''Love and Rockets'' is the fourth

studio album An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as Digital distribution#Music, digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early ...

by English

alternative rock Alternative rock, or alt-rock, is a category of rock music that emerged from the independent music underground of the 1970s and became widely popular in the 1990s. "Alternative" refers to the genre's distinction from Popular culture, mainstre ...

band Love and Rockets; released in 1989 by

Beggars Banquet Records Beggars Banquet Records is a British independent record label. Beggars Banquet started as a chain of record shops owned by Martin Mills and Nick Austin and is part of the Beggars Group of labels. History In 1977, spurred by the prevailing DI ...

on cassette, vinyl, and compact disc.

Background

''Love and Rockets'' dismissed ''

Earth, Sun, Moon ''Earth, Sun, Moon'' is the third studio album by English alternative rock band Love and Rockets, released in 1987 on Beggars Banquet. The album was remastered, but not expanded (unlike their previous albums), in 2001. Most of the tracks tha ...

'''s

folk Folk or Folks may refer to: Sociology *Nation *People * Folklore ** Folk art ** Folk dance ** Folk hero ** Folk music *** Folk metal *** Folk punk *** Folk rock ** Folk religion * Folk taxonomy Arts, entertainment, and media * Folk Plus or Fol ...

sound in favour of a stronger rock sound. Hints of the band's former

psychedelic Psychedelics are a subclass of hallucinogenic drugs whose primary effect is to trigger non-ordinary states of consciousness (known as psychedelic experiences or "trips").Pollan, Michael (2018). ''How to Change Your Mind: What the New Science of ...

and

gothic rock Gothic rock (also called goth rock or simply goth) is a style of rock music that emerged from post-punk in the United Kingdom in the late 1970s. The first post-punk bands which shifted toward dark music with gothic overtones include Siouxsie a ...

sound remain. Chief songwriters

Daniel Ash Daniel Ash (born 31 July 1957) is an English musician, songwriter and singer. He became prominent in the late 1970s as the guitarist for the iconic goth rock band Bauhaus, which spawned two related bands led by Ash: Tones on Tail and Love an ...

and

David J David John Haskins (born 24 April 1957, Northampton, Northamptonshire, England), better known as David J, is a British alternative rock musician, producer, and writer. He is the bassist for the gothic rock band Bauhaus and for Love and Rock ...

had begun concentrating strictly on their own material (rather than writing together) on ''

''. The album featured Love and Rockets' biggest hit, the Ash-penned " So Alive". The song was a surprising number 3 hit on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100, and stayed at number 1 for five weeks on the US

Modern Rock Modern rock is an umbrella term used to describe rock music that is found on college rock radio stations. Some radio stations use this term to distinguish themselves from classic rock, which is based in 1960s–1980s rock music. Radio format Mod ...

chart. Because of the popularity of the single in the US, ''Love and Rockets'' became the band's best-selling album in America. It did very well in Canada as well, being certified platinum there in 1989, largely on the strength of "So Alive" which was a #1 single. After the release of the album, the band embarked on a long worldwide tour. Afterward, instead of recording a new album and a follow-up single to "So Alive", J and Ash both focused on their solo careers, continuing in the directions represented on this album. They each released two solo albums after the break (with drummer

Kevin Haskins Kevin Michael Dompe (born 19 July 1960), born and best-known as Kevin Michael Haskins, is an English drummer, best known from the British rock group Bauhaus. He was also a member of Tones on Tail and Love and Rockets. Early career As a child ...

working primarily with Ash) before returning as a band to record '' Hot Trip to Heaven'' in 1994. In 2002, the album was remastered and expanded into a

double album A double album (or double record) is an audio album that spans two units of the primary medium in which it is sold, typically either records or compact disc. A double album is usually, though not always, released as such because the recording i ...

. The bonus tracks featured a single remix, three b-sides, all five songs from the aborted ''Swing!'' EP, and a radio session. The ''Swing!'' project was to be an outlet for some of the band's eccentric output, but the material was never released, except for "Bad Monkey", which ended up on the ''Glittering Darkness'' EP in 1996. "The Purest Blue" is a radical reworking of "Waiting for the Flood" from ''Earth, Sun, Moon'', and "**** (Jungle Law)" was later reworked as "Bad Monkey", recorded as part of the ''Swing!'' project.

Track listing

Personnel

Love and Rockets

– vocals, bass guitar, harmonica, guitars, bass feedback, keyboards *

– vocals, guitars, saxophone, bass guitar, fuzz bass, keyboards *

– drums, keyboards, samples,

vibraphone The vibraphone is a percussion instrument in the metallophone family. It consists of tuned metal bars and is typically played by using mallets to strike the bars. A person who plays the vibraphone is called a ''vibraphonist,'' ''vibraharpist,' ...

, guitar feedback, percussion

Additional personnel

*"Mr. Drum Machine" – drum programming on "The Purest Blue" *John Fryer –

string synthesizer A string synthesizer or string machine is a specialized synthesizer designed specifically to make sounds similar to that of a string orchestra. Dedicated string synthesizers occupied a specific musical instrument niche between electronic organs ...

on "The Teardrop Collector" *Lorna Wright, Sylvia Mason-James, Ruby James – backing vocals on "So Alive" *Bill Thorp – string arrangement on "Rock & Roll Babylon" (Bill Thorp & Brian Brooks: violin; Josie Abbott: cello; Penny Thompson: viola)

Production

*Produced by John Fryer & Love and Rockets *Recorded & Mixed by John Fryer at Blackwing Studios (London) except "The Purest Blue"; recorded & mixed by "Whispering Angus" at Far Heath Studios (Northamptonshire)

References

{{Authority control 1989 albums Love and Rockets (band) albums Albums produced by John Fryer (producer) Beggars Banquet Records albums RCA Records albums