Beautiful You retains the characteristic qualities of Friends music – catchy melodies, great trumpet riffs and intricate guitar patterns, with a very English sound – whilst developing the band’s style in several new directions. While a couple of the songs maintain the stripped-down feel of Folk Songs, the new album is a return to the rich, full band sound which characterised Friends’ work up to the release of Sundrowned.
From the summery optimism of This Is The Start and When The Sun Shines, to the haunting nostalgia of Village In My Mind and It Passed Me By, to the Latin-tinged pop of So You Say, the thirteen tracks of Beautiful You offer the complete Friends experience, and more.
Written by William Jones
All titles published by Summerhouse Music Ltd
Produced and engineered by John Spence
Recorded at Fairview Studios, Hull, 13-18 & 20 May 2002; mixed 21-24 May 2002
Arranged by William Jones and Martin Parker
Design and photography by Martin Parker