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Reproduction (album)

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Reproduction
Studio album by
The Human League
ReleasedOctober 1979
StudioWorkshop Studio in Sheffield
GenreSynth-pop[1]
Length43:33
LabelVirgin
ProducerThe Human League, Colin Thurston
The Human League chronology
Reproduction
(1979) 		Travelogue
(1980)
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[1]
The Great Rock Discography5/10[2]
Muzik[3]
Q[4]
Record Mirror[5]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide[6]
Smash Hits8/10[7]
Sounds[8]
Spin Alternative Record Guide2/10[9]
Uncut[10]

Reproduction is the debut studio album released by British synthpop group The Human League. The album was released in 1979 through Virgin Records.

Overview

Reproduction contains nine tracks of electronic/synthpop with some elements of industrial music, and was recorded during six weeks at The Human League's studio in Sheffield.[citation needed] The recordings were co-produced by Colin Thurston, who had previously worked on some key recordings such as Iggy Pop's Lust for Life and Magazine's Secondhand Daylight, and who went on to produce numerous hit albums of the 1980s, most notably for Duran Duran. The album also includes a cover version of "You've Lost That Lovin' Feelin'", a 1964 hit for The Righteous Brothers.

Artwork

The cover shows the feet of a man and two women seemingly standing above a number of naked babies. This was at the instruction of the band, but band member Martyn Ware described how the band's brief was misinterpreted by the record company's art department:

"We said we wanted an image of a glass dancefloor in a discotheque which people were dancing on and beneath this, a lit room full of babies. It was meant to look like a still from a film – like some kind of dystopian vision of the future – but it just looks like they're treading on babies. We were quite upset but at that time, it was too late to change it".[11]

Commercial performance

The album's initial release in October 1979 was a commercial failure, but it was re-issued and entered the charts almost two years later in August 1981, earning a Silver disc by the end of the year and peaking at #34 in early 1982.[citation needed] The album spent a total of 23 weeks in the album chart and was certified Gold by the BPI in 1988.

The only single released from the album was "Empire State Human" which initially failed to chart. It was re-released in June 1980 (with a free single taken from the band's second album, Travelogue) and reached #62.[citation needed] The band's first single from 1978, "Being Boiled", was not included on the original release of Reproduction, but was added as an extra track on all CD issues from the late 1980s onwards. However, a re-recorded version of that single's B-side, "Circus of Death", was included on the album.[citation needed]

Track listing

All tracks are written by Ian Craig Marsh, Martyn Ware and Philip Oakey; except where indicated

No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Almost Medieval" 4:43
2."Circus of Death" 3:55
3."The Path of Least Resistance" 3:33
4."Blind Youth" 3:25
5."The World Before Last" 4:04
6."Empire State Human" 3:17
7."Morale...You've Lost That Loving Feeling"Barry Mann, Cynthia Weil, Phil Spector9:39
8."Austerity/Girl One (Medley)" 6:44
9."Zero as a Limit" 4:13
Total length:43:33
CD bonus tracks
No.TitleLength
10."Introducing"3:19
11."The Dignity of Labour Part 1"4:22
12."The Dignity of Labour Part 2"2:53
13."The Dignity of Labour Part 3"3:56
14."The Dignity of Labour Part 4"3:52
15."Flexi Disc"4:11
16."Being Boiled (Fast Version)"3:54
17."Circus of Death (Fast Version)"4:38
Total length:31:05 (74:38)

"Introducing" was originally the B-side of the "Empire State Human" single. The master tape of this recording was probably lost since a digitized vinyl recording was used for the CD. The instrumental "The Dignity of Labour" tracks had been released as an EP in 1979 with "Flexi Disc" (a tongue-in-cheek in-studio meta-conversation between the members of the band and their manager, Bob Last, about their plans to include a flexidisc with their EP and what to put on it). The last two tracks were the A- and B-sides of the band's first single, "Being Boiled", released before they signed to Virgin. The 'Fast Version' (so-called because of the label the single was released on – Fast Product) of "Circus of Death" is shorter than the original single version as it does not have the spoken end of the song.

The original vinyl release of the album included some musique concrète-style vocal recordings, seemingly from the radio or television, between some tracks. Of note, 'knit one, purl one' could be heard on side one. These elements were not included in subsequent CD reissues.

Personnel

The Human League

Charts

Chart (1981–82) Peak
position
UK Albums (OCC)[12] 34

Certifications

Region Certification Certified units/sales
United Kingdom (BPI)[13] Gold 100,000^

^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

References

  1. ^ a b Bush, John. "Reproduction – The Human League". AllMusic. Retrieved 4 November 2020.
  2. ^ Strong, Martin C. (2004). "Human League". The Great Rock Discography (7th ed.). Canongate Books. ISBN 1-84195-551-5.
  3. ^ Bell, Duncan (February 2003). "Human League: Reproduction / Travelogue". Muzik. No. 93. p. 88.
  4. ^ "The Human League: Reproduction". Q. No. 100. January 1995.
  5. ^ Westwood, Chris (13 October 1979). "Popular League?". Record Mirror. p. 18.
  6. ^ Considine, J. D. (2004). "The Human League". In Brackett, Nathan; Hoard, Christian (eds.). The New Rolling Stone Album Guide (4th ed.). Simon & Schuster. pp. 397–98. ISBN 0-7432-0169-8.
  7. ^ Starr, Red (18–31 October 1979). "Albums". Smash Hits. Vol. 1, no. 23. p. 29.
  8. ^ Bushell, Garry (October 1979). "The Human League: Reproduction". Sounds.
  9. ^ Sheffield, Rob (1995). "Human League". In Weisbard, Eric; Marks, Craig (eds.). Spin Alternative Record Guide. Vintage Books. pp. 186–87. ISBN 0-679-75574-8.
  10. ^ "The Human League: Reproduction / Travelogue". Uncut. No. 71. April 2003.
  11. ^ Steven, Rachael (11 October 2013). "The Human League and a vision of the future". Creative Review. Archived from the original on 11 October 2013. Retrieved 4 November 2020.
  12. ^ "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 4 November 2020.
  13. ^ "British album certifications – The Human League – Reproduction". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 4 November 2020.
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