THE HOUSEMARTINS
''NOW THAT'S WHAT I CALL QUITE GOOD!''
1988
JUN 25 1985-OCT 19 1987
78:37
1/I Smell Winter/3:23
2/Bow Down/3:01
3/Think for a Minute/3:29
4/There Is Always Something There to Remind Me/3:30
5/The Mighty Ship/1:50
6/Sheep
Stan Cullimore / Paul Heaton / Ted Key/2:16
7/I'll Be Your Shelter (Just Like a Shelter)
Lloyd Charmers/4:46
8/Five Get Over Excited/2:41
9/Everyday's the Same/2:56
10/Build/4:48
11/Step Outside/4:13
12/Flag Day
Stan Cullimore / Paul Heaton / Ted Key/3:32
13/Happy Hour/2:22
14/You've Got a Friend
Carole King/3:30
15/He Ain't Heavy, He's My Brother
Bob Russell / Robert William Scott/2:47
16/Freedom
Paul Heaton / Ted Key/3:27
17/The People Who Grinned Themselves to Death/3:30
18/Caravan of Love
Ernie Isley / Marvin Isley / Chris Jasper/3:39
19/The Light Is Always Green/3:58
20/We're Not Deep/2:15
21/Me and the Farmer/2:54
22/Lean on Me
Paul Heaton / Pete Wingfield/4:27
23/Drop Down Dead/3:01
24/Hopelessly Devoted to Them/2:10
Tracks By Stan Cullimore / Paul Heaton, Except As Indicated
Guy Barker - Trumpet
Sandy Blair - Tuba
St. Winifred's School Choir - Vocals (bckgr)
Pete Wingfield - Piano, Keyboards
Jeff Wood - Piano
Norman Cook - Bass, Guitar (Bass), Vocals
Stan Cullimore - Guitar, Vocals
Paul Heaton - Guitar, Harmonica, Chimes, Vocals, Melodica
Anthony Pleeth - Cello
Hugh Whitaker - Bass (Vocal), Drums, Vocals, Vibraphone
REVIEW
by Jason Ankeny
Gathering singles, B-sides, BBC sessions, and key album cuts from all chapters of the Housemartins' brief but brilliant career, the posthumous Now That's What I Call Quite Good! is both a glowing greatest-hits package and an odds-and-ends clearinghouse -- a fitting epitaph for a band which thrived on contradictions in consistently pitting the personal versus the political and the secular versus the spiritual. Despite the uniform excellence of their two studio LPs, this release confirms once and for all that the Housemartins were first and foremost a singles band -- even removed from their album context, highlights including "Bow Down," "Build," and "The Light Is Always Green" boast all the immediacy and infectiousness of classic pop radio fodder, even if their actual mainstream appeal was minimal at best. The previously uncollected material, meanwhile, reveals a warmth and intimacy often missing from Paul Heaton's most trenchant social commentaries -- in particular, the "garage gospel" approach which distinguishes remarkable readings of Luther Ingram's "I'll Be Your Shelter" and the Isley Brothers' "Caravan of Love" (the latter the Housemartins' lone U.K. chart-topper) radiate an intensely humanistic empathy which underlines the utter conviction at the heart of all the group's work.
BIOGRAPHY
by Stephen Thomas Erlewine
One of Britain's more popular indie guitar pop groups of the late '80s, the Housemartins' post-Smiths guitar jangle and subtle updating of catchy, melodic British beat groups earned the Hull-based quartet a substantial critical and popular following within the U.K. Though the group never gained much more than a cult following in America, their balance of simple, memorable melodies and cutting sarcasm helped them rise into the British Top Ten, as well as earn consistently strong reviews. the Housemartins broke up in 1988, just before they fully broke into the mainstream. The group's lead songwriter, Paul Heaton, formed the Beautiful South the following year, and his new band capitalized on the success of the Housemartins to become one of the more popular U.K. groups of the early '90s.
