''Earth vs the Wildhearts'' is the debut studio album by British

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 Wildhearts The Wildhearts are an English rock band, formed in 1989 in Newcastle upon Tyne. The band's sound is a mixture of hard rock and melodic pop music, often described in the music press as combining influences as diverse as the Beatles and 1980s-e ...

, released in 1993. The title is based on such B-movie titles as ''

Earth vs. the Flying Saucers ''Earth vs. the Flying Saucers'' (a.k.a. ''Invasion of the Flying Saucers'' and ''Flying Saucers from Outer Space'') is a 1956 American science fiction film from Columbia Pictures. It was produced by Charles H. Schneer, directed by Fred F. Sears, ...

'' and ''

Earth vs. the Spider ''Earth vs. the Spider'' (a.k.a. ''The Spider'') is an independently made 1958 American black-and-white science fiction horror film produced and directed by Bert I. Gordon, who also provided the plot upon which the screenplay by George Wort ...

''. The album has been reissued twice: first in 1994 with the addition of the formerly single-only track "Caffeine Bomb", and again in 2010 with several B-sides from the period.

Recording

Mick Ronson Michael Ronson (26 May 1946 – 29 April 1993) was an English musician, songwriter, arranger, and producer. He achieved critical and commercial success working with David Bowie as the guitarist of the Spiders from Mars. He was a session music ...

contributed one of the three guitar solos on "My Baby Is a Headfuck". This is believed to be Ronson's final appearance on record before his death on 29 April 1993. "We had the song 'My Baby Is a Headfuck' and it wasn't that great," recalled

Ginger Ginger (''Zingiber officinale'') is a flowering plant whose rhizome, ginger root or ginger, is widely used as a spice A spice is a seed, fruit, root, bark, or other plant substance primarily used for flavoring or coloring food. Spices ...

, "but we thought, 'If we can get Ronson to play a solo on it, then it'll work'… And Ronson wasn't around for very long, but I take solace in that it was the last of his recordings you got to hear… We got him to do one more take of the song because we didn't want him to stop playing. He nailed it the first time; we just wanted to listen to him." Sarah Cutts and Stevie Lange guested on the album at the request of the band, who wished to have a member of

Cardiacs Cardiacs are an English rock band formed in Kingston upon Thames by Tim Smith (lead guitar and vocals) and his brother Jim (bass, backing vocals) in 1977 under the name Cardiac Arrest. The band's sound fused circus, baroque pop and medieval mu ...

and the woman who sang the jingle for the 1990s

Bodyform Libresse is a brand of Essity, specializing in products for period and daily intimate care. Libresse is a global brand, operating under a number of different names in local markets - Bodyform, Nana, Nuvenia, Saba, Nosotras, Libresse, Libra. Essity ...

advert. The

breakdown Breakdown may refer to: Breaking down *Breakdown (vehicle), failure of a motor vehicle in such a way that it cannot be operated *Chemical decomposition, also called chemical breakdown, the breakdown of a substance into simpler components *Decompo ...

on "My Baby Is a Headfuck" uses

the riff ''The Riff'' was an Australian music video request television show that aired 6 days on Channel hosted by Billy Russell, Danny Clayton, Carissa Walford and Marty Smiley. The show ran from 2013 to 2015. See also * List of Australian music t ...

from the Beatles' "

Day Tripper "Day Tripper" is a song by the English rock band the Beatles that was released as a double A-side single with "We Can Work It Out" in December 1965. The song was written primarily by John Lennon with some contributions from Paul McCartney and ...

Reception and legacy

''Earth vs the Wildhearts'' was voted the best album of 1993 by ''

Kerrang! ''Kerrang!'' is a British weekly magazine devoted to rock, punk and heavy metal music, currently published by Wasted Talent (the same company that owns electronic music publication ''Mixmag''). It was first published on 6 June 1981 as a one- ...

'' magazine in their yearly poll. In 2006, ''Kerrang!'' rated it #20 in a special publication of the best Rock Albums.

