''Fur'' is the second

album An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early 20th century as individual 78 rpm records co ...

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

singer

Jane Wiedlin Jane Marie Genevieve Wiedlin (born May 20, 1958) is an American musician and singer, best known as the co-founder, rhythm guitarist and backing vocalist of the new wave band The Go-Go's. She has also had a successful solo career. The Go-Go's w ...

, released in 1988. The songs " Rush Hour" and " Inside a Dream" were released as

singles Singles are people not in a committed relationship. Singles may also refer to: Film and television * ''Singles'' (miniseries), a 1984 Australian television series * ''Singles'' (1992 film), written and directed by Cameron Crowe * ''Singles'' ...

and both charted on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100. The album has a slick, contemporary production, with mainly programmed music complemented by

electric guitar An electric guitar is a guitar that requires external amplification in order to be heard at typical performance volumes, unlike a standard acoustic guitar (however combinations of the two - a semi-acoustic guitar and an electric acoustic gu ...

and some

horns Horns or The Horns may refer to: * Plural of Horn (instrument), a group of musical instruments all with a horn-shaped bells * The Horns (Colorado), a summit on Cheyenne Mountain * ''Horns'' (novel), a dark fantasy novel written in 2010 by Joe Hill ...

. The album was written over a period of two years, following the lukewarm response to previous album ''

'' and her subsequent foray into acting. ''Fur'' reached No. 105 on the US ''Billboard'' 200 and spent 21 weeks on the chart.

Songs

Despite the title track addressing the fur trade (''"I don't wear fur/Won't do it/Fur's for fools"''), most of the songs deal with fidelity ("Homeboy"), blossoming love ("One Heart One Way", "Lover's Night") and the fulfilment of ambitions ("Inside a Dream"). "Song of the Factory" differs from these themes with insistent synth lines and a more abstract lyric (''"It is cold/But it is warm/It is one/But not alone"''). Wiedlin's favourite song from the album, it includes a dig at producer

Shep Pettibone Robert "Shep" Pettibone (born 10 July 1959) is an American record producer, remixer, songwriter and club DJ, one of the most prolific of the 1980s. Career Shep Pettibone surfaced after his work with Arthur Baker on Afrika Bambaataa & the Jazz ...

in morse code, in reference to a feud between the renowned remixer and ''Fur'' producer

Stephen Hague Stephen Hague (born 1960) is an American record producer most active with various British acts since the 1980s. Early life Hague was born in Portland, Maine in 1960. Early career Hague started his musical career in the mid-1970s as a session ...

. Both sides of the original

vinyl record A phonograph record (also known as a gramophone record, especially in British English), or simply a record, is an analog sound storage medium in the form of a flat disc with an inscribed, modulated spiral groove. The groove usually starts nea ...

closed with slower love songs: "The End of Love" (which was the B-side to "Rush Hour") and "Whatever It Takes". "Rush Hour" was the first single from the album and reached No. 9 on the US ''Billboard'' Hot 100

billboard.com ''Billboard'' (stylized as ''billboard'') is an American music and entertainment magazine published weekly by Penske Media Corporation. The magazine provides music charts, news, video, opinion, reviews, events, and style related to the music ...

/ref> and No. 12 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 ...

. The next single, "Inside a Dream", was a more modest success, reaching No. 57 in the US and No. 64 in the UK.JANE WIEDLIN , full Official Chart History , Official Charts Company
/ref>

Critical reception

''Fur'' received mixed reviews upon release. In the ''

Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the U ...

'', Steve Hochman wrote: "'Fur' is the perfect title for iedlin'ssecond solo release: like a teddy bear it's warm and cuddly, but with no teeth or claws. Part of the blame goes to producer Stephen Hague, whose synth-pop is all fluff and no character". The album was described as "shimmering mainstream pop ..that is sometimes reminiscent of Madonna" in the ''

Daily News of Los Angeles The ''Los Angeles Daily News'' is the second-largest-circulating paid daily newspaper of Los Angeles, California. It is the flagship of the Southern California News Group, a branch of Colorado-based Digital First Media. The offices of the ''Dai ...

''. The retrospective review on

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 ...

states that "'Rush Hour' and the haunting ballad 'The End of Love' are the best of the lot, with 'Song of the Factory' close behind, but many of the other tracks are filler, and a couple just don't work at all", concluding that "''Fur'' largely sounds like Wiedlin was being led by EMI's A&R team instead of thinking for herself".

/ref>

Track listing

Personnel

*Stephen Hague – producer *David Jacob – co-producer *

Simon Climie Simon Climie (born 7 April 1957) is an English songwriter/producer and the former lead singer of the UK duo Climie Fisher. Biography Climie was born in London. Beginning his career primarily as a songwriter/session musician, Climie found him ...

Tessa Niles Tessa Margaret Niles ( ''née'' Webb; born 27 January 1961 in Ilford, Essex) is an English singer, best known as a backing singer for a wide variety of contemporary artists. She began her professional singing career in 1979. Early life and ca ...

– backing vocals * Neil Taylor – guitar *

The Kick Horns Kick Horns are a UK horn section based in London. They have worked prolifically as session musicians with a wide variety of performers, and have also recorded as an ensemble. The Kick Horns were established in the 1980s by Simon C. Clarke and Ti ...

– horns * Rob Fisher – keyboards *Bruce Smith – percussion

Charts

References

External links

Official web site
{{Authority control 1988 albums Jane Wiedlin albums Albums produced by Stephen Hague Manhattan Records albums