Mainstream (Lloyd Cole and the Commotions album)
Mainstream | ||||
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Studio album by | ||||
Released | 26 October 1987 | |||
Length | 40:02 | |||
Label | ||||
Producer | Ian Stanley | |||
Lloyd Cole and the Commotions chronology | ||||
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Singles from Mainstream | ||||
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Mainstream is the third and final studio album by Lloyd Cole and the Commotions. It was produced by Ian Stanley and released by Polydor Records in the UK and by Capitol Records in the US on 26 October 1987.[1] It included the singles "My Bag", "Jennifer She Said" and "From the Hip". Although the album reached number nine in the UK, it failed to chart in the US and was not embraced by all critics: Mainstream is the only Lloyd Cole and the Commotions album not to sell at least 100,000 copies in the US.[2]
Recording
Finding a producer proved difficult for the band. They first went with
Bass player Lawrence Donegan reflected in 2004 that "with the previous LP, Easy Pieces, we had tried to broaden out and make more of a pop record and it hadn't really worked. It sounded rushed and the songs were not all up to standard. So, a year after Easy Pieces, we went into the studio to try and make something more powerful. But the LP that we actually made took so long that we lost our initial vision by the time we finished it. The songs that Lloyd was writing were more introspective, so the stadium rock idea gradually went out the window."[4]
Mainstream cost £300,000, ten times as much as their 1984 debut album Rattlesnakes, and took five months to record. Keyboardist Blair Cowan had already left the group by the time the album came out (hence his picture is missing from the photographs of the band that feature on the artwork, and only included on a 'dedication' to him on the inner sleeve) and Donegan was also close to calling it a day, having been accepted on a journalism course. As a result the group decided that they had come to a natural end and to split up after the release of the album, but were obliged to promote it and undertake a tour first, which took a year.[5] After the Commotions broke up, Cole moved to New York to resume his songwriting partnership with Cowan and joined up with Fred Maher and Robert Quine, both former associates of Lou Reed, to begin work on a solo career.[6]
Composition
The album's opening track and lead single, "My Bag", contains several allusions to cocaine.[7] Cole said, "I wrote [the song] when I was drunk one night. It's basically about a coked up stockbroker. I took most of the scenarios from that song from Big Lights, Bright City [sic] or things that I'd heard like some executive that we've dealt with getting a phone call from another part of the office saying, 'Come upstairs, it's snowing' which of course meant a whole load of new coke was in. I thought 'a multi-story snowstorm' was quite a nice way to start a song."[8] On the track "From the Hip", Cole laments over his helplessness in combating violence and abuse.[9] "Jennifer She Said" has a Mark Knopfler-like guitar break[9] and is about a newlywed who has lost interest[10] and "last forever love that leads to a tattoo".[9]
"Mr. Malcontent" is based on the character played by
"Hey Rusty", the one track produced by Stewart Copeland of the Police,[3] has a "Springsteen-like theme and a U2-like musical track".[10] "These Days" has a bassline copied from a track on Mister Heartbreak by Laurie Anderson[16] and has been called "gorgeous [and] melancholic".[12]
Critical reception
Review scores | |
---|---|
Source | Rating |
Q | [19] |
Record-Journal | B[9] |
Record Mirror | [20] |
(The New) Rolling Stone Album Guide | [12] |
Sounds | [21] |
Although Mainstream was not universally embraced by the press it was favoured by some critics.
On the other hand, Richard Luck of The Rough Guide to Rock writes that Mainstream "was by and large a disappointing affair".[6] William Ruhlmann, in AllMusic, laments that there is "little to alleviate the vitriol in the music". He did favour the track "Hey Rusty" but other than that he believed the songs are not "coherent, specific, [or] moving".[10] The album is described in The Great Rock Discography as "sound[ing] lacklustre in comparison" to their earlier work.[13] Sounds was disappointed, saying, "Unfortunately, by developing his laid-back style, Lloyd has sacrificed some of the urgency and excitement so often present in his tales of seedy weekends and perfect lovers... He's given up pampering the intellectuals and is facing up to the things that are important in his own life. For these changes he can only be applauded, and yet the net result, at moments, seems somewhat lacklustre."[21]
Track listing
All tracks written and composed by Lloyd Cole and the Commotions, except where noted.
