0898
It's hard to credit now, but when0898was released, it seemed as though the Beautiful South's commercial peak might have been  behind them. Rave had effectively taken over the airwaves, and with  critics salivating over all things baggy, Paul Heaton and Dave Rotheray's  songs were suddenly finding trouble being heard.0898failed to  spawn any significant hits and yet all the quintessential Beautiful South  hallmarks abound: Heaton's spirited defense of the barfly ("Old Red Eyes  Is Back," "The Domino Man"); a bilious castigation of burgeoning lad  culture; and the royalty-baiting "We'll Deal with You Later." They're  often derided for being middle-of-the-road, and inasmuch as0898owes more toBacharachthan theStooges, it's true. But it takes a melodic  nous like Dave Rotheray's to usher a worldview like Heaton's into so many  homes. How ironic that "We Are Each Other" chooses as its target the kind  of partners who lovingly feed each other at restaurants. Heaton and  Rotheray are as near as you'll find to a songwriting equivalent.--Peter Paphides