Tin Machine II
Encyclopedia
Tin Machine II is an album by Tin Machine
, originally released by Victory Music in 1991.
, recording most of the album before taking a rest while David Bowie
conducted his solo Sound+Vision Tour and filmed The Linguini Incident
. In describing this album, Reeves Gabrels said "this album is as aggressive as the first one, but the songs are more melodic. Last time, we were screaming at the world. This time, I think, they're all love songs in a strange kind of way."
Guitarist Reeves Gabrels later stated that at the time he was deeply into Nine Inch Nails
' album Pretty Hate Machine
and was looking for an industrial edge to his own guitar work for the album. Ultimately (after recording track after track of guitar noise), he found a "shard of guitar noise" that he liked and used it on the album track "Shopping for Girls."
The album track "If There Is Something" was originally recorded during the sessions for the first Tin Machine album but didn't come out satisfactorily, so it was shelved until this album.
The group signed to Victory Music and added three further tracks in Los Angeles, with Hugh Padgham
(producer of Bowie's 1984 album Tonight) overseeing the song "One Shot". The album was issued in September 1991. Hunt Sales
took lead vocals on two tracks: "Stateside" and "Sorry."
The song "Betty Wrong" featured in the film "The Crossing
" (1990).
, Tin Machine II peaked at #23 in the UK and #126 in the USA. It received generally poor reviews on release, although they achieved success on the Modern Rock
chart in the USA, where "Baby Universal" reached #21, and "One Shot" became an even bigger hit, reaching #3. Q magazine
stated that this album didn't "quite match up to their wonderfully overwrought but sadly underbought debut," while praising such individual tracks such as "If There Was Something," "You Belong in Rock 'n' Roll" and "Shopping for Girls." There were positive reviews, with one reviewer findng the album "a return to raw form" and called it "the best music Bowie's released since 1980's Scary Monsters
." Another critic praised Gabrels' guitar work as "two parts Robert Fripp, one part Eddie Van Halen and one part speeding ambulance" in a review that also praised the album.
In the years after the album's release, some critics have suggested that the album was "unjustly" harshly reviewed at the time of its release.
The band supported the album with a seven-month tour called the "It's My Life Tour
."
statues. "Even Canada has the original cover," Bowie said, "Only in America..." Bowie floated the idea of allowing American album-buyers to send away to the record company for the genitalia that were struck from their version of the cover, but the label balked. He said "then [the fans] could paste them back on. But the label freaked out at the idea. Sending genitals through the mail is a serious offense."
and Reeves Gabrels
except where noted.
"Hammerhead", a short instrumental, is an unlisted track and an edit from the longer vocal version that was issued as the B-side
for the single release of "You Belong in Rock 'n' Roll".
Tin Machine
Tin Machine was a hard rock band formed in 1988, famous for being fronted by singer David Bowie. The group recorded two studio albums before dissolving in 1992, when Bowie returned to his solo career...
, originally released by Victory Music in 1991.
Recording
The band reconvened following their 1989 tourTin Machine Tour
The Tin Machine Tour of David Bowie's band Tin Machine commenced on 14 June 1989, following a performance of Heaven's In Here at the International Music Awards in New York City on 31 May 1989. The tour comprised 12 performances in six countries in venues with a capacity of 2,000 or less...
, recording most of the album before taking a rest while David Bowie
David Bowie
David Bowie is an English musician, actor, record producer and arranger. A major figure for over four decades in the world of popular music, Bowie is widely regarded as an innovator, particularly for his work in the 1970s...
conducted his solo Sound+Vision Tour and filmed The Linguini Incident
The Linguini Incident
The Linguini Incident is a 1991 American comedic film set in New York starring David Bowie and Rosanna Arquette. The film was directed by Richard Shepard, who co-wrote the script with Tamar Brott...
. In describing this album, Reeves Gabrels said "this album is as aggressive as the first one, but the songs are more melodic. Last time, we were screaming at the world. This time, I think, they're all love songs in a strange kind of way."
Guitarist Reeves Gabrels later stated that at the time he was deeply into Nine Inch Nails
Nine Inch Nails
Nine Inch Nails is an American industrial rock project, founded in 1988 by Trent Reznor in Cleveland, Ohio. As its main producer, singer, songwriter, and instrumentalist, Reznor is the only official member of Nine Inch Nails and remains solely responsible for its direction...
' album Pretty Hate Machine
Pretty Hate Machine
Pretty Hate Machine is the debut album by American industrial rock act Nine Inch Nails, released October 20, 1989, on TVT Records. Pretty Hate Machine is compiled of reworked tracks from the Purest Feeling demo, as well as tracks recorded after its recording...
and was looking for an industrial edge to his own guitar work for the album. Ultimately (after recording track after track of guitar noise), he found a "shard of guitar noise" that he liked and used it on the album track "Shopping for Girls."
