Underwater Moonlight
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Underwater Moonlight is the second studio album album by English rock band The Soft Boys, released on 28 June 1980 by record label Armageddon.
Initially unsuccessful, the album has gone on to be viewed as a psychedelic classic, influential on the development of the neo-psychedelia music genre and on a number of bands, especially R.E.M.. It is included in Robert Dimery's 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die.[2]
Recording
The album was recorded between January and June 1980 at Alaska and James Morgan studios, London,[3] and during June 1979 at Spaceward Studios, Cambridge, England.[4] The London sessions were produced by Pat Collier and Mike Kemp, while the Cambridge sessions were produced by Spaceward Studios staff.[3] The recordings were done on 4- and 8-track, and only cost £600.
Release and reception
Underwater Moonlight was released 28 June 1980 on the Armageddon label as ARM1.[5]
The album was initially unsuccessful, especially in the UK, where over half the sales were exports to America;[6] though it has gone on to be viewed as a one-off psychedelic classic,[5] influential on the development of the neo-psychedelia music genre and on a number of bands, especially R.E.M.. Bill Holdship in a 2001 review in Rolling Stone commented that the album's influences could be detected "on bands ranging from R.E.M. and the Replacements to the Stone Roses and the Pixies", and that it "offers modern listeners some great, great rock songs".[7]
In his retrospective review, Stephen Thomas Erlewine, writing for AllMusic, felt that the music on the album showed the influence of the Beatles, the Byrds and Syd Barrett, and that in its turn it influenced the jangle pop of R.E.M. and other underground pop of the 1980s.[8] Matt LeMay, in a 2010 review for Pitchfork, felt that the album was commercially unsuccessful because the timing was wrong: at the time of its release, audiences had little interest in "music that incorporated the indelible harmonies of the Byrds and the surrealism of Syd Barrett", but that anyhow the album is "best considered with the benefit of hindsight, and for all the famous music it inspired, there is still nothing quite like Underwater Moonlight".[9]
Track listing
All tracks are written by Robyn Hitchcock, except as noted
No. | Title | Length |
---|---|---|
1. | "I Wanna Destroy You" | 2:52 |
2. | "Kingdom of Love" | 4:10 |
3. | "Positive Vibrations" | 3:10 |
4. | "I Got the Hots" | 4:42 |
5. | "Insanely Jealous" | 4:15 |
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
---|---|---|---|
1. | "Tonight" | 3:44 | |
2. | "You'll Have to Go Sideways" | Hitchcock, Kimberley Rew | 2:57 |
3. | "Old Pervert" | Hitchcock, Rew, Matthew Seligman, Morris Windsor | 3:52 |
4. | "Queen of Eyes" | 2:01 | |
5. | "Underwater Moonlight" | 4:17 |
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
---|---|---|---|
11. | "He's a Reptile" | 4:27 | |
12. | "Vegetable Man" | Syd Barrett | 2:59 |
13. | "Strange" | 2:59 | |
14. | "Only the Stones Remain" | 2:50 | |
15. | "Where Are the Prawns?" | 6:06 | |
16. | "Dreams" | 4:37 | |
17. | "Black Snake Diamond Rock" | 4:24 | |
18. | "There's Nobody Like You" | 3:11 | |
19. | "Song #4" | 4:35 |
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
---|---|---|---|
1. | "Old Pervert – Section 1" | Hitchcock, Rew, Seligman, Windsor | 1:38 |
2. | "Like a Real Smoothie" | 3:43 | |
3. | "Alien" | 3:13 | |
4. | "Bloat (Extract)" | Hitchcock, Rew, Seligman, Windsor | 1:00 |
5. | "Underwater Moonlight" | 6:24 | |
6. | "She Wears My Hair" | 5:22 | |
7. | "Wang Dang Pig" | 3:56 | |
8. | "Old Pervert – Section 2" | Hitchcock, Rew, Seligman, Windsor | 1:31 |
9. | "Insanely Jealous" | 5:03 | |
10. | "Leave Me Alone" | Lou Reed | 6:45 |
11. | "Goodbye Maurice or Steve" | 3:14 | |
12. | "Old Pervert – Section 3" | Hitchcock, Rew, Seligman, Windsor | 0:36 |
13. | "Cherries" | Hitchcock, Rew, Seligman, Windsor | 2:54 |
14. | "Amputated" | 4:22 | |
15. | "Over You" | Bryan Ferry, Phil Manzanera | 4:00 |
16. | "I Wanna, Er... (Extract)" | Hitchcock, Rew, Seligman, Windsor | 0:42 |
17. | "Old Pervert – Section 4" | Hitchcock, Rew, Seligman, Windsor | 1:24 |
Personnel
- The Soft Boys
- Robyn Hitchcock – guitar, vocals, rhythm bass on "Insanely Jealous"
- Kimberley Rew – guitar, vocals, bass guitar and synthesiser on "You'll Have To Go Sideways"
- Matthew Seligman – bass guitar
- Morris Windsor – drums, vocals
- Additional personnel
- Gerry Hale – violin on "Insanely Jealous" and "Underwater Moonlight"
- Andy King – sitar on "Positive Vibrations"
- Technical personnel
- Pat Collier – production
- Spaceward – production
References
- ^ Erlewine, Stephen T. "Underwater Moonlight – The Soft Boys | AllMusic". allmusic.com. Retrieved 19 March 2015.
- ^ 1001 Albums: You Must Hear Before You Die. Hachette UK. 5 December 2011. Retrieved 18 August 2012.
- ^ a b The Mojo Collection: 4th Edition. Canongate Books. 1 November 2007. p. 450. Retrieved 17 August 2012.
- ^ "Spaceward Studios". spacewardstudios.ukf.net. Archived from the original on 6 December 2002. Retrieved 15 February 2015.
- ^ a b Buckley, Peter, ed. (2003). The Rough Guide to Rock. Rough Guides. p. 971. Retrieved 18 August 2012.
- ^ DeRogatis, Jim (2003). Turn on Your Mind: Four Decades of Great Psychedelic Rock. Hal Leonard Corporation. p. 334. Retrieved 18 August 2012.
- ^ Holdship, Bill (13 March 2001). "The Soft Boys: Underwater Moonlight : Music Reviews : Rolling Stone". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on 2 October 2007. Retrieved 15 February 2015.
- ^ Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "Underwater Moonlight – The Soft Boys | Songs, Reviews, Credits, Awards | AllMusic". AllMusic. Retrieved 15 February 2015.
- ^ LeMay, Matt (6 December 2010). "The Soft Boys: A Can of Bees / Underwater Moonlight | Album Reviews | Pitchfork". Pitchfork. Retrieved 15 February 2015.
External links
- Underwater Moonlight (Adobe Flash) at Radio3Net (streamed copy where licensed)
- Underwater Moonlight at Discogs (list of releases)