Carry on Up the Charts: The Best of the Beautiful South was the surprise British hit of 1994, going platinum five times between its late fall release and the summer of 1995. The success was surprising, because while the Beautiful South had been modestly popular, their last few albums were sliding down the charts. However, their hits collection, Carry On Up the Charts, flew to number one and stayed there for weeks. It's nothing more than all their singles, yet compiled together they make the most convincing case for the Beautiful South's sly, cynical sophisticated pop.

This is a definitive best-of from the scathingly satiric, invariably tuneful band that arose from the ashes of The Housemartins. Sadly, Paul Heaton and friends have always been too twee and clever for the colonies, though classics like "My Book" and "Old Red Eyes Is Back" deserved better. A lovely, sing-along new track, "One Last Love Song," sounds like a farewell to arms, while the limited-edition disc of B sides proves that only XTC can match them in terms of high-caliber throwaways. --Jeff Bateman

Blue Is the Colour is the fifth studio album from English sophisti-pop band The Beautiful South, released in October 1996 through Go! Discs and in America through Ark 21 Records. Following the two singles "Pretenders to the Throne" and "Dream a Little Dream", which never featured on any album until the release of the second greatest hits Solid Bronze in 2001, it was named after a pub in Sheffield.