The album track "If There Is Something" was originally recorded during the sessions for the first Tin Machine album but didn't come out satisfactorily, so it was shelved until this album.
The group signed to Victory Music and added three further tracks in Los Angeles, with Hugh Padgham
Hugh Padgham
Hugh Padgham is a British record producer. He has won many awards, including four Grammys, with Producer of the Year and Engineer of the Year. A 1992 poll in Mix magazine voted him one of the world's Top Ten Most Influential Producers....
(producer of Bowie's 1984 album Tonight) overseeing the song "One Shot". The album was issued in September 1991. Hunt Sales
Hunt Sales
Hunt Sales is an American rock and roll drummer who has played with Todd Rundgren, his brother Tony Sales, Iggy Pop and Tin Machine.- Personal life : Hunt Sales is the son of 1950s/60s television comedian Soupy Sales...
took lead vocals on two tracks: "Stateside" and "Sorry."
The song "Betty Wrong" featured in the film "The Crossing
The Crossing (1990 film)
The Crossing is a 1990 Australian drama film directed by George Ogilvie and starring Russell Crowe, Robert Mammone and Danielle Spencer, which was filmed in the towns of Junee and Condobolin in New South Wales.-Box office:...
" (1990).
Release and reviews
Less successful than the band's debut album Tin MachineTin Machine (album)
Tin Machine is the debut album of Tin Machine originally released by EMI in 1989. The group was the latest venture of David Bowie, inspired by sessions with guitarist Reeves Gabrels...
, Tin Machine II peaked at #23 in the UK and #126 in the USA. It received generally poor reviews on release, although they achieved success on the Modern Rock
Modern Rock Tracks
Alternative Songs is a music chart in the United States that has appeared in Billboard magazine since September 10, 1988. It lists the 40 most-played songs on modern rock radio stations, most of which are alternative rock songs...
chart in the USA, where "Baby Universal" reached #21, and "One Shot" became an even bigger hit, reaching #3. Q magazine
Q (magazine)
Q is a popular music magazine published monthly in the United Kingdom.Founders Mark Ellen and David Hepworth were dismayed by the music press of the time, which they felt was ignoring a generation of older music buyers who were buying CDs — then still a new technology...
stated that this album didn't "quite match up to their wonderfully overwrought but sadly underbought debut," while praising such individual tracks such as "If There Was Something," "You Belong in Rock 'n' Roll" and "Shopping for Girls." There were positive reviews, with one reviewer findng the album "a return to raw form" and called it "the best music Bowie's released since 1980's Scary Monsters
Scary Monsters (and Super Creeps)
Scary Monsters is an album by David Bowie, released in September 1980 by RCA Records. It was Bowie's final studio album for the label and his first following the so-called Berlin Trilogy of Low, "Heroes" and Lodger . Though considered significant in artistic terms, the trilogy had proved less...
." Another critic praised Gabrels' guitar work as "two parts Robert Fripp, one part Eddie Van Halen and one part speeding ambulance" in a review that also praised the album.
In the years after the album's release, some critics have suggested that the album was "unjustly" harshly reviewed at the time of its release.
The band supported the album with a seven-month tour called the "It's My Life Tour
It's My Life Tour
The Tin Machine It's My Life Tour opened on 5 October 1991 after two warm-up shows, one press show and three trade-industry shows. The concert tour itinerary took in twelve countries and sixty-nine performances, a larger outing than the low-key Tin Machine Tour of 1989...
."
Album cover censorship
For the American release of the album, the cover was airbrushed to remove the genitalia of the KouroiKouros
A kouros is the modern term given to those representations of male youths which first appear in the Archaic period in Greece. The term kouros, meaning youth, was first proposed for what were previously thought to be depictions of Apollo by V. I...
statues. "Even Canada has the original cover," Bowie said, "Only in America..." Bowie floated the idea of allowing American album-buyers to send away to the record company for the genitalia that were struck from their version of the cover, but the label balked. He said "then [the fans] could paste them back on. But the label freaked out at the idea. Sending genitals through the mail is a serious offense."
Track listing
All songs written by David BowieDavid Bowie
David Bowie is an English musician, actor, record producer and arranger. A major figure for over four decades in the world of popular music, Bowie is widely regarded as an innovator, particularly for his work in the 1970s...
and Reeves Gabrels
Reeves Gabrels
Reeves Gabrels is an American guitarist, known for virtuosity, versatility, and originality. His compositions and improvisations defy genre and "explore sonic extremes with a great, adaptive intuition for what each song needs most."...
except where noted.
