''Boylan Heights'' is the second
album
An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as Digital distribution#Music, digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early ...
by the American pop/rock band
the Connells. It was released in 1987, and was their first for
TVT Records
TVT Records (Tee-Vee Tunes) was an American record label founded by Steve Gottlieb. Over the course of its 24-year history, the label released 25 Gold, Platinum and Multi-Platinum releases. Its roster included Nine Inch Nails, Ja Rule, Lil Jon, ...
. The title of the album references the historic
Boylan Heights neighborhood of
Raleigh, North Carolina
Raleigh (; ) is the capital city of the state of North Carolina and the List of North Carolina county seats, seat of Wake County, North Carolina, Wake County in the United States. It is the List of municipalities in North Carolina, second-most ...
.
Production
The album was recorded at
Drive-In Studio
Drive-In Studio was a recording studio in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, founded by Mitch Easter in July 1980, shortly after the break-up of his band The dB's. R.E.M.'s debut single, " Radio Free Europe" (1981), and their first extended play ...
, and was produced by
Mitch Easter.
Critical 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 databas ...
praised the album as an improvement on the previous effort, noting the influences of
Southern rock and
Celtic rock.
[ '']Trouser Press
''Trouser Press'' was a rock and roll magazine started in New York in 1974 as a mimeographed fanzine by editor/publisher Ira Robbins, fellow fan of the Who Dave Schulps and Karen Rose under the name "Trans-Oceanic Trouser Press" (a reference to ...
'' wrote that "the band has matured into a distinctive enough unit to do justice to Michael’s yearning collegiate considerations of love, war and alienation." '' MusicHound Rock: The Essential Album Guide'' deemed ''Boylan Heights'' "one of the most distinctive college rock albums of the '80s."[ The '']Orlando Sentinel
The ''Orlando Sentinel'' is the primary newspaper of Orlando, Florida, and the Central Florida region. It was founded in 1876 and is currently owned by Tribune Publishing Company.
The ''Orlando Sentinel'' is owned by parent company, '' Tribune P ...
'' called it "a collection of warmly energetic and melodic rockers."
Track listing
All songs by Mike Connell, except "Home Today" by George Huntley.
# "Scotty's Lament" - 3:24
# "Choose A Side" - 3:44
# "Try" - 3:17
# "Just Like Us"- 3:28
# "If It Crumbles" - 3:43
# "Pawns" - 3:24
# "Over There" - 3:29
# "Elegance" - 3:40
# "Home Today" - 3:28
# "OT² (Instrumental)" - 2:52
# "I Suppose" - 4:50
Personnel
;The Connells
* Doug MacMillan - lead vocals
* Mike Connell - guitar, backing vocals
* George Huntley - guitar, backing vocals, keyboards; lead vocals on ''"Home Today"''
* David Connell - bass
* Peele Wimberley - drums
;Additional personnel
* Mitch Easter - producer
* Bill Spencer - trumpet
* Angie Carlson - Hammond organ
The Hammond organ is an electric organ invented by Laurens Hammond and John M. Hanert and first manufactured in 1935. Multiple models have been produced, most of which use sliding drawbars to vary sounds. Until 1975, Hammond organs generated s ...
* Molly Leach - design
* Lane Smith - illustration
* Steve Wilson - photography
References
{{Authority control
The Connells albums
1987 albums
Albums produced by Mitch Easter
TVT Records albums