London 0 Hull 4
Paul Heaton (vocals, guitar) formed the Housemartins with Ted Key (bass), Stan Cullimore (guitar), and Hugh Whitaker (drums) in 1984. From the outset, the group cultivated a distinctly English image, blending a cynical sense of humor with leftist political leanings and a low-key, commonplace appearance. In 1985, they signed with Go! Discs and by the end of the year, Key was replaced by Norman Cook. "Happy Hour," the Housemartins' third single, became the group's first hit in the summer of 1986, climbing all the way to number three. London O Hull 4, their debut album, followed shortly afterward and, like the single, it cracked the British Top Ten. At the end of the year, the a cappella "Caravan of Love" became a number one hit.
The People Who Grinned Themselves to Death
Due to their success in 1986, the Housemartins were award the BPI award for Best Newcomers. Before they recorded their second album, Hugh Whitaker left the band and was replaced by Dave Hemmingway. The People Who Grinned Themselves to Death followed later in 1987, spawning the hit singles "Five Get Over Excited" and "Me and the Farmer." Though the Housemartins were developing into one of the most popular bands within Britain, they broke up in the summer of 1988, claiming they only intended to stay together for three years. In reality, Heaton and Cook were suffering from creative tensions, as the singer wanted to move into sophisticated jazz-pop while the bassist was eager to explore dance music. This difference in taste became apparent in the groups they formed immediately after the disbandment of the Housemartins. Cook formed Beats International, who had a few hits in the early '90s before Cook became a full-time remixer and producer as Fatboy Slim. With drummer Hemmingway, Heaton formed the Beautiful South, which carried on the aesthetic of the Housemartins, but added more complex melodies and arrangements. Toward the end of 1988, a compilation of Housemartins' singles and rarities called Now That's What I Call Quite Good! was released. In 1993, original drummer Hugh Whitaker was imprisoned for wounding with intent and arson attacks on a business partner.
DoWnLoAd
''NOW THAT'S WHAT I CALL QUITE GOOD!''
1988
JUN 25 1985-OCT 19 1987
78:37
1/I Smell Winter/3:23
2/Bow Down/3:01
3/Think for a Minute/3:29
4/There Is Always Something There to Remind Me/3:30
5/The Mighty Ship/1:50
6/Sheep
Stan Cullimore / Paul Heaton / Ted Key/2:16
7/I'll Be Your Shelter (Just Like a Shelter)
Lloyd Charmers/4:46
8/Five Get Over Excited/2:41
9/Everyday's the Same/2:56
10/Build/4:48
11/Step Outside/4:13
12/Flag Day
Stan Cullimore / Paul Heaton / Ted Key/3:32
13/Happy Hour/2:22
14/You've Got a Friend
Carole King/3:30
15/He Ain't Heavy, He's My Brother
Bob Russell / Robert William Scott/2:47
16/Freedom
Paul Heaton / Ted Key/3:27
17/The People Who Grinned Themselves to Death/3:30
18/Caravan of Love
Ernie Isley / Marvin Isley / Chris Jasper/3:39
19/The Light Is Always Green/3:58
20/We're Not Deep/2:15
21/Me and the Farmer/2:54
22/Lean on Me
Paul Heaton / Pete Wingfield/4:27
23/Drop Down Dead/3:01
24/Hopelessly Devoted to Them/2:10
Tracks By Stan Cullimore / Paul Heaton, Except As Indicated
Guy Barker - Trumpet
Sandy Blair - Tuba
St. Winifred's School Choir - Vocals (bckgr)
Pete Wingfield - Piano, Keyboards
Jeff Wood - Piano
Norman Cook - Bass, Guitar (Bass), Vocals
Stan Cullimore - Guitar, Vocals
Paul Heaton - Guitar, Harmonica, Chimes, Vocals, Melodica
Anthony Pleeth - Cello
Hugh Whitaker - Bass (Vocal), Drums, Vocals, Vibraphone
REVIEW
by Jason Ankeny
