''People'' is an album by the American band

Babe the Blue Ox Babe or babes may refer to: * Babe, a term of endearment * A newborn baby * An attractive (especially female) person People Nickname * Babe Adams (1882–1968), American Major League Baseball pitcher * Babe Barna (1917–1972), American Major ...

, released in 1996. Like the band's other releases, the album title shares a name with a

Barbra Streisand Barbara Joan "Barbra" Streisand (; born April 24, 1942) is an American singer, actress and director. With a career spanning over six decades, she has achieved success in multiple fields of entertainment, and is among the few performers List ...

record. The album's first single was "Stand by Your Man". Babe promoted ''People'' by touring with Cibo Matto.

Production

''People'' was produced by

Ed Stasium Ed Stasium is an American record producer and audio engineer, who has worked on albums by the Ramones, Talking Heads, Motörhead, the Smithereens and Living Colour. History Stasium began his recording career in 1970 fronting the band Brandywine. ...

. The band signed with RCA in order to obtain a budget that would allow them to make their version of a pop album. Babe's singer and guitar player Tim Thomas employed at least 15 different guitars during the making of the album. Bass player Rose Thomson decided to employ basic bass lines, complementing the songs rather than attempting wild improvisations.

Critical reception

Trouser Press ''Trouser Press'' was a rock and roll magazine started in New York in 1974 as a mimeographed fanzine by editor/publisher Ira Robbins, fellow fan of the Who Dave Schulps and Karen Rose under the name "Trans-Oceanic Trouser Press" (a reference to ...

'' wrote that, "if ''People'' attracts new fans who won’t care much for the band’s trickier back catalogue, it’s clear that the same wry intelligence and highly individual musical ambition is at work both here and there." ''

The Salt Lake Tribune ''The Salt Lake Tribune'' is a newspaper published in the city of Salt Lake City, Utah. The ''Tribune'' is owned by The Salt Lake Tribune, Inc., a non-profit corporation. The newspaper's motto is "Utah's Independent Voice Since 1871." History ...

'' considered the album "edgy, yet filled with melodic, funky and odd rhythms." ''

The San Diego Union-Tribune ''The San Diego Union-Tribune'' is a metropolitan daily newspaper published in San Diego, California, that has run since 1868. Its name derives from a 1992 merger between the two major daily newspapers at the time, ''The San Diego Union'' and ...

'' called it "a bit too artsy for its own good." The ''

Dayton Daily News The ''Dayton Daily News'' (''DDN'') is a daily newspaper published in Dayton, Ohio, United States. It is owned by Cox Enterprises, Inc., a privately held global conglomerate headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, United States, with approximately ...

'' deemed the album a "collection of fractured pop and funk-inspired punk that is bound by a certain sense of controlled experimentation." ''

Guitar Player ''Guitar Player'' is an American popular magazine for guitarists, founded in 1967 in San Jose, California. It contains articles, interviews, reviews and lessons of an eclectic collection of artists, genres and products. It has been in print si ...

'' thought that "Babe delivers complex arrangements, saturated guitar riffs and odd-meter grooves with an organic yet menacing feel." The ''

St. Louis Post-Dispatch The ''St. Louis Post-Dispatch'' is a major regional newspaper based in St. Louis, Missouri, serving the St. Louis metropolitan area. It is the largest daily newspaper in the metropolitan area by circulation, surpassing the ''Belleville News-Dem ...

'' opined that "the best moments on the album are when the songs shift from experimental to infectious; on 'Stand by Your Man' when relentless drumming and driving guitar stop building tension and swizzle in and out of a soothing melody." In a retrospective article, ''

The Village Voice ''The Village Voice'' is an American news and culture paper, known for being the country's first alternative newsweekly. Founded in 1955 by Dan Wolf, Ed Fancher, John Wilcock, and Norman Mailer, the ''Voice'' began as a platform for the crea ...

'' called the album "gritty but glistening," writing that Babe "specialized in booming noise-pop rants awe-inspiring in both girth and mirth—1996’s 'Fuck This Song', a delirious, profane anthem delivered in a crisp 1:41, sums their range up excellently, the whispers to the unhinged screams, the cacophonic riffs to the subtle pop sensibilities."

Track listing

Personnel

*Hanna Fox - drums *Tim Thomas - vocals, guitar *Rose Thomson - bass

References

{{Authority control Babe the Blue Ox (band) albums 1996 albums RCA Records albums