Track Listing

1. Hold On To What
2. Good As Gold
3. Especially For You
4. Everybody's Talkin'
5. Prettiest Eyes
6. Worthless Lie
7. Hooligans Don't Fall In Love
8. Hidden Jukebox
9. Hold Me Close (Underground)
10. Tattoo
11. Mini Correct
12. Poppy

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #34646 in Music
• Released on: 1997-09-22
• Number of discs: 1
• Dimensions: .24 pounds

Customer Reviews

underrated genius
As someone who has been a huge fan of the Beautiful South now for 8 years, it always frustrates me the way they are often frowned upon as merely "middle of the road" and are never really fully appreciated by most of the so-called music press. OK, so they will never be an important band or change anyones lives but they have made some truly underrated albums in their time. However, by saying that I mean those albums made prior to the release of 1994's 'Carry On Up The Charts' compliation, because after that it all went too commercial for my liking. 'Miaow' is the one album of theirs I can always go back to and become completely overrawed by. Paul Heaton's lyrics are as effective and moving as anything penned by the likes of say, Thom Yorke, and if there is one thing he and co-writer Dave Rotheray know how to do well it's to write near-on perfect pop songs such as 'Good As Gold'. Excluding maybe just the cover of 'Everybody's Talkin', I love every track on here. Stand outs being the opener 'Hold On To What', 'Prettiest Eyes', 'Mini Correct' and 'Worthless Lie' - a sharp and quite beautiful tale about two ex-lovers, still longing for each other whilst both now involved in new relationships. Its also the first album to showcase Jacqui Abbott's vocals, who proved an equally good, if not better, vocalist than her predecessor Briana Corrigan. 'Miaow' and 'Welcome To The Beautiful South' still remain the band's defining moments in a 7 studio album career. After the disappointing commercial success of 'Painting It Red', I think most TBS fans are at the moment a little lost as to what their next move will be. I hope they don't call it a day anyway. Whatever happens, 'Miaow' is still up their in my all time top 5 albums. And I'm no huge pop music fan - my other fav albums are by the likes of Radiohead, Jeff Buckley and Ryan Adams. I would just recommend this album to anyone who knows a good album when they hear it. Go buy it now and worship the musical genius that is Heaton & Rotheray! :-)

Only buy this if you’re lonely...!
Here, the South develop on the more-polished sound they developed on their previous record, 0898, whilst laying the groundwork for the more popular albums to come. The sound and lyrical concerns are pretty much as they were on the previous releases, with the soul exception of new vocalist Jackie Abbott... who replaced the excellent Briana Corrigan after a dispute over the lyrical content found here.

In all fairness, Abbot does an admirable job on a number of duets with co-vocalists Heaton and Hemmingway, as well as giving a strong solo performance of Fred Neil’s classic, Everybody’s Talking; one of this record’s biggest hits. Elsewhere, Heaton takes charge of the majority of the cuts, crooning along in his trademark style, whilst proving once again that he is perhaps Britain’s most underrated soul singer.

The album’s instrumentation is as layered and varied as ever, moving effortlessly from soft pop-ballads to more witty, folk infused numbers. There’s also elements of funk and dub on the Norman Cook collaboration, Hooligans Don’t Fall in Love, which features probably the best Rotheray guitar arrangement since Girlfriend, from the first South album, Welcome To... Needless to say, the musicianship of the band as a whole is - as-ever - faultless.

Other stylistic detours here include a sideline into Beach Boys-style jangle pop with the record’s biggest hit, Good as Gold (Stupid as Mud). Though the title may not seem immediately recognisable, I assure you that the classic hook-line “I want my love, my joy, my laugh my smile, my needs... I want my sun-drenched, wind-swept Ingrid Bergman kiss” will have you tapping your foot like nobody’s business.

Other standout tracks are the intimate, though often cynical Especially for You (definitely not to be confused with the bland 80’s Kylie hit of the same name) and the infamous Andrew Lloyd Webber parody, Mini-Correct. Personally, I think this song is great, just about over-coming it’s shocking misogyny to instead, present us with a wonderful condemnation of ladishness and lad culture in general. You have been warned...!

However, the real reason to buy this album is track five... the beautiful ballad Pretties Eyes. Here we have a love song that deals with characters firmly outside of the key demographic... an idea that would become an archetypical concern in later South songs, such as Perfect 10 and ‘Till You Cant Took it in. This is the first, and best, variation on the theme... a stunning, and certainly undervalued pop classic in every respect of the word.

This is a great record. Lovely pop songs with an underlining social substance. It may not make any great leaps in musical experimentation; but if you want an album filled with good, solid songs performed by people with talent... then you wont go far wrong with this one. Miaow...!

TBS *sniff* fourth *sniff* album
This was recorded and promoted in a rather dubious and emotional period for Paul Heaton, which is strange, because we'd assumed he was always dubious and emotional. Whatever your opinion, the mellower musical approach only makes the lyrics seem darker than ever . Heaton would never be as melodramatic as to record a nervous breakdown concept album but with the breezy pop of Worthless Lie ("And when she calls i hope its you that dials") you'd never think it. Only on Mini Correct does the good old suburban dialogue come in to full flow (because Worthless Lie'll have you sobbing before you've caught the plot, if you're into that) and not a track too soon. The Norman Cook (spit) produced Hooligans is a little too abrasive for some tastes (think Fatboy meets 1974) and Poppy struggles with both chord pattern and metaphor simultaneously before reaching an exhaustive close to an emotionally draining (but strangely compelling) album. Way to go, El Heato.