Gathering singles, B-sides, BBC sessions, and key album cuts from all chapters of the Housemartins' brief but brilliant career, the posthumous Now That's What I Call Quite Good! is both a glowing greatest-hits package and an odds-and-ends clearinghouse -- a fitting epitaph for a band which thrived on contradictions in consistently pitting the personal versus the political and the secular versus the spiritual. Despite the uniform excellence of their two studio LPs, this release confirms once and for all that the Housemartins were first and foremost a singles band -- even removed from their album context, highlights including "Bow Down," "Build," and "The Light Is Always Green" boast all the immediacy and infectiousness of classic pop radio fodder, even if their actual mainstream appeal was minimal at best. The previously uncollected material, meanwhile, reveals a warmth and intimacy often missing from Paul Heaton's most trenchant social commentaries -- in particular, the "garage gospel" approach which distinguishes remarkable readings of Luther Ingram's "I'll Be Your Shelter" and the Isley Brothers' "Caravan of Love" (the latter the Housemartins' lone U.K. chart-topper) radiate an intensely humanistic empathy which underlines the utter conviction at the heart of all the group's work.
BIOGRAPHY
by Stephen Thomas Erlewine
One of Britain's more popular indie guitar pop groups of the late '80s, the Housemartins' post-Smiths guitar jangle and subtle updating of catchy, melodic British beat groups earned the Hull-based quartet a substantial critical and popular following within the U.K. Though the group never gained much more than a cult following in America, their balance of simple, memorable melodies and cutting sarcasm helped them rise into the British Top Ten, as well as earn consistently strong reviews. the Housemartins broke up in 1988, just before they fully broke into the mainstream. The group's lead songwriter, Paul Heaton, formed the Beautiful South the following year, and his new band capitalized on the success of the Housemartins to become one of the more popular U.K. groups of the early '90s.
London 0 Hull 4
Paul Heaton (vocals, guitar) formed the Housemartins with Ted Key (bass), Stan Cullimore (guitar), and Hugh Whitaker (drums) in 1984. From the outset, the group cultivated a distinctly English image, blending a cynical sense of humor with leftist political leanings and a low-key, commonplace appearance. In 1985, they signed with Go! Discs and by the end of the year, Key was replaced by Norman Cook. "Happy Hour," the Housemartins' third single, became the group's first hit in the summer of 1986, climbing all the way to number three. London O Hull 4, their debut album, followed shortly afterward and, like the single, it cracked the British Top Ten. At the end of the year, the a cappella "Caravan of Love" became a number one hit.
The People Who Grinned Themselves to Death
Due to their success in 1986, the Housemartins were award the BPI award for Best Newcomers. Before they recorded their second album, Hugh Whitaker left the band and was replaced by Dave Hemmingway. The People Who Grinned Themselves to Death followed later in 1987, spawning the hit singles "Five Get Over Excited" and "Me and the Farmer." Though the Housemartins were developing into one of the most popular bands within Britain, they broke up in the summer of 1988, claiming they only intended to stay together for three years. In reality, Heaton and Cook were suffering from creative tensions, as the singer wanted to move into sophisticated jazz-pop while the bassist was eager to explore dance music. This difference in taste became apparent in the groups they formed immediately after the disbandment of the Housemartins. Cook formed Beats International, who had a few hits in the early '90s before Cook became a full-time remixer and producer as Fatboy Slim. With drummer Hemmingway, Heaton formed the Beautiful South, which carried on the aesthetic of the Housemartins, but added more complex melodies and arrangements. Toward the end of 1988, a compilation of Housemartins' singles and rarities called Now That's What I Call Quite Good! was released. In 1993, original drummer Hugh Whitaker was imprisoned for wounding with intent and arson attacks on a business partner.
DoWnLoAd
