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Fine Young Cannibals (album)

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Fine Young Cannibals
European cover. The North American release features the design behind the band's name colored blue.
Studio album by
ReleasedDecember 1985
Recorded1985
StudioPower Plant Studios and Sound Suite Studios, London
Genre
Length34:21
LabelI.R.S., London
ProducerRobin Millar, Mike Pela, Alvin Clark, Fine Young Cannibals
Fine Young Cannibals chronology
Fine Young Cannibals
(1985)
The Raw & the Cooked
(1989)

Fine Young Cannibals is the debut studio album released in 1985 by the band of the same name. The album features the UK #8 debut hit single "Johnny Come Home".

This success did not continue with the next single, "Blue", which languished at #41 in the UK. The version of "Blue" on the original U.S. and Canadian vinyl LP and cassette was re-mixed and edited in an attempt to boost its commercial appeal. The re-mix version features additional electronically processed percussion overdubs, giving it a sound more typical of 1980s synthpop hits. Currently[when?] available CDs feature the re-mix version of "Blue" in place of the original U.S. album version.[citation needed]

Critical reception

[edit]
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[2]
Robert ChristgauB+[3]
Rolling Stone(favorable)[4]
Sounds[5]
Tom Hull – on the WebB+ ((2-star Honorable Mention)(2-star Honorable Mention))[6]

Sounds writer Carole Linfield gave it a four and a half out of five rating.[5] Stewart Mason, in an AllMusic retrospective review, commented that the album "is a powerful and satisfying debut".[2] Spin said, "The lyrical content on most cuts isn't terribly complicated, one thought turned around a few times; but the sparseness lays snug next to the inlays and wrap-arounds of Gift's voice, along with the more than competent instrumental work, forever keeping the vocals buoyed up."[7]

Track listing

[edit]

Songs composed by Roland Gift and David Steele except where noted.

  1. "Johnny Come Home" - 3:35
  2. "Couldn't Care More" - 3:30
  3. "Don't Ask Me to Choose" (Andy Cox, Gift, Steele) - 3:05
  4. "Funny How Love Is" (Cox, Gift, Steele) - 3:28
  5. "Suspicious Minds" (Mark James) - 3:56
  6. "Blue" (Cox, Gift, Steele) - 3:31
  7. "Move to Work" - 3:26
  8. "On a Promise" - 3:06
  9. "Time Isn't Kind" (Cox, Gift, Steele) - 3:12
  10. "Like a Stranger" - 3:28
Additional tracks on 1986 edition
  1. "Johnny Come Home" (Extended mix) - 5:43
  2. "Suspicious Minds" (Suspicious mix) (Mark James) - 7:52
2011 Rhino Records deluxe edition Disc 1
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Johnny Come Home" 3:37
2."Couldn't Care More" 3:31
3."Don't Ask Me to Choose"Andy Cox, David Steele, Roland Gift3:12
4."Funny How Love Is"Andy Cox, David Steele, Roland Gift3:28
5."Suspicious Minds"Mark James3:59
6."Blue"Andy Cox, David Steele, Roland Gift3:31
7."Move to Work" 3:28
8."On a Promise" 3:08
9."Time Isn't Kind"Andy Cox, David Steele, Roland Gift3:25
10."Like a Stranger" 3:28
11."Wade in the Water" (B-Side to "Blue")Traditional; arranged by Andy Cox, David Steele, Roland Gift2:57
12."Love for Sale" (B-Side to "Johnny Come Home")Cole Porter2:51
13."Motherless Child" (B-Side to "Funny How Love Is")Traditional; arranged by Andy Cox, David Steele, Roland Gift/Joe the Squid2:37
2011 Rhino Records deluxe edition Disc 2
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Johnny Come Home" (Mark Moore 12" remix) 4:49
2."Johnny Come Home" (Extended mix. Also included on the 1998 edition) 5:40
3."Johnny Come Home" (That Other mix) 5:09
4."Johnny Takes a Trip" (B-Side to "Johnny Come Home", also found on The Raw & the Remix) 5:02
5."Suspicious Minds" (Extended mix)Mark James4:39
6."Suspicious Minds" (Suspicious mix. Also included on the 1998 edition)Mark James7:55
7."Suspicious Minds" (US remix)Mark James5:24
8."Suspicious Minds" (Caught in a Dub)Mark James7:43
9."Suspicious Minds" (Shakedown mix)Mark James3:48

Personnel

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Fine Young Cannibals
Additional musicians
  • Martin Parry – drums
  • Graeme Hamilton – trumpet, piano solo on "Time Isn't Kind"
  • Gavyn Wright – violin
  • Saxa – saxophone on "Funny How Love Is"
  • Beverlei Brown, Gloria Brown, Maxine Brown – backing vocals on "Like a Stranger"
  • Jimmy Somerville – backing vocals on "Suspicious Minds"
  • Jenny Jones – drums, backing vocals on "Couldn't Care More"
Technical

Charts

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Year-end charts

[edit]
Chart (1986) Peak
position
Australia (Kent Music Report)[8] 15

References

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  1. ^ a b Erlewine, Stephen Thomas (1 January 1997). "Fine Young Cannibals". In Bogdanov, Vladimir; Erlewine, Michael; Erlewine, Stephen Thomas; Unterberger, Richie; Woodstra, Chris (eds.). AllMusic Guide to Rock. San Francisco: Miller Freeman, Inc. p. 335.
  2. ^ a b Stewart Mason. "Fine Young Cannibals - Fine Young Cannibals : Songs, Reviews, Credits, Awards : AllMusic". AllMusic. Retrieved 3 July 2012.
  3. ^ Robert Christgau. "CG: Fine Young Cannibals". RobertChristgau.com. Retrieved 16 March 2013.
  4. ^ Mark Coleman (24 April 1986). "Fine Young Cannibals: Fine Young Cannibals : Music Reviews". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on 9 May 2006. Retrieved 16 March 2013.
  5. ^ a b Linfield, Carole (1985) "Fine Young Cannibals 'Fine Young Cannibals'", Sounds, 14 December 1985, p. 28
  6. ^ Hull, Tom (26 April 2021). "Music Week". Tom Hull – on the Web. Retrieved 27 April 2021.
  7. ^ Annie Russo (April 1986). "Spins". Spin. No. 12. p. 39.
  8. ^ Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 (illustrated ed.). St Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. p. 438. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
  • Rudy Langlais; Richard Gehr (April 1986). Spins. Spin Magazine. p. 39. Retrieved 11 September 2010.