Private Suit [Import]

Editorial Reviews
Album Description
Fifth album for Dutch guitar-pop quartet featuring the beautifully understated vocals of Carol van Dijk. Includes the first single 'White Tales'. 11 tracks in all. 2000 release. Standard jewel case.

Tracks:

Unsound
Satisfied
Private Suit
Mariachi Souls
ReCall
Auf Wiedersehen
Sower & Seeds
White Tales
John Darmy
My Fallen Words
Healer

Customer Reviews:

Definitely put this one on.......2003-02-08

This has become one of my favorite CDs. Its never far from my player. The music is varied, mature, deeply personal and moving. The sophistication is remarkable (near the end of the song "Private Suit," for example, the constrast between Carol's reassuring words and the guitar in the background sounding like a heart being torn to pieces is, for want of a better word, art.) I find most of the songs pull me right into new worlds. Fascinating and heady stuff - go get it!

Four albums in and it just gets better and better.......2001-12-08

It would be both simplistic and short-sighted to say that something happened between Dust Bunnies and Private Suit, but the following is still the case: whereas the former - to a certain degree - returned the Betties to the uptempo bubblegum and power pop of their debut days, the latter sees the Dutch band in a far more thoughtful and melancholy state. By its very title Dust Bunnies seems to trumpet itself as a wonderfully frivolous album, the cover art all sunny and pooch friendly, with the gay abandon of a naked female thrown in just for the sheer laughs. The cute dog on Palomine had a similar effect. In contrast, the woman that graces the cover of this latest release is caught in a private moment, she doesn't know she is being watched, and the onlooker's very morals are being challenged. Whereas Palomine and Dust Bunnies were, to varying degrees, somewhat lighter albums, Private Suit reveals a real depth to an altogether excellent band.
Bettie Serveert have always been a gloriously ramshackle troupe, tinny and box heavy, hailing back to the workman-like ethic of band members carrying their own gear, setting themselves up on a dingy stage - the Ahoy! Or the Paradiso - with naked bulbs for lighting, and then hammering out a frenzied twenty-minute set. It cannot be any other way with an ensemble containing the double whammy of Peter Visser and Carol Van Dyk. However tight and rhythmic the pounding drum and bass engine may be, eventually the jagged wail of Visser's guitar will cut it's way through. However dark and brooding the production may get, there is still the point where Carol's perfectly flawed voice comes shimmering into the mix like crushed diamonds. John Parish has done fine things with this album. It is rich and passionate and haunting. The band have broken away from the confinement of the bass/drums/guitar standard and positively soar, surrounded as they are by such diverse instrumentation as tambourine, marimba, rhodes, vibraphone and strings. With the further complement of cool backing vocals provided by various band members and special guests this is a tremendous album, full of outstanding melodies and gradually penetrating hooks. It is both immediately accessible and yet demands repeated listening.
From the surface to the core these songs are brilliantly constructed. Every weird whistle or siren, crazy arabesque woodwind and punctuated guitar lick is carefully placed. After being captivated by Carol's controlled and full-bodied vocal, each subsequent listen reveals a further level, another instrument, an undiscovered harmony - and eventually you become aware of Herman's mesmerising bassline weaving its way throughout.
The title track is a drunken discordant number. It rattles forth with a disarming snare before the strings swing in like they're soaked in whisky. This is completely exhilarating; with Carol slurring her amorous romanticisms it sets the theme for the entire album, a theme perpetuated by the off-kilter hammond on Satisfied, the rolling organ melody-line in ReCall, or the startling reverse-drum effect on Healer. The whole thing is a positively intoxicating mix. Although the album could hardly be called up-tempo, there are several pounding numbers nevertheless: A jarring piano chord strikes again and again at the start of ReCall until it is joined by a listing guitar line. When the main riff starts up it leaves the piano off the beat before it is swallowed up altogether by the driving a repetitive melody. In Sower & Seeds the band are unstoppable, Carol's passionate singing made all the more personal as her voice falters at the end of each held note; and Peter Visser, given some rein towards the song's conclusion reciprocates with a rip-roaring guitar frenzy.
Backing vocals - not something immediately associated with Bettie Serveert - are used to wondrous effect here. From Peter and Herman's garage band chant on Unsound to the beautiful understated humming on the gorgeous Auf Wiedersehen they bring a satisfyingly warm feeling to the whole proceedings. White Tales gradually builds to a towering Strangleresque crescendo; and the countermelody that graces the latter half of Satisfied is just fab. In fact, let's talk about endings. Great care has been made to end powerfully whether it be the individual songs or the album as a whole. There is the counterpoint finale and shrill guitar echo that concludes Unsound. When everything falls back and gives way to the marimbas in Satisfied it just takes your breath away. And Healer closes the album with spoken word - you heard me, I said spoken word. In amongst all of this is the unhinged amalgamation of childish piano waltz and heaving classical cacophony that is My Fallen Words. And the constant delight of Carol's lyrics. At times seeming as if the have been translated directly from the original language, these words will have you pondering forever.
This is the stuff of musical genius. Four superb albums in and Bettie Serveert have shifted gear and thrown open the throttle. The road ahead is ablaze with anticipation. The great travesty is that this band have not been given the recognition they really deserve.

