I just can’t get enough: The members of Saint Etienne have superb musical tastes. Last year they released Songs For Mario’s Café, a great insightful compilation of fave 1960s and ’70s R&B and pop. Founding members Bob Stanley and Pete Wiggs are at it again (vocalist Sarah Cracknell sits this one out) with the double 48-song CD package, The Trip Created By Saint Etienne (Family Recordings). The Trip is a series of comps featuring an artist’s fave tunes. Dirty Vegas, Tom Middleton and Tim “Love” Lee have all done them as well.
The first disc has a groovy feel. Everything from French crazy dude Serge Gainsbourg and druggies The Mamas And The Papas to Ennio Morricone appear here. The second disc is a mellow gentle giant featuring Fairport Convention, Scott Walker and even The Poppy Family. Chicago soul, TV show themes, rare psychedelia and continental odds and ends are here to experience. It’s a thoroughly enjoyable compilation that really gives you a sense of what inspires Saint Etienne’s supreme pop confections.
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