Boomslang (album)
| Boomslang | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by Johnny Marr + the Healers | ||||
| Released | 4 February 2003 | |||
| Recorded | 2000 at Clear, Manchester | |||
| Length | 50:40 | |||
| Label | Artistdirect/iMusic | |||
| Producer | Johnny Marr | |||
| Johnny Marr + the Healers chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Aggregate scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| Metacritic | 53/100[1] |
| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| Allmusic |    [2] |
| E! Online | B[3] |
| The Guardian | [4] |
| Pitchfork | 3.7/10[5] |
| PopMatters | 5/10[6] |
| Rolling Stone | [7] |
| Uncut | [8] |
Boomslang is the first, and to date only album by Johnny Marr + the Healers. It was released in 2003 through Artistdirect and iMusic. The band consisted of drummer Zak Starkey and former Kula Shaker bassist Alonza Bevan with Marr handling guitars and lead vocals. The literal definition of the word "boomslang" is "a venomous, tree-dwelling snake... of tropical and southern Africa".[9] The expression "I got boomslang..." in South Africa means to get caught up in something (like a boomslang snake hanging from a tree.) For example, "I was about to leave work when I got boomslang by a customer who needed something, and had to stay late."
The 2001 single "The Last Ride" – and its B-sides "Need It" and "Long Gone" – were included in the track listing. "Down On the Corner" was also released as a single, promoted by an appearance on The Late Late Show with Craig Kilborn in February 2003.[10] "Bangin' On" was released as a single in 2003 and got to #78 in UK. Its B-sides were non-album tracks "Here It Comes" and "Get Me Wrong".
Promotion
Tracks "Bangin' On" and "The Last Ride" comprised the primary soundtrack for the runway show of American fashion designer Michael Kors for his Fall-Winter 2003-04 collection. Track "Caught Up" was featured during the show's finale. The collection, Kors's first outing under Sportswear Holdings Limited, was shown on February 12, 2003 during New York fashion week and met critical acclaim by the fashion press.
Critical reception
Boomslang was met with "mixed or average" reviews from critics. At Metacritic, which assigns a weighted average rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream publications, this release received an average score of 53 based on 15 reviews.[1]
In a review for Uncut, the release was given two stars out of five, explaining: "Though 'historic' in being the first album of his career as a singing frontman, for those who have bothered to follow Marr's career, Boomslang isn't so extreme a manoeuvre."[8]
In Rolling Stone, Pat Blashill wrote that the album "shimmers with elements of T. Rex and traces of the Stone Roses – it's got all the atmosphere of a great rock record, but not the guts of one".[7] In The Guardian, reviewer Alex Petridis compared the album negatively to Marr's earlier work in the Smiths. Petridis said that the vocals were in tune but they were "devoid of character". The album's lyrics were said to be "from the Gallagher School of Meaningless Twaddle." The review conceded that the album had its moments but was overall "an opportunity missed..not bad, exactly but nothing to suggest that history should be rewritten".[4]
Track listing
All tracks are written by Johnny Marr, unless noted
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "The Last Ride" | 4:28 | |
| 2. | "Caught Up" | 4:27 | |
| 3. | "Down On the Corner" | 4:25 | |
| 4. | "Need It" | 5:47 | |
| 5. | "You Are the Magic" | 7:09 | |
| 6. | "InBetweens" | Zak Starkey | 3:39 |
| 7. | "Another Day" | 4:58 | |
| 8. | "Headland" | 1:34 | |
| 9. | "Long Gone" | 4:39 | |
| 10. | "Something to Shout About" | 4:22 | |
| 11. | "Bangin' On" | 5:06 |
Personnel
- Johnny Marr + The Healers
- Johnny Marr – vocals, guitar; synthesizer (tracks 1, 10, 11); organ (track 6); melodica (track 10); producer
- Alonza Bevan – bass guitar; electric piano, recorder, backing vocals (track 7)
- Zak Starkey – drums; percussion (tracks 2, 3, 6, 7, 9, 11)
Additional personnel
- Lee Spencer – synthesizer (tracks 1, 4, 5, 11), effects (track 11)
- Liz Bonney – percussion (tracks 4, 5, 11)
- Jonni Musgrave – piano (track 3)
- Dave Tolan – percussion (track 7)
- Damien Foster, Denise Johnson – backing vocals (track 5)
- Steve Gerdes – art direction
- Fiona Skinner – design
- James Spencer – engineering, mixing
- Frank Arkwright – mastering at The Town House
- Tom Sheehan – photograph
Charts
| Chart | Peak position |
|---|---|
| US Heatseekers Albums (Billboard)[11] | 1 |
References
- ^ a b "Metacritic Review". Metacritic. Retrieved 13 April 2021.
- ^ "AllMusic Review". AllMusic. Retrieved 13 April 2021.
- ^ "E! Online Review". E! Online. Archived from the original on 19 February 2003. Retrieved 13 April 2021.
- ^ a b Petridis, Alexis (1 February 2003). "The Guardian Review". The Guardian. Retrieved 13 April 2021.
- ^ Ott, Chris (4 February 2003). "Pitchfork Review". Pitchfork. Archived from the original on 18 March 2009. Retrieved 13 March 2021.
- ^ Robinson, Charlotte (28 January 2003). "PopMatters review". PopMatters. Retrieved 13 April 2021.
- ^ a b Blashill, Patt (20 February 2003). "Rolling Stone Review". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on 21 May 2008. Retrieved 13 April 2021.
- ^ a b "Uncut Magazine Review". Uncut. 1 March 2003. Retrieved 13 April 2021.
- ^ Dictionary.com
- ^ jmarr.com
- ^ "Johnny Marr Chart History (Heatseekers Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved 13 April 2021.
