Customer Reviews
Belle's best yet - By: Stephen Cooper, 25 Mar 2008 
I can only agree with the earlier reviewer, the pairing of Isobel Campbell & Mark Lanegan is a match made in heaven. Some unkindly dismiss Belle as the 'princess of twee' but not here, that's for certain. There's a strong sense of rhythm dominating much of the music, & wonderful arrangements; False Husband has a terrific Morricone 'spagetti western' sound, a lone guitar with reverb disappearing into some deep well, & then those sonorous tubular bells.
There's a good range of material, nearly alll composed by Isobel, who also produces as well as singing & playing quite a variety of instruments. While the singing voice of the album is Lanegan's, it's definitely her project, & one that has real substance.
As the previous reviewer said, the sound from vinyl is spectacular, for me it leaves the CD for dead. Recommended without hesitation.
Nu folk-ish melodies with lovely voices - By: Jaybird, 02 Jul 2007 
The Balllad of the Broken Seas is a collaboration between American Mark Lanegan & Scotswomen Isobel Campbell (of Belle & Sebastian).
I bought it because I read a review that said that their voices sounded the way you always wanted Nick Cave & Kylie Minogue to sound together.
To an extent that is true: their voices compliment each other beautifully & have that mix of gruff darkness & sweet lightness. The songs, whilst not ground-breaking, have decent melodies & thoughtful lyrics.
Dark brilliance - By: Mr. M. A. Watson, 12 Mar 2007 Mark Lanegan has already proved his worth collaborating with QOTSA on one of the standout tracks on their 'Lullabies' album & on the rather excellent solo album 'Bubblegum', so joining forces with Belle And Sebastien's Isobel Campbell might have come as a bit of a surprise. The results however are reallly, REALLY good...sometimes breathtaking! As soon as first track Dues Ibi Est begins you know you're in for something special. Mark Lanegan's growl is used to perfect effect in a Cohen-esque rumbling. Although a handful of the tracks utilise the difference in vocal tones between the two singers to great effect, none-so-better than The False Husband. This is a very special album indeed.
a rant - By: K. groves, 17 Jan 2007 1st of this is for "andrew".yes you are very right,don't buy this album expecting pretty belle & sebastian sounds,it's not anything like them.incase you didn't notice at 1st look MR MARK LANEGAN is on it aswell,who is miles & miles away from b&s purely because his music (be it with screaming tree's,himself,or qotsa)is far better! my second point is to the supposed "music fan".i don't even think your opinion on this should count,as you clearly don't know who the genius MARK LANEGAN is (a man formerly of heavy metal band? qotsa) qotsa aint heavy metal mate,and MR LANEGAN featured on one album & one album only.try looking up SCREAMING TREES or MARK LANEGAN & you'll see how he's writing music that qotsa dream about writing! this album is great because for me it merged two worlds of music,two very different people,and very differant feelings onto one amazing cd.i'm going to see them play glasgow ABC on sunday,can't wait.
mark lanegan rules,and should be shown respect by a real music fan.not just cast of as some guy that did some album with a crappy band.
that's me done,rant over
One of THE albums of 2006 - By: Viper, 10 Dec 2006 Ok...so being ignorant I had no idea who Isobel Campbell was until I delved into her past. The Screaming Trees "Dust" was a fantastic release but I had always found Mark Lanegan solo albums to be a little too depressing. However, this CD is fantastic. The two different vocal styles blend perfectly together to create something quite unique. It is a great headphone listen & works best in the dark as it is often quiet.
