Product Description

Fourteen gorgeous tracks recorded for the BBC between 1996 and 2001. At the time, the group rarely performed live, so all these songs are noticeably different from the studio versions. The regular CD includes an additional four unreleased songs from their classic early Jeepster period. The limited, deluxe double CD contains an entire live show broadcast on BBC Evening Session in mid-2001 with another four never before heard songs. Eight-page booklet in the regular CD (six-page booklet in the deluxe version). Gatefold HQ 180 gram vinyl.

Track Listing

Disc 1:

1. The State I Am in
2. Like Dylan In The Movies
3. Judy And The Dream Of Horses
4. The Stars Of Track And Field
5. I Could Be Dreaming
6. Seymour Stein
7. Lazy Jane
8. Sleep The Clock Around
9. Slow Graffiti
10. Wrong Love
11. Shoot The Sexual Athlete
12. The Magic Of A Kind Word
13. Nothing In The Silence
14. (My Girl's Got) MIraculous

Disc 2:

1. Here Comes The Sun
2. There's Too Much Love
3. There Magic Of A Kind Word
4. Me And The Major
5. Wandering Alone
6. The Model
7. I'm Waiting For The Man
8. The Boy With The Arab Strap
9. The Wrong Girl
10. Dirty Dream #2
11. Boys Are Back In Town
12. Legal Man

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #46549 in Music
• Released on: 2008-11-18
• Number of discs: 2
• Formats: Limited Edition, Live

Customer Reviews

a tie breaking review
The other two reviews for this new belle and sebastian release appear to represent completely opposing viewpoints. I think the truth about this release requires a little more balance. If you are a big belle fan you would probably enjoy the bbc sessions release because first of all, there are 7 previously unreleased tracks (some live on disc 2 and some bbc session tracks on disc 1) and secondly, big fans of any band usually welcome a chance to hear different takes of songs (be it live or otherwise). With that said, both reviewers spoke some truth. The live performances are, at times, strained or labored. The band's version of the Beatle's Here Comes the Sun lacks the clarity and peaceful energy of the original. It feels as though they were either nervous or too tired to perform because it has the sound of distraction and preoccupation with something other than the song at hand. However, big fans may simply enjoy hearing the cover!
The Magic of a Kind Word is a very fun, poppy song reminiscent of some of Belle and Sebastian's b sides that ended up on Push Barman to Open Old Wounds (see Legal Man as a late sixties reference and Jonathan David as an energy reference).
The fact that some of disc two's performances are lacking in sheer execution/ feel (and by the way, a cover of The Boys are Back in Town helps to validate any suspicion of 70's rock influence on the Life's Pursuit) is made up for by solid bbc sessions that recall some of the band's earlier trademark sound.
Overall, if you enjoyed the b sides B & S released in the past and you cared enough to buy Push Barman (which had no previously released songs at all) you would likely not regret spending the money on this.

Good fun stuff on the live CD.
The BBC session songs do not sound that much different than those on the studio albums. There are a few previously unreleased tracks, however none of these really stuck out to me. The real find here is the bonus live CD. The band just sounds like they seem to have a blast playing in front of an audience. It gives you a completely different appreciation for the band, and in particular Stuart Murdoch. He is a very uplifting performer. Very different from the feel of the studio recordings and the BBC recordings included on the first CD in this set.

No non-bowlies allowed
In the very depth of our hearts we all have certain things that, either obscure or shiny, stand there waiting for the time to show up. I guess thats the "essence" of this 14 tracks: pieces of something quite intimate that writting down a critic seems to be almost profanic.
The 14 tracks that constitute the first part of THE BBC SESSIONS are not only rareties but pieces of museum. Some may like them, some may not. One thing is certain: no non-bowlies are allowed here. If you are a real, true fan of Belle and Sebastian you're gonna tremble at every track; you're gonna miss some words in this "primitive" version of "The Wrong Girl" called "Wrong Love" or Monica Queen's voice in "Lazy [Line Painter] Jane". But still, the trembling will not stop until you listen to those never before released tracks. I loved two of them: "Nothing In The Silence" and "(My Girl's Got) Miraculous Technique". They just make you wonder why did Stuart Murdoch and the rest of the collective did not put them in some of their albums.
Now, about the "Live in Belfast 2001" album, the second part of THE BBC SESSIONS, there's no much to say: again, if you are a real Belle and Sebastian fan you've already seen the FANS ONLY DVD, and thus you've seen how they get so excited performing in front of an audience that some times they can make some terrible mistakes. But, again, if you are a bowlie you can understand that too.
The fact of Isobel being in the front cover gives you an idea of how much nostalgia and saudade goes within THE BBC SESSIONS.