''Let It Bee'' is the debut album by

alternative rock Alternative rock, or alt-rock, is a category of rock music that emerged from the independent music underground of the 1970s and became widely popular in the 1990s. "Alternative" refers to the genre's distinction from Popular culture, mainstre ...

band

Voice of the Beehive Voice of the Beehive are an Anglo-American alternative pop rock band formed in London in 1986. The group featured Californian lead vocalist sisters Tracey Bryn and Melissa Brooke Belland (daughters of The Four Preps singer Bruce Belland). Th ...

. Released in 1988 on

London Records London Recordings (or London Records and London Music Stream) is a British record label that marketed records in the United States, Canada, and Latin America for Decca Records from 1947 to 1980 before becoming semi-independent. The London nam ...

, the album earned positive reviews from music critics and was a success on U.S.

college radio Campus radio (also known as college radio, university radio or student radio) is a type of radio station that is run by the students of a college, university or other educational institution. Programming may be exclusively created or produced ...

stations. In the UK, the album reached #13 on the albums chart in its debut week ending 2 July 1988. The album peaked at #53 in Australia on the

ARIA In music, an aria (Italian: ; plural: ''arie'' , or ''arias'' in common usage, diminutive form arietta , plural ariette, or in English simply air) is a self-contained piece for one voice, with or without instrumental or orchestral accompanime ...

albums chart, and #40 in New Zealand. The group had their first top 40 hit single in the UK with "

Don't Call Me Baby "Don't Call Me Baby" is a song by Australian house music duo Madison Avenue (band), Madison Avenue, taken as the first single from their only studio album, ''The Polyester Embassy'' (2000). Written by Cheyne Coates, Andy Van Dorsselaer, Duane Mo ...

" from the album, which reached #15. ''Let It Bee'' contained two bonus tracks on the U.S. edition (they were not listed on the CD cover, but were listed within the text on the disc).

Track listing

#"The Beat of Love" (Tracey Bryn, Brad Nack, temptation rap by Melissa Brooke) – 4:08 #"Sorrow Floats" (Bryn) – 4:23 #"

" (Bryn, Mike Jones) – 3:11 #"Man in the Moon" (Bryn, Brooke) – 3:16 #"What You Have Is Enough" (Bryn) – 2:38 #"Oh Love" (Brooke, Jones) – 2:59 #"I Walk the Earth" (Nack) – 3:42 #"Trust Me" (Bryn) – 3:22 #"I Say Nothing" (Bryn, Jones) – 3:32 #"There's a Barbarian in the Back of My Car" (Bryn,

Zodiac Mindwarp Zodiac Mindwarp and the Love Reaction are a British hard rock group, which was formed in 1985. Zodiac Mindwarp and the Love Reaction play a sleazy style of commercial hard rock featuring big riffs and choruses, as was the trend in the band ...

) – 2:38 #"Just a City" (Bryn, Jones) – 4:27 #"This Weak" (Bryn, Jones) (bonus track, U.S. only) – 3:14 #"Jesus" (

Lou Reed Lewis Allan Reed (March 2, 1942October 27, 2013) was an American musician, songwriter, and poet. He was the guitarist, singer, and principal songwriter for the rock band the Velvet Underground and had a solo career that spanned five decades. ...

) (bonus track, U.S. only) – 3:24

Charts

2022 deluxe edition

Singles

* 1987 "Just a City" * 1987 "I Say Nothing" #45 UK, #73 AUS * 1988 "I Walk the Earth" #42 UK * 1988 "

" #15 UK, #48 AUS, #25 NZ * 1988 "I Say Nothing" ''(re-issue)'' #22 UK, #11 U.S. Modern Rock Tracks * 1988 "I Walk the Earth" ''(re-issue)'' #46 UK * 1988 "Man in the Moon" #93 UK

Personnel

The band

* Tracey Bryn – vocals and guitar * Melissa Brooke Belland – vocals * Mike Jones – guitars, vocals, keyboards, and keyboard programming * Martin Brett – bass guitar and piano * D. M. Woodgate – drums, percussion, triggers, and keyboard programming

Additional musicians

* Henrick – keyboards *

Dave Swarbrick David Cyril Eric Swarbrick (5 April 1941 – 3 June 2016) was an English folk musician and singer-songwriter. His style has been copied or developed by almost every British and many world folk violin players who have followed him. He was ...

– fiddle * The Kick – horns, Ladbroke Grove Man on "The Beat of Love" intro *

Marvin Etzioni Marvin Elan Etzioni is an American singer, mandolinist, bassist, and record producer. Also known as the Mandolin Man, Etzioni is best known as a founder of, and bassist for, the band Lone Justice. He is a noted record producer and has released th ...

– mandolin, piano

Production

* Pete Collins – "The Beat of Love", "Sorrow Floats", "Don't Call Me Baby", "Man in the Moon", "I Walk the Earth", "Trust Me" and "I Say Nothing" * Hugh Jones – "Just a City", "There's a Barbarian in the Back of My Car" and "What You Have Is Enough" * Marvin Etzioni – "Oh Love" * Mike Jones – "This Weak" and "Jesus"

References

1988 debut albums Voice of the Beehive albums Albums produced by Hugh Jones (producer) London Records albums {{1980s-alt-rock-album-stub