''Cloudcuckooland'' is the debut album by British band

the Lightning Seeds The Lightning Seeds (also known as Lightning Seeds) are an English rock band formed in Liverpool in 1989 by Ian Broudie (vocals, guitar, producer), formerly of the bands Big in Japan, Care, and Original Mirrors. Originally a studio-based s ...

, released in 1990. "

Pure Pure may refer to: Computing * A pure function * A pure virtual function * PureSystems, a family of computer systems introduced by IBM in 2012 * Pure Software, a company founded in 1991 by Reed Hastings to support the Purify tool * Pure-FTPd, F ...

" was the band's first hit in the United Kingdom, and their only top 40 entry in the United States.

Liverpool Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a populat ...

scene peers

Andy McCluskey George Andrew McCluskey (born 24 June 1959) is an English singer, songwriter, musician and record producer. He is best known as the lead singer and bass guitarist of the electronic band Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark (OMD), which he founded a ...

and

Ian McNabb Robert Ian McNabb (born 3 November 1960) is an English singer-songwriter and musician. Previously the frontman of The Icicle Works, McNabb has since embarked on a solo career and performed with Ringo Starr, Neil Young/Crazy Horse, Mike Scott ...

– frontmen of OMD and

the Icicle Works The Icicle Works (also known as Icicle Works in the United States) are an English alternative rock band and were named after the 1960 short story "The Day the Icicle Works Closed" by science fiction author Frederik Pohl. They had a top 20 UK hi ...

, respectively – appeared in guest roles.

Reception and legacy

Dean Carlson of

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 ...

awarded the album 4/5 stars, and wrote: "Even in these early days, with singles like "Pure" and "All I Want", you can hear why comparisons to a less burlesque Pet Shop Boys or a

Matthew Sweet Sidney Matthew Sweet (born October 6, 1964) is an American alternative rock/power pop singer-songwriter and musician who was part of the burgeoning music scene in Athens, Georgia, during the 1980s before gaining commercial success in the 1990 ...

synth tribute band didn't have to be unpleasant criticisms." "All I Want" was covered by Susanna Hoffs, formerly of

the Bangles The Bangles are an American pop rock band formed in Los Angeles, California, in 1981. The band recorded several singles that reached the U.S. top 10 during the 1980s, including " Manic Monday" (1986), " Walk Like an Egyptian" (1986), "Hazy Shad ...

, on her 1996 album '' Susanna Hoffs''. It was a minor US hit and a UK hit at No. 33 for two weeks.

Track listing

The CD version of ''Cloudcuckooland'' included the extra track "God Help Them", originally a B-side and not on the LP version. The U.S. track listing differs from the UK version with "God Help Them" replaced by the B-sides "Fools" and "Frenzy", and it was released on the MCA label rather than the indie label Ghetto. The re-release of the U.S. album includes a new recording of "All I Want". All songs written by

Ian Broudie Ian Zachary Broudie (born 4 August 1958) is an English musician and singer-songwriter from Liverpool. After emerging from the post-punk scene in Liverpool in the late 1970s as a member of Big in Japan, Broudie went on to produce albums (somet ...

(except where stated). # "All I Want" – 2:50 (Broudie, Peter Coyle) # "Bound in a Nutshell" – 4:29 # "

" – 3:45 # "Sweet Dreams" – 4:25 (Broudie, Richard Jobson) # "The Nearly Man" – 3:06 # "Joy" – 4:13 # "Love Explosion" – 4:10 # "Don't Let Go" – 3:54 # "Control the Flame" – 3:22 (Broudie, Peter Coyle) # "The Price" – 4:20 The track "Sweet Dreams" was released in the U.S. as a promo single on

MCA Records MCA Records was an American record label owned by MCA Inc., which later became part of Universal Music Group. Pre-history MCA Inc., a powerful talent agency and a television production company, entered the recorded music business in 1962 w ...

, which included a cover of

Tim Hardin James Timothy Hardin (December 23, 1941 – December 29, 1980) was an American folk and blues musician and composer. As well as releasing his own material, several of his songs, including " If I Were a Carpenter" and "Reason to Believe", beca ...

's " Hang onto a Dream" and a version of " Flaming Sword", originally by Care, a former band of Broudie.

Bonus tracks

;UK CD bonus track #

"God Help Them" – 3:44 (Broudie, Paul Simpson) ;U.S. bonus tracks #

"Fools" – 4:08

"Frenzy" – 3:56

Personnel

;The Lightning Seeds *

– various instruments, vocals, producer ;Production *

Cenzo Townshend Vincenzo Capellini Townshend (born 28 October 1963) is an English record producer, mixer, and audio engineer, and has worked with artists and bands including the Rolling Stones, a-ha, Kaiser Chiefs, U2, Snow Patrol, Florence and the Machin ...

– engineer * Ian McFarlane – assistant engineer * Paul Cobbold – additional engineer * Pete Coleman – additional engineer *

Simon Rogers Simon Rogers is an English musician, record producer and composer who has been a member of The Fall, and The Lightning Seeds. Biography In 1976, Rogers entered the Royal College of Music, London, later becoming an associate (ARCM) and winn ...

– additional programming * Steve Brown – additional programming *

Greg Fulginiti Gregory Fulginiti (born February 13, 1951 in Cape May Court House section of Middle Township, New Jersey) is an American recording and mastering engineer. Fulginiti grew up in Wildwood, New Jersey and graduated from Wildwood High School in 1969 ...

– mastering ;Additional musicians *

Henry Priestman Henry Christian Priestman (born 21 June 1955 in Kingston upon Hull, East Riding of Yorkshire, England) is an English rock singer, keyboardist, record producer and songwriter. Biography Priestman was educated at Woodleigh School, North Yorkshir ...

– piano on "Bound in a Nutshell", organ on "Control the Flame" * Mickey Kearns – saxophone *

– keyboards *

– backing vocals * Cate Shanks – backing vocals ;Other personnel *

Peter Ashworth Peter Ashworth is an English photographer. Ashworth initially specialized in music photography, between 1979 and 2000. In the 1980s, he worked with many UK artists including The Smiths, Depeche Mode, Eurythmics, Soft Cell, Jimmy Page and The A ...

– photography

Charts

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cloudcuckooland (Album) 1990 debut albums The Lightning Seeds albums Albums produced by Ian Broudie