''Beat Noir'' is fourth studio album by

Spahn Ranch Spahn Ranch, also known as the Spahn Movie Ranch, was a 55-acre (22.3 ha) movie ranch in Los Angeles, California. For a period it was used as a ranch, dairy farm and later movie set during the era of westerns. After a decline in use for filming b ...

, released on October 19, 1998 by

Out of Line Out Of Line Music is an independent record label located in Berlin, Germany. Out of Line is distributed by Rough Trade (Believe Digital) and exclusive partner to publishing giant BMG Rights Management, through sister company Edition Layer Cake. ...

and Sub/Mission Records. It was reissued on November 24 of that year by

Cleopatra Records Cleopatra Records is an American independent record label based in Los Angeles, California. It was founded in 1992 by Brian Perera. The record label has since grown into a family of labels, including Hypnotic Records, Purple Pyramid Records, D ...

. The final track " An Exit" was licensed to

to be released on the various artists compilation '' The Black Bible'' in 1998.

Reception

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databa ...

gave ''Beat Noir'' gave two and a half out of five possible stars. Music critic Dave Thompson said "from the infectious opening riff of "Fire Lives in the Hearts of All Men," to the near reverent melodies entwined within the synth structure of "Ride like Lightning Crash like Thunder," a tight, edgy, yet absolutely hummable album that is solid throughout." Ink 19 was negatively critical of the album's misdirected experimentation and claimed that

Athan Maroulis Athanasios Demetrios Maroulis (born September 22, 1964) is an actor, vocalist and record producer born in Brooklyn, New York. He is the older brother of singer Constantine Maroulis and also has a sister, Anastasia. Athan Maroulis formed the New Y ...

' vocal choices were unsuited for the album's genre.

Track listing

Accolades

Personnel

Adapted from the ''Beat Noir'' liner notes. Spahn Ranch *

Matt Green Matthew Green may refer to: * Matthew Green (British politician) (born 1970), British Liberal Democrat Member of Parliament for Ludlow *Matthew Green (Canadian politician) (born 1980) NDP Member of Parliament for Hamilton Centre and former Hamilton ...

– programming, keyboards, production, mixing * Harry Lewis – percussion *

– lead vocals Additional performers * David J – bass guitar (6, 10) * Eric Powell – programming (1) Production and design *

Mick Cripps Mick is a masculine given name, usually a short form (hypocorism) of Michael. Because of its popularity in Ireland, it is often used in England as a derogatory term for an Irish person or a person of Irish descent. In Australia the meaning broade ...

– design * Eric Fahlborg – mastering *

Steve Tushar Steve Tushar is an American Latin Grammy nominated record producer/remixer and musician. He has been a keyboardist, remixer, programmer and producer for metal band Fear Factory, record producer for Beto Cuevas and Chroma Key, and keyboard player fo ...

–

engineering Engineering is the use of scientific principles to design and build machines, structures, and other items, including bridges, tunnels, roads, vehicles, and buildings. The discipline of engineering encompasses a broad range of more speciali ...

, mixing

Release history

References

External links

''Beat Noir''
at iTunes * {{Authority control 1998 albums Spahn Ranch (band) albums Cleopatra Records albums Out of Line Music albums