Billy Morrison Billy Morrison is a British guitarist and singer who plays guitar with Billy Idol and performs with the Los Angeles-based cover band Royal Machines. Morrison previously played with Camp Freddy and fronted the hard rock act Circus Diablo. He ...

of Camp Freddy and

Circus Diablo Circus Diablo is an American rock band formed in early 2006 by Billy Morrison (vocals), Billy Duffy (lead guitar) and Ricky Warwick (rhythm guitar). Fuel frontman Brett Scallions and Velvet Revolver drummer Matt Sorum subsequently joined the b ...

states that ''Earth vs the Wildhearts'' is one of his favourite albums of all time. On the 15th anniversary of the album's release, in 2008, the Wildhearts toured, playing the original version of the album in its entirety. On its 20th anniversary, in 2013, the Wildhearts reformed for a tour in which the original version of the album was played in its entirety nightly, followed by a second set of songs chosen by the audience. One of the gigs on that tour, at Rock City in Nottingham, was recorded for the 2014 live album, '' Rock City vs The Wildhearts''. In 2018, the band went on a short tour playing the album in full, for its 25th anniversary.

Track listing

Personnel

Credits adapted from liner notes. The Wildhearts *

–

vocals Singing is the act of creating musical sounds with the voice. A person who sings is called a singer, artist or vocalist (in jazz and/or popular music). Singers perform music (arias, recitatives, songs, etc.) that can be sung with or without ...

guitar The guitar is a fretted musical instrument that typically has six strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming or plucking the strings with the dominant hand, while simultaneously pressing selected stri ...

* C. J. – guitar, vocals *

Danny McCormack Danny McCormack (born 28 February 1972 in South Shields) is an English singer and bassist. Biography McCormack became the bass player in The Wildhearts in 1991, and soon relocated to London with the band, enjoying success during their commerc ...

– bass * Stidi –

drums A drum kit (also called a drum set, trap set, or simply drums) is a collection of drums, cymbals, and other Percussion instrument, auxiliary percussion instruments set up to be played by one person. The player (drummer) typically holds a pair o ...

Additional musicians * Willie Dowling – piano, keyboards * Ritch Battersby – drums on "Caffeine Bomb" *

Stevie Lange Stevie Vann (born Stevie van Kerken), also known as Stevie Lange, is a Zambian singer and vocal coach. She is best known for her work as a backing vocalist and studio singer for many groups and solo performers in the 1970s and 1980s. As lead vocal ...

–

backing vocals A backing vocalist is a singer who provides vocal harmony with the lead vocalist or other backing vocalists. A backing vocalist may also sing alone as a lead-in to the main vocalist's entry or to sing a counter-melody. Backing vocalists are use ...

on "Loveshit" *

–

guitar solo A guitar solo is a melodic passage, instrumental section, or entire piece of music, pre-written (or improvised) to be played on a classical guitar, electric guitar or an acoustic guitar. In 20th and 21st century traditional music and popular m ...

on "My Baby Is a Headfuck" * Sarah Smith –

saxophone The saxophone (often referred to colloquially as the sax) is a type of single-reed woodwind instrument with a conical body, usually made of brass. As with all single-reed instruments, sound is produced when a reed on a mouthpiece vibrates to pr ...

on "Greetings from Shitsville" Production * The Wildhearts –

production Production may refer to: Economics and business * Production (economics) * Production, the act of manufacturing goods * Production, in the outline of industrial organization, the act of making products (goods and services) * Production as a stati ...

* Mike "Spike" Drake – mixing, production * Ted Jensen – mastering * KK –

engineering Engineering is the use of scientific method, 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 rang ...

Mark Dodson Mark may refer to: Currency * Bosnia and Herzegovina convertible mark, the currency of Bosnia and Herzegovina * East German mark, the currency of the German Democratic Republic * Estonian mark, the currency of Estonia between 1918 and 1927 * Fin ...

– engineering, mixing and production on "Suckerpunch" *

Simon Efemey Simon Efemey is an English record producer, most noted for his work with metal and hard rock groups, including Napalm Death, Paradise Lost, Obituary, Amorphis, Deceased and The Wildhearts. He has also provided live sound mixing with bands inclu ...

– production on "Caffeine Bomb" * Ian Huffam – engineering on "Suckerpunch"

References

External links

* The Wildhearts: Biographyon

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 ...

DO ANYTHING: The Life and Times of the Wildhearts
{{Authority control The Wildhearts albums 1993 albums East West Records albums Bronze Records albums