeling Sinister

 
Album Review: If You're Feeling Sinister
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If You're Feeling Sinister

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  • Artist: Belle & Sebastian
  • Rating: StarStarStarStarStar
  • Release Date: November 18, 1996
  • Type: Lyrics are included with the album
  • Genre: Rock

Review

Belle & Sebastian's second record, If You're Feeling Sinister, is, for all intents and purposes, really their first, since their debut in 1996 was not heard outside of privileged inner circles. And If You're Feeling Sinister really did have quite a bit of an impact upon its release in 1996, largely because during the first half of the '90s the whimsy and preciousness that had been an integral part of alternative music was suppressed by grunge. Whimsy and preciousness are an integral part of If You're Feeling Sinister, along with clever wit and gentle, intricate arrangements -- a wonderful blend of the Smiths and Simon & Garfunkel, to be reductive. Even if it's firmly within the college, bed-sit tradition, and is unabashedly retrogressive, that gives Sinister a special, timeless character that's enhanced by Stuart Murdoch's wonderful, lively songwriting. Blessed with an impish sense of humor, a sly turn of phrase, and an alluringly fey voice, he gives this record a real sense of backbone, in that its humor is far more biting than the music appears and the music is far more substantial that it initially seems. Sinister plays like a great forgotten album, couched in '80s indie, '90s attitude, and '60s folk-pop. It's beautifully out of time, and even if other Belle & Sebastian albums sound like it, this is where they achieved a sense of grace. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine, All Music Guide

Tracks

Track TitleComposersPerformersTime
The Stars of Track and Field Belle & Sebastian (4:48)
Seeing Other People (Lyrics) Belle & Sebastian (3:48)
Me and the Major (Lyrics) Belle & Sebastian (3:51)
Like Dylan in the Movies (Lyrics) Belle & Sebastian (4:14)
The Fox in the Snow Belle & Sebastian (4:11)
Get Me Away from Here, I'm Dying (Lyrics) Belle & Sebastian (3:25)
If You're Feeling Sinister (Lyrics) Belle & Sebastian (5:21)
Mayfly (Lyrics) Belle & Sebastian (3:42)
The Boy Done Wrong Again Belle & Sebastian (4:17)
Judy and the Dream of Horses (Lyrics) Belle & Sebastian (3:40)

Credits

Belle & Sebastian (Main Performer)
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Wikipedia: If You're Feeling Sinister
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If You're Feeling Sinister
Studio album by Belle & Sebastian
Released November 18, 1996
Recorded Ca Va Studios, Glasgow
Genre Chamber pop
Length 41:17
Label Jeepster Records
Matador Records (re-issue)
Producer Tony Doogan
Professional reviews
Belle & Sebastian chronology
Tigermilk
(1996)		 If You're Feeling Sinister
(1996)		 The Boy with the Arab Strap
(1998)

If You're Feeling Sinister is the second album by Scottish pop group Belle & Sebastian, released on the independent label Jeepster Records. The album was released to much critical praise in 1996. Sinister is widely considered to be an indie pop classic, and has garnered a cult following among fans.

Band leader Stuart Murdoch has stated in interviews that this is probably his best collection of songs, although they are not very well recorded. In 2005, Belle & Sebastian released a live version of the album entitled If You're Feeling Sinister: Live at the Barbican on the iTunes Music Store. Its purpose was to offer fans a better recorded version of If You're Feeling Sinister.

Contents

Critical reception

Acclaim for If You're Feeling Sinister has been strong. Pitchfork Media placed the album at number 14 in its top 100 albums of the 1990s.[1] Rolling Stone magazine featured the album on its list of "Essential Recordings of the 1990s,"[2] while Spin included the record at number 76 on its "100 Greatest Albums, 1985-2005" list.[3] If You're Feeling Sinister also appears as an entry in the book 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die as chosen by music critics. Another source that analyzes critics, Acclaimed Music, has placed If You're Feeling Sinister as the 3rd-best album of 1996 and number 224 of all time.[4]

In 2007, as part of the 33⅓ series, Scott Plagenhoef wrote a book about the album.

Cover

The cover features a copy of The Trial by Franz Kafka.

Track listing

All songs written and composed by Stuart Murdoch. 

# Title Length
1. "The Stars of Track and Field"   4:48
2. "Seeing Other People"   3:48
3. "Me and the Major"   3:51
4. "Like Dylan in the Movies"   4:14
5. "The Fox in the Snow"   4:11
6. "Get Me Away from Here, I’m Dying"   3:25
7. "If You’re Feeling Sinister"   5:21
8. "Mayfly"   3:42
9. "The Boy Done Wrong Again"   4:17
10. "Judy and the Dream of Horses"   3:40
41:17

Personnel

  • Stuart Murdoch – vocals, guitar
  • Stuart David – bass
  • Isobel Campbell – cello
  • Chris Geddes – keyboards, piano
  • Richard Colburn – drums
  • Stevie Jackson – guitar, vocals
  • Sarah Martin – violins
  • Mick Cooke – trumpet

References

  1. ^ "Top 100 Albums of the 1990s". Pitchfork Media. http://www.pitchforkmedia.com/article/feature/36737-staff-list-top-100-albums-of-the-1990s/page_9. 
  2. ^ "Rolling Stone Lists". Rolling Stone. http://www.rocklistmusic.co.uk/rstone.html. 
  3. ^ "Spin 100 Greatest Albums, 1985-2005". Spin. http://www.spin.com/features/magazine/covers/2005/06/0507_cover_greatest_albums/. 
  4. ^ "Acclaimed Music Top Albums from 1996". http://www.acclaimedmusic.net/Current/1996a.htm. 


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Belle & Sebastian
Stuart Murdoch · Stevie Jackson · Chris Geddes · Richard Colburn · Sarah Martin · Mick Cooke · Bobby Kildea
Isobel Campbell · Stuart David
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This entry is from Wikipedia, the leading user-contributed encyclopedia. It may not have been reviewed by professional editors (see full disclaimer)

 
 

 

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Album Review. Copyright © 2009 All Media Guide, LLC. Content provided by All Music Guide ®, a trademark of All Media Guide, LLC. All rights reserved.  Read more
Wikipedia. This article is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "If You're Feeling Sinister".  Read more

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