Rotator (album)
Encyclopedia
Rotator is the second and final studio album
released by the Danish rock band Dizzy Mizz Lizzy
.
-Medley head of A&R and producer
Nick Foss had made an agreement with lead singer and guitarist Tim Christensen
that if their debut album Dizzy Mizz Lizzy
won gold (equal to 40,000 copies at that time), the next would be recorded at the legendary Abbey Road Studios
in London
, which it did in 2 months' time, and would continue to win 5× platinum. As a result, Rotator was recorded in the same studios The Beatles
had recorded in, which was Christensen's boyhood dream.
Despite the record-breaking successes of the band's eponymous debut, the band did not perceive it as pressuring them musically, although it perhaps would on certain other points. The band did not attempt to create songs that resemble the old, and assumed it at least would not be a complete fiasco given their continued success. While recording at the Abbey Road Studios, it turned out the other band members did not share Christensen's enthusiasm, and did not appreciate the unique symbolism recording in these legendary studios, which meant Christensen had no one to share his palette of emotions with and as a result the recording sessions did not really fulfill all of Christensen's expectations. In 2004, he would return to the Abbey Road Studios to play and record a live show
.
Rotator is heavier and less carefree than its predecessor, with a hint of bitterness. As lead singer Tim Christensen
explains: "There are several songs about the [music] industry. One song for example describes how you should first do well before they take you in from the cold. Nobody makes it from the start; they must smell the money. We are the cause that other bands have had the problem that the record label tells them, 'Now that Dizzy is running so well, we won't be taking in other bands.' It embarrasses us a bit, but cannot do anything about it." Drummer Søren Friis elaborates: "One can actually take ourselves as an example, as we first had to win DM i Rock before it happened." Bassist Martin Nielsen clarifies, "The songs aren't about how bad we have it, but mostly about how bad the business can be sometimes."
The song "11:07 PM" is about the death of John Lennon
, an event which has had a profound impact on Christensen, even though he was only six years old at the time. The title of the song refers to a presumed time of death.
On this album, Nic Wastell, an Englishman, corrected some of the lyrics. "The idea came from both myself and from our label, because I am fairly lazy when it comes to writing lyrics. Since we had recorded all the music, I could see that some of the lyrics weren't entirely complete," says Christensen.
by a long shot. In Japan
, another 100,000 copies were sold. Reviews were generally positive; GAFFA
described it as "a solid bastion of a publication," with which "Dizzy Mizz Lizzy really set new high standards for trio-rock - both in terms of musicality and finesse." It was however considered a bit too polished, with "rapid tight rhythm shifts, pulsating beats, and tight guitar riffs [so that] one sometimes wonders why the band did not allow themselves a little more room for spontaneity, and just let go in the practice room and in their timing, because although the band has plenty of personality, it lacks an actual outbreak amidst all the rehearsed style exercises." The album won the 1997 Danish Grammy for "Rock Album of the Year" and Nick Foss received the prize for "Best Producer". The singles "11:07 PM" and "Rotator" became hits in Denmark.
box set. It was digitally remaster
ed by Nikolaj Vinten who had also mastered
the album in 1996. A remaster of the Japan
ese bonus track
"Pain Before My Eyes" was included on another disc in the box set. The track listing remained unchanged. The cover art
had completely been redrawn by Paul Wilson of Yellow1 because the original designs by MandOverBord had not been saved. The booklet was expanded with liner notes by Jan Poulsen. The packaging has changed from jewel case to Digipak
.
Production
Studio album
A studio album is an album made up of tracks recorded in the controlled environment of a recording studio. A studio album contains newly written and recorded or previously unreleased or remixed material, distinguishing itself from a compilation or reissue album of previously recorded material, or...
released by the Danish rock band Dizzy Mizz Lizzy
Dizzy Mizz Lizzy
Dizzy Mizz Lizzy was an alternative rock band from Denmark that started in 1988. Between 1994 and 1997, they were highly successful in Denmark and Japan, heading the early 1990s rock revival in Denmark. The trio consisted of Tim Christensen , Martin Nielsen and Søren Friis...
.
