L'heure De La Femme

Side 2 of a cassette compilation featuring Saint Etienne, recorded 27th July 1997, with Espiritu on Side 1.

 

I had to go back and check as I couldn't quite believe it, but this is the first time that Bob, Pete and Sarah have had a dedicated selection on this blog. Why did I leave it so long?!

 

This mixtape was almost certainly precision tooled to serve two purposes: firstly, to provide some 'poppy' music to soundtrack to my walk into work; secondly, a so-hip-it-hurts selection of background music for when my girlfriend and I entertained friends in our cosy terraced rental in south Bristol, which we seemed to do quite a lot in the late 1990s. 

I loved Saint Etienne from the moment I first heard them, which would have been the cover of Neil Young's Only Love Can Break Your Heart, on a mixtape compiled by my brother and posted airmail to accompany me on my travels around Australia in 1991.

 

A few years later, my brother and I were baking in the sun with some friends on Castle Green in Bristol, somewhat inebriated it has to be said, whilst Mark Goodier introduced a PA from Saint Etienne. I remember it but don't remember it, if you know what I mean. Looking up info online for that BBC Radio 1 Roadshow, Saint Etienne were the definite draw for us, although Credit To The Nation would have had an appeal. Less so for Tony DiBart, Worlds Apart, Gloworm and some double act called PJ & Duncan. I wonder what happened to them?

 

I've never seen Saint Etienne live in concert, something that I hope to rectify one day as I've stuck with them over the years and I've loved their constant experimentation and reinvention whilst never losing the true essence of their singular sound. I've Been Trying To Tell You, released in 2021, delivered their first UK Top 20 album since Good Humour in 1998 and tenth Top 40 album overall.

 

This selection zooms in on the 5-year period from 1991 to 1996, and their first 'greatest hits' phase with the compilations Born To Die (singles) and Casino Classics (remixes), combining the spirit of both in one C90 side.

 

When I said 'poppy' earlier, I meant it but of course Saint Etienne's brand of pop is dosed with melancholy, a wistfulness, a memory of things that were and are no longer. Bob Stanley and Pete Wiggs are masters of melody though you can see why they ditched early plans to continue with guest vocalists when they hooked up with Sarah Cracknell, whose voice and presence provided the final, critical element to Saint Etienne.

 

Oh, and for the eagle-eyed amongst you who spotted my terrible typo on the cassette sleeve artwork, I got a D in my French O Level in 1987 and clearly hadn't improved in the decade since!

 

1) Hobart Paving (Album Version) (1993)

2) Only Love Can Break Your Heart (Album Version ft. Moira Lambert) (Cover of Neil Young) (1991)

3) People Get Real (Single Version) (1992)

4) Hug My Soul (12" Mix By Mark 'Spike' Stent) (1994)

5) X Amours (Paper) (Single Version ft. Etienne Daho) (1995)

6) Leafhound (Album Version) (1993)

7) He's On The Phone (Motiv8 Mix By Steve Rodway ft. Etienne Daho) (1995)

8) Burnt Out Car (Balearico Mix By Brian Higgins & Matt Gray) (1996)

9) Like A Motorway (Rick Smith Mix) (1994)

10) Pale Movie (Lemonentry Mix By Rick Smith) (1994)

1991: Foxbase Alpha: 2

1992: Join Our Club/People Get Real EP: 3

1993: So Tough: 1, 6

1994: Hug My Soul EP: 4

1994: Like A Motorway EP: 9

1994: Pale Movie EP: 10

1995: He's On The Phone EP: 7

1995: Reserection EP (by Saint Etienne Daho): 5

1996: Angel EP (promo CD single): 8

L'heure De La Femme (46:25) (KF) (Mega)

As a bonus treat, I've resurrected the link to the Espiritu selection on Side 1 so that you can enjoy the complete C90 experience.