Mainstream (Lloyd Cole album)
Encyclopedia
Mainstream is the third and final studio album released by Lloyd Cole and the Commotions
. It was produced by Ian Stanley
and released in 1987 by Capitol Records
in the US and Polydor
in the UK. It conained the hits "From the Hip", "My Bag", and "Jennifer She Said". Although the album reached number nine in the UK, it failed to chart in America and was not embraced by all critics.
, when that did not work out they brought in Stewart Copeland
. With Copeland they only recorded one track, "Hey Rusty", then finally found Ian Stanley
. Mainstream is the only Lloyd Cole and the Commotions release not to sell at least 100,000 copies in the US and ended up being the band's last full length offering of new material. Following the album's release the band produced a few singles and a compilation album
, 1984-1989, before breaking up. After the split, band leader Lloyd Cole
and keyboardist Blair Cowan
moved to New York
and joined up with Fred Maher
and Robert Quine
, both formerly with Lou Reed
, to work on a Cole solo album
.
-like guitar break and is about a newlywed who has lost interest and "last forever love that leads to a tattoo".
"Mr. Malcontent" is based on the character played by Daniel Day-Lewis
in My Beautiful Laundrette
and is about someone who would rather waste time than face the world. "Sean Penn Blues" is a "cheeky [and] upbeat" tune and "recover[s] the sly wit" of the band's earlier material. Cole was quoted as saying that the tune was inspired by an incident in which Sean Penn
was set up and openly laughed at during a poetry reading
.
"Hey Rusty", the one track produced by Stewart Copeland of The Police
, has a "Springsteen
-like theme and a U2
-like musical track". "These Days" has a bassline copied from a track on Mister Heartbreak
by Laurie Anderson
and has been called "gorgeous [and] melancholic".
called Mainstream "the band's most accomplished work to-date" and "a major development for the band". In The New Rolling Stone Album Guide the album is called Cole's "most well-rounded" and "cleanly produced". Jim Zebora of the Record-Journal gave the album a B and said it "hit with a lot of artistry" but admits Cole's "potential hasn't been reached". RS Murthi of New Straits Times
writes that Cole's "rough-hewn vocals...provide a fine contrast to the smooth and buoyant music" and it "bristles with chiming guitars and dulcet synthesizer textures".
On the other hand, Richard Luck of The Rough Guide to Rock writes that Mainstream "was by and large a disappointing affair". William Ruhlmann, in Allmusic, laments that there is "little to alleviate the vitriol in the music". He did favor the track "Hey Rusty" but other than that he believes the songs are not "coherent, specific, [or] moving" Lastly, the album is described in The Great Rock Discography as "sound[ing] lacklustre in comparison" to their earlier work.
except if noted
Lloyd Cole and the Commotions
Lloyd Cole and the Commotions were a British pop band that formed in Glasgow, Scotland in 1982. Between 1984 and 1989, the band scored four Top 20 albums and five Top 40 singles in the UK...
. It was produced by Ian Stanley
Ian Stanley
Ian Stanley is an English musician, songwriter and record producer...
and released in 1987 by Capitol Records
Capitol Records
Capitol Records is a major United States based record label, formerly located in Los Angeles, but operating in New York City as part of Capitol Music Group. Its former headquarters building, the Capitol Tower, is a major landmark near the corner of Hollywood and Vine...
in the US and Polydor
Polydor Records
Polydor is a record label owned by Universal Music Group, headquartered in the United Kingdom.-Beginnings:Polydor was originally an independent branch of the Deutsche Grammophon Gesellschaft. Its name was first used as an export label in 1924, the British and German branches of the Gramophone...
in the UK. It conained the hits "From the Hip", "My Bag", and "Jennifer She Said". Although the album reached number nine in the UK, it failed to chart in America and was not embraced by all critics.
Overview
The album took two years to make as finding a producer proved difficult. The band first went with Chris ThomasChris Thomas (record producer)
Chris Thomas is an English record producer who has worked extensively with The Beatles, Pink Floyd, Roxy Music, Badfinger, Elton John, Paul McCartney, Pulp and The Pretenders. He has also produced breakthrough albums for The Sex Pistols and INXS.Thomas is quoted as saying -Early life:Thomas was...
, when that did not work out they brought in Stewart Copeland
Stewart Copeland
Stewart Armstrong Copeland is an American musician, best known as the drummer for the band The Police. During the group's extended hiatus from the mid-1980s to 2007, he played in other bands and composed soundtracks...
