''Expecting to Fly'' is the debut studio album by

the Bluetones The Bluetones are an English indie rock band, formed in Hounslow, Greater London, in 1993. The band's members are Mark Morriss on vocals, Adam Devlin on guitar, Mark's brother Scott Morriss on bass guitar, and Eds Chesters on drums. A fifth m ...

. It was released on 12 February 1996, knocking Oasis's ''

(What's the Story) Morning Glory? ''(What's the Story) Morning Glory?'' is the second studio album by English rock band Oasis. Released on 2 October 1995 by Creation Records, it was produced by Owen Morris and the group's guitarist and main songwriter Noel Gallagher. The str ...

'' off the number-one spot in 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 ...

for a week. The album is currently certified Platinum by the BPI. Its singles were "Bluetonic", "

Slight Return "Slight Return" is a song by English indie rock band the Bluetones, released as the second single from their 1996 debut album, '' Expecting to Fly''. Re-released as a solo single on 22 January 1996, it was originally issued as a double-A-side w ...

" and " Cut Some Rug". A 2 CD Expanded Edition of the album was released on 9 March 2009.

Production

The majority of ''Expecting to Fly'' was recorded at

Ridge Farm Studio Ridge Farm Studio was one of the earliest residential recording studios in the United Kingdom. The studio operated for over twenty-five years and had artists, musicians, and producers from all over the world record and produce music there. The ...

s in mid 1995, except for "Talking to Clarry", which was done in late 1995. Hugh Jones produced the sessions, and mixed the recordings with engineer Helen Woodward. The album was later mastered by Geoff Pesche.

Reception

Sam Taylor in '' Q'' wrote, "Perhaps the most accomplished rock debut album since ''

The Stone Roses The Stone Roses were an English rock band formed in Manchester in 1983. One of the pioneering groups of the Madchester movement in the late 1980s and early 1990s, the band's classic and most prominent lineup consisted of vocalist Ian Brown, ...

'' in 1989, ''Expecting to Fly'' avoids the usual primitive drive of first recordings, in favour of technical brilliance and adventurous songwriting... a classic rock album." ''

List A ''list'' is any set of items in a row. List or lists may also refer to: People * List (surname) Organizations * List College, an undergraduate division of the Jewish Theological Seminary of America * SC Germania List, German rugby unio ...

'' journalist Brian Donaldson likened The Bluetones to "a Squeeze for the 90s", and noted that the record has "excellence exhibited throughout". David Sinclair of ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first known for its ...

'' called the album "an accomplished and varied collection of guitar-based tunes with a solid charm rooted in the best traditions of English alternative pop—no more, but certainly no less." '' Melody Maker'' placed it at no. 19 on their list of 1996's Albums of the Year. ''

NME ''New Musical Express'' (''NME'') is a British music, film, gaming, and culture website and brand. Founded as a newspaper in 1952, with the publication being referred to as a 'rock inkie', the NME would become a magazine that ended up as a f ...

'' ranked the LP at no. 11 in their 1996 critic poll.

Commercial performance

''Expecting to Fly'' entered the

at number one on first-week sales of 82,000. The album was certified platinum by the BPI in March 1998 for sales of 300,000.

Track listing

All tracks written by Morriss, Chesters, Devlin, Morriss, except where noted. # "Talking to Clarry" – 6:52 # "Bluetonic" – 4:08 (Morriss, Chesters, Devlin, Morriss,

Mitchell Mitchell may refer to: People *Mitchell (surname) *Mitchell (given name) Places Australia * Mitchell, Australian Capital Territory, a light-industrial estate * Mitchell, New South Wales, a suburb of Bathurst * Mitchell, Northern Territo ...

) # " Cut Some Rug" – 4:32 # "Things Change" – 5:38 # "The Fountainhead" – 4:35 # "Carnt Be Trusted" – 3:50 # "

" – 3:21 # "Putting Out Fires" – 6:22 # "Vampire" – 4:32 # "A Parting Gesture" – 4:40 # "Time & Again" – 5:09 Collector's edition disc 2 # "A Parting Guesture" ( R1 ''The John Peel Show'', 1994) # "Cut Some Rug" (R1 ''The John Peel Show'', 1994) # "Bluetonic" (R1 ''The Mark Radcliffe Show'', May 1995) # "Are You Blue or Are You Blind?" (R1 ''The Mark Radcliffe Show'', May 1995) # "Fountainhead" (R1 ''The Mark Radcliffe Show'', May 1995) # "Time & Again" (R1 ''The Mark Radcliffe Show'', May 1995) # "Driftwood" (R1 ''The Evening Session'', July 1995) # "Can't Be Trusted" (R1 ''The Evening Session'', July 1995) # "Are You Blue or Are You Blind?" (Sound City 1995 Bristol) # "Cut Some Rug" (Sound City 1995 Bristol) # "Can't Be Trusted" (Sound City 1995 Bristol) # "Bluetonic" (Sound City 1995 Bristol) # "Time & Again" (Sound City 1995 Bristol)

Personnel

Personnel per booklet. The Bluetones * Scott Morriss – bass, backing vocals * Adam Devlin – guitar,

12 string guitar A twelve-string guitar (or 12-string guitar) is a steel-string guitar with 12 strings in six courses, which produces a thicker, more ringing tone than a standard six-string guitar. Typically, the strings of the lower four courses are tuned in o ...

Mark Morriss Mark James Morriss (born 18 October 1971) is an English singer and songwriter, best known as the frontman for The Bluetones. He is the older brother of bandmate and bass player/illustrator Scott Morriss. He has released four solo albums, worke ...

– vocals *

Eds Chesters Edward "Eds" Daniel Chesters (born 24 October 1970 in Bishop Auckland, County Durham) is an English drummer, currently living in West London and best known as a member of The Bluetones. He also works as a mobile osteopath in Ealing and is a me ...

– drums, percussion Additional musicians * Caroline LaVelle – cello (track 8) * Dan Crompton –

blues harp The Richter-tuned harmonica, or 10-hole harmonica (in Asia) or blues harp (in America), is the most widely known type of harmonica. It is a variety of diatonic harmonica, with ten holes which offer the player 19 notes (10 holes times a draw and ...

(track 10) * Mac McEldon – clavinet (track 4) Production * Hugh Jones – producer, mixing * Helen Woodward – mixing engineer * Geoff Pesche – mastering Design * Superstock – front cover photography * Marc Newman – front cover photography * Roger Sargent – band photography * Scott Morriss – additional photography * Trevor Ray Hart – additional photography * The Bluetones – artwork concept

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

References

External links

* {{Authority control 1996 debut albums The Bluetones albums Albums produced by Hugh Jones (producer) Jangle pop albums