- "Baby UniversalBaby Universal"Baby Universal" is a song by Tin Machine, released as a single from their Tin Machine II album in October 1991. It was to be the band's final release before singer David Bowie resumed his solo career....
" – 3:18 - "One Shot" – 5:11
- "You Belong in Rock n' Roll" – 4:07
- "If There Is SomethingIf There Is Something"If There Is Something" is a song by Bryan Ferry, recorded by his band Roxy Music for their eponymous debut album. A live version can be found on their Viva! live-album....
" (Bryan FerryBryan FerryBryan Ferry, CBE is an English singer, musician, and songwriter. Ferry came to public prominence in the early 1970s as lead vocalist and principal songwriter with the band Roxy Music, who enjoyed a highly successful career with three number one albums and ten singles entering the top ten charts in...
) – 4:45 - "Amlapura" – 3:46
- "Betty Wrong" – 3:48
- "You Can't Talk" – 3:09
- "Stateside" (Bowie, Hunt SalesHunt SalesHunt Sales is an American rock and roll drummer who has played with Todd Rundgren, his brother Tony Sales, Iggy Pop and Tin Machine.- Personal life : Hunt Sales is the son of 1950s/60s television comedian Soupy Sales...
) – 5:38 - "Shopping for Girls" – 3:44
- "A Big Hurt" (Bowie) – 3:40
- "Sorry" (H. Sales) – 3:29
- "Goodbye Mr. Ed" (Bowie, H. Sales, Tony SalesTony Sales|Tony Fox Sales is an American rock musician. A bass guitarist, Sales and his brother, Hunt Sales, played with Todd Rundgren, Iggy Pop and Tin Machine with David Bowie.-Early life and career:...
) – 3:24 - "Hammerhead" (hidden trackHidden trackIn the field of recorded music, a hidden track is a piece of music that has been placed on a CD, audio cassette, vinyl record or other recorded medium in such a way as to avoid detection by the casual listener...
) (Bowie, H. Sales) – 0:57
"Hammerhead", a short instrumental, is an unlisted track and an edit from the longer vocal version that was issued as the B-side
A-side and B-side
A-side and B-side originally referred to the two sides of gramophone records on which singles were released beginning in the 1950s. The terms have come to refer to the types of song conventionally placed on each side of the record, with the A-side being the featured song , while the B-side, or...
for the single release of "You Belong in Rock 'n' Roll".
Personnel
- David BowieDavid BowieDavid Bowie is an English musician, actor, record producer and arranger. A major figure for over four decades in the world of popular music, Bowie is widely regarded as an innovator, particularly for his work in the 1970s...
– lead vocals, guitar, piano, saxophoneSaxophoneThe saxophone is a conical-bore transposing musical instrument that is a member of the woodwind family. Saxophones are usually made of brass and played with a single-reed mouthpiece similar to that of the clarinet. The saxophone was invented by the Belgian instrument maker Adolphe Sax in 1846... - Reeves GabrelsReeves GabrelsReeves Gabrels is an American guitarist, known for virtuosity, versatility, and originality. His compositions and improvisations defy genre and "explore sonic extremes with a great, adaptive intuition for what each song needs most."...
– lead guitar, backing vocals, vibratorsVibrator (music)The vibrator pedal is an effects pedal present on some musical instruments, which is similar to a vibrato, chorus, or autopan, it combines a modulation sequence with a noise gate or envelope filter to create an effect not unlike a helicopter, with rapid cutting out and coming in—on and off...
, organOrgan (music)The organ , is a keyboard instrument of one or more divisions, each played with its own keyboard operated either with the hands or with the feet. The organ is a relatively old musical instrument in the Western musical tradition, dating from the time of Ctesibius of Alexandria who is credited with... - Hunt SalesHunt SalesHunt Sales is an American rock and roll drummer who has played with Todd Rundgren, his brother Tony Sales, Iggy Pop and Tin Machine.- Personal life : Hunt Sales is the son of 1950s/60s television comedian Soupy Sales...
– drums, percussion, backing vocals, lead vocals on "Stateside" and "Sorry" - Tony SalesTony Sales|Tony Fox Sales is an American rock musician. A bass guitarist, Sales and his brother, Hunt Sales, played with Todd Rundgren, Iggy Pop and Tin Machine with David Bowie.-Early life and career:...
– bass, backing vocals - Kevin Armstrong – rhythm guitar on "If There Is Something", piano on "Shopping for Girls"
- Tim PalmerTim PalmerTim Palmer is a British music producer, audio engineer and songwriter of rock and alternative music.-1980-1990:Palmer worked as an assistant engineer at Utopia Studios in London, England in the early 1980s...
– percussion, additional piano
Charts
Album| Year | Chart | Position |
|---|---|---|
| 1991 | Norway's album Charts | 14 |