. With Copeland they only recorded one track, "Hey Rusty", then finally found Ian Stanley
Ian Stanley
Ian Stanley is an English musician, songwriter and record producer...
. Mainstream is the only Lloyd Cole and the Commotions release not to sell at least 100,000 copies in the US and ended up being the band's last full length offering of new material. Following the album's release the band produced a few singles and a compilation album
Compilation album
A compilation album is an album featuring tracks from one or more performers, often culled from a variety of sources The tracks are usually collected according to a common characteristic, such as popularity, genre, source or subject matter...
, 1984-1989, before breaking up. After the split, band leader Lloyd Cole
Lloyd Cole
Lloyd Cole is an English singer and songwriter, known for his role as lead singer of Lloyd Cole and the Commotions from 1984 to 1989, and for his subsequent solo work.-Early life:...
and keyboardist Blair Cowan
Blair Cowan
Blair Cowan is a Scottish musician, formerly a member of Lloyd Cole and the Commotions. Following the breakup of that band, he continued to collaborate with Lloyd Cole early in the singer's solo career, playing and co-writing on 1990's Lloyd Cole and 1991's Don't Get Weird on Me Babe.He has since...
moved to New York
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
and joined up with Fred Maher
Fred Maher
Fred Maher is an American drummer, programmer and record producer.He was a member of Massacre , Material, Scritti Politti, Lou Reed, and is best known as the producer of I'm Talking's album Bear Witness , Lou Reed's album New York , Matthew Sweet's album Girlfriend , and Information Society's self...
and Robert Quine
Robert Quine
Robert Wolfe Quine was an American guitarist, known for his innovative guitar solos.A native of Akron, Ohio, Quine worked with a wide range of musicians, though he himself remained relatively unknown in comparison...
, both formerly with Lou Reed
Lou Reed
Lewis Allan "Lou" Reed is an American rock musician, songwriter, and photographer. He is best known as guitarist, vocalist, and principal songwriter of The Velvet Underground, and for his successful solo career, which has spanned several decades...
, to work on a Cole solo album
Solo album
A solo album, in popular music, is an album headlined by a current or former member of a band. A solo album may feature simply one person performing all instruments, but typically features the work of other collaborators; rather, it may be made with different collaborators than the artist is...
.
Selected tracks
Mainstream begins with "My Bag", a song about cocaine. On the track "From the Hip", which charted in the UK, Cole laments over his helplessness in combating violence and abuse. "Jennifer She Said" has a Mark KnopflerMark Knopfler
Mark Freuder Knopfler, OBE is a Scottish-born British guitarist, singer, songwriter, record producer and film score composer. He is best known as the lead guitarist, vocalist, and songwriter for the British rock band Dire Straits, which he co-founded in 1977...
-like guitar break and is about a newlywed who has lost interest and "last forever love that leads to a tattoo".
"Mr. Malcontent" is based on the character played by Daniel Day-Lewis
Daniel Day-Lewis
Daniel Michael Blake Day-Lewis is an English actor with both British and Irish citizenship. His portrayals of Christy Brown in My Left Foot and Daniel Plainview in There Will Be Blood won Academy and BAFTA Awards for Best Actor, and Screen Actors Guild as well as Golden Globe Awards for the latter...
in My Beautiful Laundrette
My Beautiful Laundrette
My Beautiful Laundrette is a 1985 British comedy-drama film directed by Stephen Frears from a screenplay by Hanif Kureishi. The story is set in London during the period when Margaret Thatcher was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, as shown through the complex—and often comical—relationships...
and is about someone who would rather waste time than face the world. "Sean Penn Blues" is a "cheeky [and] upbeat" tune and "recover[s] the sly wit" of the band's earlier material. Cole was quoted as saying that the tune was inspired by an incident in which Sean Penn
Sean Penn
Sean Justin Penn is an American actor, screenwriter and film director, also known for his political and social activism...
was set up and openly laughed at during a poetry reading
Poetry reading
A poetry reading is a performance of poetry, normally given on a small stage in a café or bookstore, although poetry readings given by notable poets frequently are booked into larger venues to accommodate crowds...
.
"Hey Rusty", the one track produced by Stewart Copeland of The Police
The Police
The Police were an English rock band formed in London in 1977. For the vast majority of their history, the band consisted of Sting , Andy Summers and Stewart Copeland...
