''Book of Days'' is the sixth studio album by the English

rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wales ...

band

the Psychedelic Furs The Psychedelic Furs are a post-punk band founded in London in February 1977. Led by lead vocalist Richard Butler and his brother Tim Butler on bass guitar, the Psychedelic Furs are one of the many acts spawned from the British post-punk scene ...

, released in 1989 by

Columbia Records Columbia Records is an American record label owned by Sony Music, Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America, the North American division of Japanese Conglomerate (company), conglomerate Sony. It was founded on Janua ...

. It reached No. 74 on the

UK Albums Chart The Official Albums Chart is a list of albums ranked by physical and digital sales and (from March 2015) audio streaming in the United Kingdom. It was published for the first time on 22 July 1956 and is compiled every week by the Official Charts C ...

and No. 138 on the US ''Billboard'' 200. Two singles were released from the album, "Should God Forget" and "House", which peaked at No. 8 and No. 1, respectively, on the ''Billboard''

Modern Rock Tracks Alternative Airplay (formerly known as Modern Rock Tracks (1988–2009) and Alternative Songs (2009–2020)) is a music chart in the United States that has appeared in ''Billboard'' magazine since September 10, 1988. It ranks the 40 most-played ...

chart. "House" also reached No. 90 in the

UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...

Production

The album was coproduced by

David M. Allen David M. Allen (born 26 June 1953) is an English record producer, engineer and mixer. He is mostly known for his work with new wave, synth-pop and goth rock bands including the Cure, the Sisters of Mercy, the Chameleons, Depeche Mode, the Mis ...

. It marked the return of original bandmember Vince Ely.

Critical reception

The ''

St. Petersburg Times The ''Tampa Bay Times'', previously named the ''St. Petersburg Times'' until 2011, is an American newspaper published in St. Petersburg, Florida, United States. It has won fourteen Pulitzer Prizes since 1964, and in 2009, won two in a single ...

'' noted that "the Furs often sound downright metallic, kicking out churning, noisome arrangements and hard-rock riffs." ''

The Boston Globe ''The Boston Globe'' is an American daily newspaper founded and based in Boston, Massachusetts. The newspaper has won a total of 27 Pulitzer Prizes, and has a total circulation of close to 300,000 print and digital subscribers. ''The Boston Glob ...

'' deemed the album "dense, murky, agitated, hauntingly pretty and lush in places, generally caustic." The ''

Toronto Star The ''Toronto Star'' is a Canadian English-language broadsheet daily newspaper. The newspaper is the country's largest daily newspaper by circulation. It is owned by Toronto Star Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary of Torstar Corporation and part ...

'' determined that the album "merits the attention of longtime fans, if only for the raw, anxious intensity that has sprung anew in Richard Butler's doom-laden voice." The ''

Spin Alternative Record Guide The ''Spin Alternative Record Guide'' is a music reference book compiled by the American music magazine '' Spin'' and published in 1995 by Vintage Books. It was edited by rock critic Eric Weisbard and Craig Marks, who was the magazine's editor-i ...

'' panned

's "muddy mix," writing that "Butler's voice has never come across so biteless and small."

Track listing

All lyrics written by Richard Butler; all music composed by the Psychedelic Furs. # "Shine" - 4:03 # "Entertain Me" - 5:00 # "Book of Days" - 5:11 # "Should God Forget" - 4:21 # "Torch" - 4:49 # "Parade" - 4:45 # "Mother-Son" - 4:07 # "House" - 5:12 # "Wedding" - 4:19 # "I Don't Mine" - 3:15

Personnel

;The Psychedelic Furs * Richard Butler - vocals *

Tim Butler Timothy George Butler (born 7 December 1958) is an English musician and songwriter. He is the bass player, and co-founder of the Psychedelic Furs. He is also the youngest of three brothers. Richard, the eldest, is the lead singer of the Psych ...

- bass guitar *

John Ashton John Ashton may refer to: Entertainment * John Ashton (composer) (1830–1896), Welsh musician * Will Ashton (John William Ashton, 1881–1963), British-Australian artist and art director * John Rowland Ashton (1917–2008), English author * John ...

- guitar * Vince Ely - drums ;Additional personnel *

Anthony Thistlethwaite Anthony "Anto" Thistlethwaite (born 31 August 1955, Lutterworth, Leicestershire, England) is a British multi-instrumentalist best known as a founding member (with guitarist Mike Scott) of the folk rock group, The Waterboys and later as a long ...

* Emily Burridge * Gena Dry *

Jem Finer Jeremy Max Finer (born 20 July 1955) is an English musician, artist and composer. He was one of the founding members of The Pogues. Life and career Finer was born in Stoke-on-Trent, England, the son of political scientist Samuel Finer. He took ...

Joe McGinty Joe McGinty is an American composer, keyboardist and arranger who was born in Atlantic City, New Jersey. McGinty is most widely known for his five years as the keyboardist for The Psychedelic Furs (after a brief stint with Robert Hazard in Philad ...

- keyboards * John Hymas *

Knox Chandler Knox Chandler is an American musician known primarily as a guitarist, though he also plays cello, keyboards and other instruments. He has worked extensively as a session musician. In the early to mid-1970s, Chandler attended the Hammonasset Scho ...

- guitar ;Technical *Roy Spong - engineer *Allan D. Martin, Richard Butler - cover design *Allan D. Martin, Peter Robathan - photography

Charts

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Book Of Days The Psychedelic Furs albums 1989 albums Columbia Records albums Albums produced by David M. Allen