Welcome to the Beautiful South

Japanese edition of the 1989 debut album by this poppy British post-modern group featuring former Housemartins members Paul Heaton & David Hemmingway. Features all 11 of the original numbers plus five bonus tracks, 'You And Your Big Idea', 'You Just Can't Smile It Away', 'It's Instrumental', 'But 'Til Then' & 'I'll Sail This Ship Alone'(Orchestral Mix). 16 tracks total. A Go! Records release. The full title is 'Welcome To The Beautiful South'.

The Housemartins used crazily bouncing melodies to sweeten their political pop. After they broke up after just two albums, P.D. Heaton tried a similar technique with the Beautiful South--lush melodies, rolling piano, and beautiful voices sugar-coating delightfully subversive lyrics. Only where the Housemartins railed against bankers and unthinking sheep, the Beautiful South moved from the political to the personal (except for some delicious swipes at the music biz), writing gorgeous love songs to dull partners ("I Love You But You're Boring"), gruesome murders ("Woman in the Wall"), and conversation fear ("You Keep It All In"). Funnier still is "Song for Whoever," which reveals the man behind the love song: "Oh Shirley, Oh Deborah, Oh Julie, Oh Jane/I wrote so many songs about you/I forget your name." --David Daley