“This is a brilliantly collated and perfectly named 24 track compilation of The Housemartins’ 5 year career from 1983 – 1988. It’s not a best of (they only released two studio albums) though it does include all their hits. But by also including B-sides and BBC Radio sessions as well as fan favourite album tracks, it provides a far better overview of who they were as a band. . With their particular brand of mid-80s indie jangle pop: some tracks with a skiffle feel, some Northern Soul, most with a strong social conscience and often overtly politically left lyrics, The Housemartins were a distinctive sound on the airwaves, and we could do with the likes of Paul Heaton’s songwriting skills now. . Aside from hits such as Happy Hour, Think For A Minute, Five Get Over Excited and their acapella version cover of the Isley Brothers’ Caravan of Love (a big Christmas No 1 in the UK) my favourites on here are the lesser known Step Outside and their first single, which went nowhere but if it had been sung by Morrissey would have been an underground hit, Flag Day. . Equally brilliant are the liner notes on this comp, so good, I have to quote some of the best here: Think For A Minute: “120 copies were sold in New Zealand”; The Light Is Always Green: “This song was hotly tipped as a single until we discovered no-one liked it”; and Everyday’s The Same: “One of the band’s last musical ventures and possibly their worst. Lyrically vague and musically unimaginative…originally written in 1983, it wasn’t until 1997 that the band actually became desperate enough to record it.” . FOR FULL REVIEW & PLAYLIST CLICK LINK IN PROFILE: . #thehousemartins @paulheatonsolo @officialfatboyslim #happyhour #fivegetoverexcited #thinkforaminute #caravanoflove #fourthbestbandinhull #hull #compilation #indiemusic #recordcollection #nowplaying #nowlistening #randomrecordreview https://www.instagram.com/p/B5FlvCrJJY0/?igshid=6an2oj13gg0r