- "My Bag" – 3:56
- "From the Hip" (Neil Clark, Cole, Blair Cowan, Lawrence Donegan, Stephen Irvine, McKillop) – 3:57
- "29" – 5:28
- "Mainstream" – 3:14
- "Jennifer She Said" – 3:02
- "Mr. Malcontent" – 4:49
- "Sean Penn Blues" – 3:28
- "Big Snake" (lyrics: Cole, music: Ian Stanley) – 5:16
- "Hey Rusty" – 4:30
- "These Days" – 2:27
Personnel
Lloyd Cole and the Commotions
- Lloyd Cole – guitar, vocals
- Neil Clark – guitar
- Blair Cowan – keyboards
- Lawrence Donegan – bass
- Stephen Irvine – drums
Additional personnel
- Jon Hassell – trumpet on "Big Snake"
- Nicky Holland – backing vocals on "29", string arrangements on "Jennifer She Said"
- Tony Jackson – backing vocals on "Mainstream"
- John Sloman – backing vocals on "Mainstream"
- Fraser Speirs – harmonica on "Sean Penn Blues"
- Tracey Thorn – vocals on "Big Snake"
- Tommy Willis – lap steel guitar on "29"
Production
- Femi Jiya – engineer
- Ian Stanley – producer
- Stewart Copeland – producer on "Hey Rusty"
- Alastair Thain – photography
Charts
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Certifications
Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
---|---|---|
United Kingdom (BPI)[27] | Gold | 100,000^ |
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone. |
Release history
Region | Date | Label | Format | Catalog |
---|---|---|---|---|
United Kingdom | 26 October 1987 | Polydor | LP | LCLP 3 |
cassette
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LCMC 3 | |||
Europe | LP | 883 691-1 | ||
cassette | 883 691-4 | |||
United Kingdom and Europe | CD | 833 691-2 | ||
United States | 1987 | Capitol | LP | C1-90893 |
25 October 1990 | CD | CDP 7 90893 2 |
References
- ^ "Changes to Cole Shows". NME. 24 October 1987. p. 4.
- ^ Mirkin, Steven (12 August 1995). "Lloyd Cole's Ryko 'debut' aimed at triple-A demo". Billboard. pp. 10, 16. Archived from the original on 31 May 2021. Retrieved 5 February 2011.
- ^ Evening Times. p. 18. Archivedfrom the original on 31 May 2021. Retrieved 5 February 2011.
- ^ Thrills, Adrian (23 January 1987). "Ya Bass!". NME. p. 10.
- ^ Strickland, Andy (18 September 2004). "Lloyd Cole – Causing a commotion". Music Week. pp. 9–12.
- ^ ISBN 978-1-84353-105-0. Retrieved 5 February 2011.
- ISBN 978-0-452-28991-8. Archivedfrom the original on 31 May 2021. Retrieved 5 February 2011.
- ^ Wilkinson, Roy (21 November 1987). "Pretentious, Moi?". Sounds. pp. 24–25.
- ^ a b c d e f Zebora, Jim (6 November 1988). "Scotsman sings of 'wasted space and alcohol'". Record-Journal. p. E2. Archived from the original on 31 May 2021. Retrieved 5 February 2011.
- ^ a b c d Ruhlmann, William. "Lloyd Cole and the Commotions – Mainstream". AllMusic. Archived from the original on 15 May 2011. Retrieved 5 February 2011.
- ^ Blashill, Pat (February 1989). "Lloyd'd work holiday". Spin. p. 18. Archived from the original on 31 May 2021. Retrieved 5 February 2011.
- ^ ISBN 978-0-7432-0169-8. Retrieved 5 February 2011.
- ^ ISBN 978-1-84195-615-2. Retrieved 5 February 2011.
- ^ Mathur, Paul (28 November 1987). "Exile on Mainstream". Melody Maker. pp. 10–11.
- ^ Goldstein, Patrick (28 August 1988). "Song Title of the Week". Los Angeles Times. Los Angeles. p. 76. Archived from the original on 5 November 2012. Retrieved 5 February 2011.
- ^ a b c Murthi, RS (14 April 1988). "Rediscovering songs of the 60s". New Straits Times. p. 10. Archived from the original on 31 May 2021. Retrieved 5 February 2011.
- ^ Mathur, Paul (31 October 1987). "River's Edge". Melody Maker. p. 34.
- ^ a b Quantick, David (31 October 1987). "Hipswayed". NME. p. 30.
- ^ Q. No. 14. pp. 94–95.
- ^ a b Levy, Eleanor (31 October 1987). "Lloyd Cole and the Commotions – Mainstream". Record Mirror. p. 21.
- ^ a b Phillips, Shaun (31 October 1987). "A Cooler Cole". Sounds. p. 28.
- ^ "Swedishcharts.com – Lloyd Cole & the Commotions – Mainstream". Hung Medien.
- ^ "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company.
- ^ "Charts.nz – Lloyd Cole & the Commotions – Mainstream". Hung Medien.
- ^ ISBN 978-1-84449-058-5. Retrieved 5 February 2011.
- ^ Allmusic. Archivedfrom the original on 13 November 2023. Retrieved 5 February 2011.
- ^ "British album certifications – Lloyd Cole & the Commotions – Mainstream". British Phonographic Industry.