, has a "Springsteen
Bruce Springsteen
Bruce Frederick Joseph Springsteen , nicknamed "The Boss," is an American singer-songwriter who records and tours with the E Street Band...
-like theme and a U2
U2
U2 are an Irish rock band from Dublin. Formed in 1976, the group consists of Bono , The Edge , Adam Clayton , and Larry Mullen, Jr. . U2's early sound was rooted in post-punk but eventually grew to incorporate influences from many genres of popular music...
-like musical track". "These Days" has a bassline copied from a track on Mister Heartbreak
Mister Heartbreak
Mister Heartbreak is the second album by avant-garde artist, singer and composer Laurie Anderson, released in 1984.Considered more mainstream than its predecessor, Big Science, the album's lead track, "Sharkey's Day" formed the basis of a popular music video. Author William S...
by Laurie Anderson
Laurie Anderson
Laura Phillips "Laurie" Anderson is an American experimental performance artist, composer and musician who plays violin and keyboards and sings in a variety of experimental music and art rock styles. Initially trained as a sculptor, Anderson did her first performance-art piece in the late 1960s...
and has been called "gorgeous [and] melancholic".
Reception
Although Mainstream was not universally embraced by the press it was favored by some critics. John Williamson of the Evening TimesEvening Times
The Evening Times is an evening tabloid newspaper published Monday to Saturday in Glasgow, Scotland.-History:The paper, an evening sister paper of The Herald, was established in 1876. The paper's slogan is "Nobody Knows Glasgow Better"....
called Mainstream "the band's most accomplished work to-date" and "a major development for the band". In The New Rolling Stone Album Guide the album is called Cole's "most well-rounded" and "cleanly produced". Jim Zebora of the Record-Journal gave the album a B and said it "hit with a lot of artistry" but admits Cole's "potential hasn't been reached". RS Murthi of New Straits Times
New Straits Times
The New Straits Times is an English-language newspaper published in Malaysia. It is Malaysia's oldest newspaper still in print , having been founded as The Straits Times in 1845, and was reestablished as the "New Straits Times" in 1965. The paper served as Malaysia's only broadsheet format English...
writes that Cole's "rough-hewn vocals...provide a fine contrast to the smooth and buoyant music" and it "bristles with chiming guitars and dulcet synthesizer textures".
On the other hand, Richard Luck of The Rough Guide to Rock writes that Mainstream "was by and large a disappointing affair". William Ruhlmann, in Allmusic, laments that there is "little to alleviate the vitriol in the music". He did favor the track "Hey Rusty" but other than that he believes the songs are not "coherent, specific, [or] moving" Lastly, the album is described in The Great Rock Discography as "sound[ing] lacklustre in comparison" to their earlier work.
Track listing
All compositions by Lloyd ColeLloyd Cole
Lloyd Cole is an English singer and songwriter, known for his role as lead singer of Lloyd Cole and the Commotions from 1984 to 1989, and for his subsequent solo work.-Early life:...
except if noted
- "My Bag" – 3:56
- "From the Hip" (Neil Clark, Cole, Blair CowanBlair CowanBlair Cowan is a Scottish musician, formerly a member of Lloyd Cole and the Commotions. Following the breakup of that band, he continued to collaborate with Lloyd Cole early in the singer's solo career, playing and co-writing on 1990's Lloyd Cole and 1991's Don't Get Weird on Me Babe.He has since...
, Lawrence DoneganLawrence DoneganLawrence Donegan , is a musician and journalist, currently Golf Correspondent at The Guardian.Donegan was educated at St Modan's High School and the University of Glasgow, where his musical career began. He was the bassist in The Bluebells, whose biggest hit was "Young at Heart," and Lloyd Cole and...
, 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" (Cole, Ian StanleyIan StanleyIan Stanley is an English musician, songwriter and record producer...
) – 5:16 - "Hey Rusty" – 4:30
- "These Days" – 2:27
Personnel
- Lloyd ColeLloyd ColeLloyd Cole is an English singer and songwriter, known for his role as lead singer of Lloyd Cole and the Commotions from 1984 to 1989, and for his subsequent solo work.-Early life:...
– guitarGuitarThe guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
, vocalsSingingSinging is the act of producing musical sounds with the voice, and augments regular speech by the use of both tonality and rhythm. One who sings is called a singer or vocalist. Singers perform music known as songs that can be sung either with or without accompaniment by musical instruments... - Neil Clark – guitar
- Blair CowanBlair CowanBlair Cowan is a Scottish musician, formerly a member of Lloyd Cole and the Commotions. Following the breakup of that band, he continued to collaborate with Lloyd Cole early in the singer's solo career, playing and co-writing on 1990's Lloyd Cole and 1991's Don't Get Weird on Me Babe.He has since...
