Stutter was the debut album from English band James

James (band)

James are a British rock band from Manchester, England. They formed in 1982 and were active throughout the 1980s, but most successful during the 1990s. Their hit singles include "Come Home", "Sit Down", and "She's a Star" as well as their American College Radio hit "Laid"...

, released in June 1986. The album was produced by Lenny Kaye

Lenny Kaye

Lenny Kaye is an American guitarist, composer and writer who is best known as a member of the Patti Smith Group.- Early life :...

, although the band had originally hoped to work with Brian Eno

Brian Eno

Brian Peter George St. John le Baptiste de la Salle Eno , commonly known as Brian Eno or simply as Eno , is an English musician, composer, record producer, singer and visual artist, known as one of the principal innovators of ambient music.Eno studied at Colchester Institute art school in Essex,...

. After a bidding war between a number of labels, the album was released on Blanco y Negro

Blanco y Negro

Blanco y Negro can refer to* Blanco y Negro in Spain.* Blanco y Negro Music, a record label in Spain.* Blanco y Negro Records, a record label in the U.K....

, part of Sire

Sire Records

Sire Records is an American record label, owned by Warner Music Group and distributed through Warner Bros. Records.-Beginnings:The label was founded in 1966 as Sire Productions by Seymour Stein and Richard Gottehrer, each investing ten thousand dollars into the new company. Its early releases as a...

. Artwork was provided by John Carroll. The album initially received positive responses in the UK

United Kingdom

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...

 and Germany

Germany

Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...

 where it was voted second best album of the year by writers (and 16th by readers) of the influential indie magazine Spex

Spex (magazine)

Spex is a prominent German rock and pop culture magazine located in Berlin, Germany. Besides music news, Spex also covers literature, cinema, fashion and contemporary social trends...

.http://home.rhein-zeitung.de/~tommi.s/index.htm Allmusic called it "Thin, spiky, jagged folk music" and commented on the performances by the band: "Tim Booth

Tim Booth

Timothy John Booth is an English singer, dancer, and actor best known as the lead singer from the band James.-1980s:Booth was born in Bradford, West Yorkshire, England and attended Shrewsbury School...

 is a mere bystander to his wild vocals while the rest of the band watch Gavan Whelan have an absolute fit on — what sounds like — four drum kits at once. This is shoddy, shameless chaos. Nothing more than a terribly produced mess of tragic rock-star baiting and deliberate discordance. An amazing debut."[]

Track listing

All songs written by James.

1. "Skullduggery" – 2:43
2. "Scarecrow" – 3:00
3. "So Many Ways
   So Many Ways (James song)
   "So Many Ways" is a single by Mancunian band James, released in July 1986 by Sire Records, the second after the band defected from Factory Records. The record was released in two different versions, as 7" single and 12" EP, with different artworks by John Carroll...
   
   " – 3:46
4. "Just Hip" – 1:46
5. "Johnny Yen" – 3:41
6. "Summer Song" – 4:16
7. "Really Hard" – 4:13
8. "Billy's Shirts" – 3:27
9. "Why So Close" – 3:48
10. "Withdrawn" – 3:42
11. "Black Hole" – 5:29

Note: The song "Stutter", later released on the live album One Man Clapping

One Man Clapping

One Man Clapping was the third album from English band James, a live album released in March 1989. The album was recorded at the Moles Club, Bath, UK on the 14 and 15 November 1988. The album was issued on their own One Man imprint of Rough Trade Records, after parting company with Blanco y...

, had already been performed live by the time of recording, but was not included on this, or any other, studio album by James.

Release details

• UK 12" Vinyl – Blanco y Negro/Sire (JIMLP 1)
• UK Cassette – Blanco y Negro/Sire (JIMC 1)
• UK CD – Blanco y Negro/Sire (JIMCD 1)
• UK CD (May 1991 re-release) – Sire (7599-25437-2)