The Housemartins - Now That's What I Call Quite Good

1987 release on the Go! Discs label, a 24 track hits, B-sides & rarities collection spanning 1985-1987 for this British Smiths-ish pop group featuring pre-Beautiful South members vocalist/ leader Paul Heaton and drummer Dave Hemingway. Includes 'Sheep', 'Flag Day', 'Happy Hour', 'The People Who Grinned Themselves To Death' and many more. The full title is 'Now That's What I Call Quite Good'. Album Description

I should have bought this a long time ago!

I recently have been expanding my music collection. I liked the Housemartins, but never got around to buying any of their CDs in the 1980s. Boy, did i miss out by not purchasing this cd. It is absolutely wonderful. I have been playing it constantly. It is hard to get sick of these songs. November 11, 2008

tremendous retrospective by a tremendous band

a lot of folks tend to draw immediate comparisons to mid-80s brit bands like the smiths, aztec camera, and billy bragg. the comparisons are fair (to a point), but what a lot of people seem to miss is that the housemartins are just as much a decendent of motown soul and gospel than any prevailing trend of the era (see: 'caravan of love,' 'he ain't heavy,' 'i'll be your shelter,' 'bow down,' 'lean on me') and used a lot more piano, harmonica, and brass than any of their contemporaries. maybe this is what the housemartins stand out so much in an otherwise relatively drab british music during the mid-80s. they perfectly married classic pop sensibilities, soul/gospel, northern soul, paul heaton's perfect lyrics and virtually reinvented the perfect three-minute single (in fact a lot of housemartins' songs come in well under three minutes).

much like the beautiful south after the housemartins, paul heaton shows why he's one of the best (if not the best) lyricist of his generation. and the great thing about the housemartins is that heaton's bandmates provided impeccable pop masterpieces for paul to sing over. and what a voice he has. the highlights include 'happy hour,' 'sheep,' 'me and the farmer,'think for a minute,' 'build' (a personal fave of mine), 'we're not deep,' and an absolutely rousing version of 'i'll be your shelter' (again, hard to imagine a blue-eyed brit with pipes like paul's).

if you've not heard the housemartins before, this is just as good a place as any to start, though i do recommend 'london 0 hull 4,' and 'the people who grinning themselves to death,' both excellent albums in their own right. but 'now that's what i call quite good' captures the highlights from both albums, adds some b-sides, rare stuff, and covers (their cover of 'caravan of love' was their only #1 single--remarkable considering the band's comprised entirely of anglo/caucasian kids).

bassist norman cook would go on to become fatboy slim, and vocalist paul heaton and drummer dave hemingway would go on to form the beautiful south. the housemartins shone brilliantly for a few short years, but their legacy should, and hopefully, outlive them all. June 27, 2007

SIMPLY AMAZING!!

If you are into real music made with pasion and conviction about what real music is, then this is the cd to listen to. Do not hasitate, just buy it and even learn to like it if you didn't yet. It is really really good music July 21, 2005

A real charmer

Introduced to the band in college back in early 1987, I instantly connected with what I viewed as a "happy version of the Smiths". Looking back, I'm not sure why I made that connection, but a lot of people seemed to have done the same thing. Always upbeat and fun, the Housemartins squeezed 2 albums and more of a compilation+extras (this album) out of their three years together. If you're looking for one album to buy and you don't own their first two, get this one. It has the hits, plus some great acapella and slow numbers that are simple and beautiful. November 17, 2004

Fantastic!

Except for the pitiful commercial sell-out "Caravan of Love", and the strange attempt at garage gospel a la "He Ain't Heavy", this is one fantastic CD.
These guys were the Smiths that never were. Same genre, but peppier. And they were just as good as the Smiths. This is a great collection of their stuff. The only two great songs missing I am aware of is "Over There" from "London 0, Hull 4", and "I can't put my finger on it" from "The People Who Grinned Themselves..."; otherwise, everything is on here. All their best, which is really, really, really good. These guys should've been huge!!! September 13, 2003

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