Overview
EMIEMI
The EMI Group, also known as EMI Music or simply EMI, is a multinational music company headquartered in London, United Kingdom. It is the fourth-largest business group and family of record labels in the recording industry and one of the "big four" record companies. EMI Group also has a major...
-Medley head of A&R and producer
Record producer
A record producer is an individual working within the music industry, whose job is to oversee and manage the recording of an artist's music...
Nick Foss had made an agreement with lead singer and guitarist Tim Christensen
Tim Christensen
Tim Christensen is a Danish singer/songwriter and multi-instrumentalist who plays guitar, bass guitar, drums, Mellotron, harmonium, keyboard, piano and organ...
that if their debut album Dizzy Mizz Lizzy
Dizzy Mizz Lizzy (album)
Dizzy Mizz Lizzy is the eponymous debut album of the Danish rock band Dizzy Mizz Lizzy, released in on 4 March 1994.- Reception :Before the album was even recorded, the songs "Waterline" and "Silverflame" from the band's 1993 demo received heavy rotation on radio stations, including DR P3 and DR P4...
won gold (equal to 40,000 copies at that time), the next would be recorded at the legendary Abbey Road Studios
Abbey Road Studios
Abbey Road Studios is a recording studio located at 3 Abbey Road, St John's Wood, City of Westminster, London, England. It was established in November 1931 by the Gramophone Company, a predecessor of British music company EMI, its present owner...
in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, which it did in 2 months' time, and would continue to win 5× platinum. As a result, Rotator was recorded in the same studios The Beatles
The Beatles
The Beatles were an English rock band, active throughout the 1960s and one of the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed acts in the history of popular music. Formed in Liverpool, by 1962 the group consisted of John Lennon , Paul McCartney , George Harrison and Ringo Starr...
had recorded in, which was Christensen's boyhood dream.
Despite the record-breaking successes of the band's eponymous debut, the band did not perceive it as pressuring them musically, although it perhaps would on certain other points. The band did not attempt to create songs that resemble the old, and assumed it at least would not be a complete fiasco given their continued success. While recording at the Abbey Road Studios, it turned out the other band members did not share Christensen's enthusiasm, and did not appreciate the unique symbolism recording in these legendary studios, which meant Christensen had no one to share his palette of emotions with and as a result the recording sessions did not really fulfill all of Christensen's expectations. In 2004, he would return to the Abbey Road Studios to play and record a live show
Live at Abbey Road Studios 2004
Live at Abbey Road Studios 2004 is a live 2CD and limited edition DVD/2CD and vinyl record by Danish singer-songwriter Tim Christensen, released in 2004. To date, it is the only officially released live solo recording of Christensen...
.
Rotator is heavier and less carefree than its predecessor, with a hint of bitterness. As lead singer Tim Christensen
Tim Christensen
Tim Christensen is a Danish singer/songwriter and multi-instrumentalist who plays guitar, bass guitar, drums, Mellotron, harmonium, keyboard, piano and organ...
explains: "There are several songs about the [music] industry. One song for example describes how you should first do well before they take you in from the cold. Nobody makes it from the start; they must smell the money. We are the cause that other bands have had the problem that the record label tells them, 'Now that Dizzy is running so well, we won't be taking in other bands.' It embarrasses us a bit, but cannot do anything about it." Drummer Søren Friis elaborates: "One can actually take ourselves as an example, as we first had to win DM i Rock before it happened." Bassist Martin Nielsen clarifies, "The songs aren't about how bad we have it, but mostly about how bad the business can be sometimes."
The song "11:07 PM" is about the death of John Lennon
John Lennon
John Winston Lennon, MBE was an English musician and singer-songwriter who rose to worldwide fame as one of the founding members of The Beatles, one of the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed acts in the history of popular music...
, an event which has had a profound impact on Christensen, even though he was only six years old at the time. The title of the song refers to a presumed time of death.
On this album, Nic Wastell, an Englishman, corrected some of the lyrics. "The idea came from both myself and from our label, because I am fairly lazy when it comes to writing lyrics. Since we had recorded all the music, I could see that some of the lyrics weren't entirely complete," says Christensen.
