Belle and Sebastian are celebrating the upcoming 25th birthday of their third album The Boy with the Arab Strap by giving it the anniversary reissue treatment.
After the back-to-back success of 1996’s Tigermilk and If You’re Feeling Sinister, 1998’s The Boy with the Arab Strap saw Belle and Sebastian bandleader Stuart Murdoch share some songwriting credits with band members Stevie Jackson and Isobel Campbell. While their first two albums were each recorded in just a few days, Arab Strap took months, giving the personnel of Belle and Sebastian time to let their creativity wander.
The 25th anniversary edition of Arab Strap exchanges the green-tinted cover photo of keyboardist Chris Geddes for a blue version, along with a pale blue limited edition vinyl to match. It also comes with an exclusive art print of behind-the-scenes photos from the promotional video for the album, taken by band member Sarah Martin.
Pre-orders for the limited edition LP are ongoing. See the artwork and tracklist below.
Last month, Belle and Sebastian teamed up with Suki Waterhouse for “Every Day’s a Lesson in Humility,” as part of Vol. 8 of the Sub Pop Singles Club. Their last album was January’s surprise-released Late Developers.
The Boy with the Arab Strap 25th Anniversary Edition Artwork:
The Boy with the Arab Strap 25th Anniversary Edition Tracklist:
01. It Could Have Been a Brilliant Career
02. Sleep the Clock Around
03. Is It Wicked Not to Care?
04. Ease Your Feet in the Sea
05. A Summer Wasting
06. Seymour Stein
07. A Space Boy Dream
08. Dirty Dream Number Two
09. The Boy with the Arab Strap
10. Chickfactor
11. Simple Things
12. The Rollercoaster Ride