– keyboardsElectronic keyboardAn electronic keyboard is an electronic or digital keyboard instrument.The major components of a typical modern electronic keyboard are:... - Lawrence DoneganLawrence DoneganLawrence Donegan , is a musician and journalist, currently Golf Correspondent at The Guardian.Donegan was educated at St Modan's High School and the University of Glasgow, where his musical career began. He was the bassist in The Bluebells, whose biggest hit was "Young at Heart," and Lloyd Cole and...
– bassBass guitarThe bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick.... - Jon HassellJon HassellJon Hassell is an American trumpet player and composer. He is known for his influence in the world music scene and his unusual electronic manipulation of the trumpet sound.-Life and career:...
– trumpetTrumpetThe trumpet is the musical instrument with the highest register in the brass family. Trumpets are among the oldest musical instruments, dating back to at least 1500 BCE. They are played by blowing air through closed lips, producing a "buzzing" sound which starts a standing wave vibration in the air... - Nicky Holland – string arrangementsString instrumentA string instrument is a musical instrument that produces sound by means of vibrating strings. In the Hornbostel-Sachs scheme of musical instrument classification, used in organology, they are called chordophones...
, backing vocalsBacking vocalistA backing vocalist or backing singer is a singer who provides vocal harmony with the lead vocalist or other backing vocalists... - Stephen Irvine – drumsDrum kitA drum kit is a collection of drums, cymbals and often other percussion instruments, such as cowbells, wood blocks, triangles, chimes, or tambourines, arranged for convenient playing by a single person ....
- Tony Jackson – backing vocals
- John SlomanJohn SlomanJohn Sloman was born as John Anthony David Sloman in Cardiff , 26 April 1957 as the eldest of six children. He is a former member of Trapper, Pulsar, Lone Star, and Uriah Heep...
– backing vocals - Fraser SpeirsFraser SpeirsFraser Speirs is a Glasgow-based harmonica player. Originally trained as a medical illustrator, Speirs has been performing for over 30 years and is now an internationally-known performer and teacher....
– harmonicaHarmonicaThe harmonica, also called harp, French harp, blues harp, and mouth organ, is a free reed wind instrument used primarily in blues and American folk music, jazz, country, and rock and roll. It is played by blowing air into it or drawing air out by placing lips over individual holes or multiple holes... - Tracey ThornTracey ThornTracey Anne Thorn is an English pop singer and songwriter. She is best known as being one half of the duo Everything but the Girl, which is currently on extended hiatus.-Personal life:...
– vocals - Tommy Willis – lap steel guitarLap steel guitarThe lap steel guitar is a type of steel guitar, an instrument derived from and similar to the guitar. The player changes pitch by pressing a metal or glass bar against the strings instead of by pressing strings against the fingerboard....
Production
- Femi Jiya – engineerAudio engineeringAn audio engineer, also called audio technician, audio technologist or sound technician, is a specialist in a skilled trade that deals with the use of machinery and equipment for the recording, mixing and reproduction of sounds. The field draws on many artistic and vocational areas, including...
- Ian StanleyIan StanleyIan Stanley is an English musician, songwriter and record producer...
– producerRecord producerA record producer is an individual working within the music industry, whose job is to oversee and manage the recording of an artist's music... - Alastair Thain – photographyAlbum coverAn album cover is the front of the packaging of a commercially released audio recording product, or album. The term can refer to either the printed cardboard covers typically used to package sets of 10" and 12" 78 rpm records, single and sets of 12" LPs, sets of 45 rpm records , or the front-facing...
Charts
| Album charts | ||
|---|---|---|
| Year | Country | Peak |
| 1987 | Great Britain Great Britain Great Britain or Britain is an island situated to the northwest of Continental Europe. It is the ninth largest island in the world, and the largest European island, as well as the largest of the British Isles... |
9 |
| Singles | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Song | Chart | Peak |
| 1987 | "My Bag" | UK Singles UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ... |
46 |
| Billboard Modern Rock | 13 | ||
| 1988 | Billboard Dance | 48 | |
| "Jennifer She Said" | UK Singles UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ... |
31 | |
| "From the Hip" | 59 | ||