Welcome to... is a classic. I too was introduced to The Beautiful South by Sassy (had to throw that in since another reviewer was as well!) and though I've liked all their subsequent albums, this remains my favorite. TBS is quite well known in the UK, but mysteriously underappreciated here in the US - if you're a Housemartins, Billy Bragg, Kirsty MacColl, or Belle & Sebastian fan, you will probably like them. Give it a listen!

This CD -- brought to my attention in my early teens by "Sassy" magazine (remember that, U.S. GenX ladies?) -- has everything going for it.

Songs so catchy that I have replaced my copy of this album 3 times because of normally fab friends stealing it from me. Lyrics so smart and funny that I have actually spent the money to replace it each time. And melodies so sweet and weird that I never get tired of hearing it.

I think that this is my favorite Beautiful South album as it hangs together the best -- the songs don;t all sound the same, but form a logical aural progression through the course of the album. The dark lyrics are offset by the lush melodies, and the nasty humor is offset by the self-depricating light laughs.

Enjoy this relevant, moody, funny album from an underappreciated band.

I love this CD. I got it in the Nineties and couldn't put it down for a while. Each song is like a twisted little story that stays with you long after you listen to it. The lyrics are not only clever and catchy, they're also frequently funny. And the lite, upbeat, happy-sounding tunes defy the darkness in the lyrics--it's a winning combination. I thought of it today because I picked up a CD by a guy named Daniel Powter and thought, What does this remind me of? Then it hit me: Welcome to the Beautiful South (but not completely--more like the Beautiful South meets Macy Gray).

The best work by TBS. Woman in the Wall and You Keep It All In are my two favorites. I meet few people in the US who dig this band. Youn can't compare this original band to anyone, they don't have as much as that "pop" sound as Heatens old band The Housemartins did. When will these guys get big? Who knows I didn't here of them until 1994 and they have been my favorite since. This album is better then the gloomy Choke which I like a lot but many songs seem to be about vomiting and loving ones self and not as cheerful as 0898. Buy it you should like it.

this is the band who formed from the "housemartins" they are a quirky and yet easy listening group, with both a female and male lead singer who are brilliant