Velvet Suit.......2001-01-16

First song of this great album reminds of the Velvet Underground. After that the real bettie sound appears. The voice of Carol is beautifull, espesially together with the 'singing' guitar of Peter. This is realy bettie's best album, and on its way to become a classic.

Good, they're still making records.......2000-12-30

I thought this band had quit. Nice to see they haven't. The album is probably their weakest, seems to have more gaps than the others. Still, plenty of good songs here: the title song is the best. "Unsound", "White Tales", "John Darmy" are good too. The rest of the songs are pretty so-so (still good when compared to most other bands). Carol van Dijk's voice seems a little strained at times. I'm just happy they're still making music; they're one of the best bands around.

Do your ears a favor and buy this album.......2000-11-17

If you like Bettie Serveert this will become your favorite of all there albums. If you have yet to hear them start with this one. You will be immediately drawn in and will proceed to purchase the rest of there albums. (palomine, lamprey, dust bunnies) You won't be disappointed.

It is great alternative pop. If you ever liked Belly or The Darling Buds or even the Throwing Muses you will embrace Bettie Serveert. Not to say they are anything like any of the aformentioned, but they definitely are in the same vein.

Tracks:

Unsound
Satisfied
Private Suit
Mariachi Souls
Recall
Auf Wiederseh'n
Sower & Seeds
White Tales
John Darmy
My Fallen Words
Healer

Album Description

Fifth album for Dutch guitar-pop quartet featuring the beautifully understated vocals of Carol van Dijk. Includes the first single 'White Tales'. 11 tracks in all. 2000 release. Standard jewel case.

Customer Reviews:

The Best Yet.......2000-08-02

This is a bit different from their earlier albums, but in a very good way. Slightly softer, more melodic, and definitely hypnotic. What I liked about the earlier albums was the way the melodies and rythym would change direction in midstream and this aspect is still here. Especially on Recall, one of my favorite songs. This album will grow on you and I'm sure become an instant "classic" in your collection.

Different from the rest, but the best Betties yet.......2000-07-20

This album is quite a bit different from the three previous albums. It's far more mellow, and the production is a million times better. John Parish seems to have been very much involved with this album (whey else would there be so much organ, congas, dobro, and tambourine on a Betties album?). Despite all the changes, after a few listens, the old sound really starts to shine through. There aren't any out and out rave-ups like Geek, Tom Boy, or Ray Ray Rain, but they come pretty close with Unsound and the first single, White Tales. Much of this cd reminds me of Heaven from the Dust Bunnies album...if you like that mellow, slightly underwater sound, you'll love Private Suit. Personal favorites would have to be the title track, with it's very very very old-school ending, and the last track Healer, in which Carol actually does a bit of a *gasp* rap! All in all, it's there best cd yet, if you give it a few listens to grow on you.

Average customer rating:

Private Suit
Bettie Serveert
Manufacturer: Pias
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Alternative Rock | Styles | Music

Indie Rock | Indie & Lo-Fi | Alternative Rock | Styles | Music

Alternative Rock | Imports | Stores | Music
ASIN: B00004ZEF7
Release Date: 2000-09-04

Album Description

Second single off the Dutch alternative act's fifth album, 'Private Suit'. Tracks, 'Private Suit' and three previously unreleased tracks, 'Month Of Sundays', 'The Ocean, My Floor' and 'Second Time'. 2000 release. Slimline jewel case.

Music:

Music

music

Music

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Formulate a Tragedy [Enhanced]

Memory of You

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Jubilate Domino (Sacred Songs)

Metal Mulisha V.1 [Import]

Jeu des Pèlerins d'Emmaüs

Legendary Pasadena Concert [Live]

Misterioso [Live]

Itinerario

Orff: Carmina Burana / Bonney, Lopardo, Michaels-Moore; Previn

The Very Best of John Coltrane