''Hooverdam'' is the seventh studio album by

Hugh Cornwell Hugh Alan Cornwell (born 28 August 1949) is an English musician, singer-songwriter and writer, best known for being the lead vocalist and lead guitarist for the punk rock and new wave band the Stranglers from 1974 to 1990. Since leaving the ...

, released in June 2008 by

Invisible Hands Music Invisible Hands Music is a UK-based independent record label. The label is owned and run entirely by Charles Kennedy who started out by self-releasing cassettes sold at gigs by his first band 'Night World' in 1987. The first CD release was ''Fr ...

, initially as a free digital download with a

compact disc The compact disc (CD) is a Digital media, digital optical disc data storage format that was co-developed by Philips and Sony to store and play digital audio recordings. In August 1982, the first compact disc was manufactured. It was then rele ...

and vinyl version released later. A short movie entitled "Blueprint" chronicling the recording of the album had a limited release in cinemas in the UK and was released on a DVD which came with the CD. Some tracks, like "Philip K. Ridiculous" and "Delightful Nightmare," echo the heavy bass lines previously present in early Stranglers records. The night after playing in

Phoenix Phoenix most often refers to: * Phoenix (mythology), a legendary bird from ancient Greek folklore * Phoenix, Arizona, a city in the United States Phoenix may also refer to: Mythology Greek mythological figures * Phoenix (son of Amyntor), a ...

in his

North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere and almost entirely within the Western Hemisphere. It is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South America and the Car ...

tour during March and August, Cornwell visited the

Hoover Dam Hoover Dam is a concrete arch-gravity dam in the Black Canyon of the Colorado River, on the border between the U.S. states of Nevada and Arizona. It was constructed between 1931 and 1936 during the Great Depression and was dedicated on Se ...

and recorded a video message there for his fans. He claims he gave the album its name because the Hoover Dam is a huge feat in human engineering and a monument to mankind. He thinks that

Alfred Hitchcock Sir Alfred Joseph Hitchcock (13 August 1899 – 29 April 1980) was an English filmmaker. He is widely regarded as one of the most influential figures in the history of cinema. In a career spanning six decades, he directed over 50 featur ...

should have made a film set at the Hoover Dam. The album was cited as being one of his best yet with mainly favourable reviews. These reviews resulted in Cornwell being asked to play at certain American venues he had not played in since leaving The Stranglers.

Critical reception

Rick Anderson, writing for

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 ...

, called it a "very fine album," consisting of "scrappy, pared-down,

punk Punk or punks may refer to: Genres, subculture, and related aspects * Punk rock, a music genre originating in the 1970s associated with various subgenres * Punk subculture, a subculture associated with punk rock, or aspects of the subculture s ...

-inflected

power pop Power pop (also typeset as powerpop) is a form of pop rock based on the early music of bands such as the Who, the Beatles, the Beach Boys, and the Byrds. It typically incorporates melodic hooks, vocal harmonies, an energetic performance, and ch ...

," with some songs evoking "the late '70s in an entirely salutary way." Michael Toland of ''

The Big Takeover ''The Big Takeover'' is a bi-annual music magazine published out of New York City since May 1980 by critic Jack Rabid. History Establishment Jack Rabid and Dave Stein began publishing ''The Big Takeover'' in May 1980 as a fanzine dedicated to N ...

'' concurred, describing the album as "a straightforward melodic

rock and roll Rock and roll (often written as rock & roll, rock 'n' roll, or rock 'n roll) is a Genre (music), genre of popular music that evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s. It Origins of rock and roll, originated from Africa ...

affair," adding that there's "nothing trendy or modern about it, thank goodness." Cornwell and his band "simply knock out one catchy

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 ...

/ pop gem after another." Toland felt that ''Hooverdam'' "contains some of the best work of Cornwell's long and illustrious career." Joe Shooman of ''

Record Collector ''Record Collector'' is a British monthly music magazine. It was founded in 1980 and distributes worldwide. History The early years The first standalone issue of ''Record Collector'' was published in March 1980, though its history stretches ba ...

'' wrote, "the pace rarely lets up on an LP that, in part due to its back-to-basics rock'n'roll aesthetic, makes it something of a cousin to the likes of

Lou Reed Lewis Allan Reed (March 2, 1942October 27, 2013) was an American musician, songwriter, and poet. He was the guitarist, singer, and principal songwriter for the rock band the Velvet Underground and had a solo career that spanned five decades. ...

's storming 1988 LP, ''

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

''." Shooman remarked: "a very coherent album with rather a timeless quality." Jason Toon of the ''

Riverfront Times The ''Riverfront Times'' (''RFT'') is a free progressive weekly newspaper in St. Louis, in the U.S. state of Missouri, that consists of local politics, music, arts, and dining news in the print edition, and daily updates to blogs and photo galler ...

'' wrote, "''Hooverdams stripped-down, three-chord sound is rawer than anything Cornwell's done since well before he left the Stranglers in 1990."

Track listing

''Blueprint'' DVD

Personnel

Credits adapted from the album liner notes. ;Musicians *

- vocals, guitar *Chris Bell - drums, synthesizer (8) *Caroline 'Caz' Campbell - bass, vocals, piano (6, 9), synthesizer (8) ;Additional musicians *Charles Kennedy - piano (9) *Damian Hand - saxophone (10) ;Technical * Liam Watson - producer, engineer, mixing *Ed Turner - engineer, mixing *John Clube - artwork *Phoenix - photography ;DVD *Hugh Cornwell - director, editing, post production *Matt Tidmarsh - editing, post production *Paul Barker - editing, post production *Liam Watson - engineer, sound mixing *Ed Turner - engineer, sound mixing *Tom Grimshaw - camera *Chris Reynolds - camera *Jamie Goodbrand - camera *Marc Rovira - camera *Paul Green - film producer

References

2008 albums Hugh Cornwell albums {{2000s-alt-rock-album-stub