Belly
Country of origin:
U.S.
Type of music generally:
Alternative pop
Status:
Most recent release, Bees (compilation, 2021)
See also:
Belly's siteThe Ectophiles' Guide entries for:
- Tanya Donelly's solo work
- Throwing Muses (a band Tanya Donelly played in)
- The Breeders (a band Tanya Donelly played in)
Comparisons:
The Breeders, Throwing Muses, Bettie Serveert, Veruca Salt.
Covers/own material:
Own with a few covers on singles.
General comments:
Basic alternative sound. Tanya Donelly has a childlike voice. More interesting than many similar bands are the melodic and lyrical hooks. The lyrics are a little surreal, but suit the music and are far more interesting than the mainstream. (Neile)I love Belly and I love Tanya Donelly's Lovesongs for Underdogs. That said, they're comparable, but the stylistic differences are noticeable. I'd say Belly tends toward crunchier. I suspect that most ectophiles prefer the first one, Star, which is a little more, er, experimental, I guess. I probably listen to King more often, though. (burka@jeffrey.net)
Recommended first album:
Star
Recordings:
- Slow Dust EP (ep, 1992)
- Gepetto EP (ep, 1993)
- Feed the Tree (single, 1993)
- Gepetto Remix (single, 1993)
- Star (1993)
- King (1995)
- Sweet Ride: Best Of (compilation, 2002)
- Dove (2018)
- Bees (compilation, 2021)
Slow Dust ep
Release info:
1993—4AD—BAD 2009 CD
Availability:
Wide on release in U.K.
Ecto priority:
Highly recommended for Belly fans
Group members:
Tanya Donelly—guitars, vocals
Thomas Gorman—guitars
Fred Abong—bass
Chris Gorman—drums
Comments:
On 'Slow Dust', the simple versions of 'Dusted' and 'Slow Dog' are a delight, and the delicate 'Dancing Gold', 'Dusted' reprise and 'Low Red Moon' (less gothic than on the album) make it my pick of the Perfect EP. (k_hester_k@yahoo.co.nz)
Gepetto EP
Release info:
1993—4AD—BAD 2018
Availability:
Wide on release in U.K.
Ecto priority:
Highly recommended for Belly fans
Group members:
Tanya Donelly—guitars, vocals
Thomas Gorman—guitar (1-4), bass (3)
Chris Gorman—drums
Guest artists:
Fred Abong—bass (1)
Dylan Roy—bass (4)
Comments:
The first 'Gepetto' ep has 'Sweet Ride', as swoonsome as later song 'Swoon'! (k_hester_k@yahoo.co.nz)
Gepetto Remix single
Release info:
1993—4AD—BAD D 1028
Availability:
Wide on release in U.K.
Ecto priority:
Highly recommended for Belly fans
Group members:
Tanya Donelly—guitars, vocals
Thomas Gorman—guitar
Chris Gorman—drums
Guest artists:
Leslie Langston—bass (2)
Fred Abong—bass
Comments:
This disc has a remix of "Gepetto," demo versions of "Star" and "Dusted" (all from the Star album), plus a cover of the 60s pop hit, "It's Not Unusual," which is a really fun choice of cover. Delightful! (Neile)
Feed the Tree
Release info:
1993—4AD—BAD 3001 CD
Availability:
Wide on release
Ecto priority:
Highly recommended for Belly fans
Group members:
Tanya Donelly—guitars, vocals
Thomas Gorman—guitar
Chris Gorman—drums
Guest artists:
Fred Abong—bass (1)
Dylan Roy—bass (2) Leslie Langston—bass (3, 4)
Comments:
'Feed the tree' has paired a dreamy, untrustworthy cover of Disney's 'Trust in Me' with sweet besotted 'Dream on me'. (k_hester_k@yahoo.co.nz)
Star
Release info:
1993—Sire Reprise (U.S.)—9 45187-2
Availability:
Wide
Ecto priority:
Must have for lovers of "alternative" pop (Neile)
Group members:
Tanya Donelly—guitars, vocals
Thomas Gorman—guitars, organ
Fred Abong—bass
Chris Gorman—drums, percussion
Guest artists:
Chick Graning—slide guitar, guitar, vocals
John Douglas—violin
Produced by:
Tracy Chisholm & Belly
Comments:
Lively, catchy pop. Songs with lyrics/musical hooks that will stick in your head for years. (Neile)Another album to overcome a certain amount of odds stacked against it (namely, I had not heard good things about Belly from my friends, plus the wondering doubt as to what's in store for Throwing Muses [whom I like a great deal]). I find that Star is somewhat addictive. I kind of have to make myself listen to something else or I'll keep listening to it. (MIHARKI@indsvax1.indstate.edu)
Tanya Donelly, ex-Throwing Muse put together an amazingly catchy batch of alternative pop songs. Lead song, "Feed the Tree" hooked me and reeled me in. I prefer Star to King because it's a little quirkier. (colford@chlotrudis.org)
King
Release info:
1995—Sire Reprise (U.S.)—9 45833-2
Availability:
wide
Ecto priority:
Recommended for lovers of "alternative" pop. (Neile)
Group members:
Tanya Donelly—guitars, vocals
Chris Gorman—drums, percussion
Thomas Gorman—guitar, piano
Gail Greenwood—bass and vocals
Comments:
King is a little darker than Star, and took longer to grow on me and I tired of it quickly. In fact, I don't think we own it anymore, while I still love Star. It just doesn't have the wonderful hooks of the previous release. (Neile)after the disappointment of the initial ep release, i was really wary of this album, but i like it a lot. it sounds very little like throwing muses, or star, but it has its own appeal. the tunes seem a bit poppier, and Tanya Donelly's voice is almost pretty in places, which is strange to hear. i think it needs to grow on me more, but it's good. (clsriram@phoenix.Princeton.EDU)
Dunno, just not as weird as Star. Tanya Donelly won with that album over Throwing Muses' Red Heaven, but Kristin Hersh takes this round with Throwing Muses' University. (bossert@suddensound.com)
i think that King will have a lot more staying power than Star did. Star is a pop powerhouse, but it sugar-rots the brain after a while. King, on the other hand, is meaty and echoes nicely in the skull. (woj@smoe.org)
I feel in the minority about this disc: I feel it shows a great growth from Star (another very good album), and I like "Red", dammit! (cinnamon@one.net)
Thanks to Neal Copperman for work on this entry.