Reception
The album reached gold status the very day it went on sale on 24 May 1996, and they appeared to have lived up to the notorious expectations of creating a worthy sequel to their debut album. It sold 100,000 copies in Denmark, "which is exceptionally high for a guitar rock album in Denmark" and was good for double platinum, but it could not match the commercial success of its eponymous predecessor Dizzy Mizz LizzyDizzy Mizz Lizzy (album)
Dizzy Mizz Lizzy is the eponymous debut album of the Danish rock band Dizzy Mizz Lizzy, released in on 4 March 1994.- Reception :Before the album was even recorded, the songs "Waterline" and "Silverflame" from the band's 1993 demo received heavy rotation on radio stations, including DR P3 and DR P4...
by a long shot. In Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
, another 100,000 copies were sold. Reviews were generally positive; GAFFA
Gaffa (magazine)
Gaffa is a free Danish music magazine, published on a monthly basis since 1983. The magazine is distributed to places such as educational institutions, record shops, libraries and cafés, as well as a small number to paying subscribers...
described it as "a solid bastion of a publication," with which "Dizzy Mizz Lizzy really set new high standards for trio-rock - both in terms of musicality and finesse." It was however considered a bit too polished, with "rapid tight rhythm shifts, pulsating beats, and tight guitar riffs [so that] one sometimes wonders why the band did not allow themselves a little more room for spontaneity, and just let go in the practice room and in their timing, because although the band has plenty of personality, it lacks an actual outbreak amidst all the rehearsed style exercises." The album won the 1997 Danish Grammy for "Rock Album of the Year" and Nick Foss received the prize for "Best Producer". The singles "11:07 PM" and "Rotator" became hits in Denmark.
Remastering
The album was re-released on 29 March 2010 as part of the DizzcographyDizzcography
Dizzcography is a box set released in 2010, containing all previously released material by the Danish rock band Dizzy Mizz Lizzy. The CD version is collected in a black printed cardboard box as four Digipak CDs and a 40-page booklet. The box set was also released in a limited press on 8...
box set. It was digitally remaster
Remaster
Remaster is a word marketed mostly in the digital audio age, although the remastering process has existed since recording began...
ed by Nikolaj Vinten who had also mastered
Audio mastering
Mastering, a form of audio post-production, is the process of preparing and transferring recorded audio from a source containing the final mix to a data storage device ; the source from which all copies will be produced...
the album in 1996. A remaster of the Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
ese bonus track
Bonus track
In terms of recorded music, a bonus track is a piece of music which has been included on specific releases or reissues of an album. This is most often done as a promotional device, either as an incentive to customers to purchase albums they might otherwise not, or to repurchase albums they already...
"Pain Before My Eyes" was included on another disc in the box set. The track listing remained unchanged. The cover art
Cover art
Cover art is the illustration or photograph on the outside of a published product such as a book , magazine, comic book, video game , DVD, CD, videotape, or music album. The art has a primarily commercial function, i.e...
had completely been redrawn by Paul Wilson of Yellow1 because the original designs by MandOverBord had not been saved. The booklet was expanded with liner notes by Jan Poulsen. The packaging has changed from jewel case to Digipak
Digipak
Digipak is a patented style of CD, DVD or BD packaging, and is a registered trademark of AGI World Ltd., an Atlas Holdings company.-Features:...
.
Track listing
Personnel
Dizzy Mizz Lizzy- Tim ChristensenTim ChristensenTim Christensen is a Danish singer/songwriter and multi-instrumentalist who plays guitar, bass guitar, drums, Mellotron, harmonium, keyboard, piano and organ...
– 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...
, songwriterSongwriterA songwriter is an individual who writes both the lyrics and music to a song. Someone who solely writes lyrics may be called a lyricist, and someone who only writes music may be called a composer...
, co-producer - Martin Nielsen – bassBass guitarThe bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
- Søren Friis – 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 ....
Production
- Nick Foss – 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...
, mixerMix engineerA mix engineer, also referred to as "mixing engineer", is a person who, once all instruments, voices, and sounds, etc., have been recorded, creates what is called the final version of a song, hence the term "mix engineer"... - Lars Overgaard – engineer, masteringAudio masteringMastering, a form of audio post-production, is the process of preparing and transferring recorded audio from a source containing the final mix to a data storage device ; the source from which all copies will be produced...
, mixer, co-producer - MandOverBord – cover art