''Polythene'' is the debut studio album by Welsh
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
Feeder. It was released 19 May 1997 on
the Echo Label
The Echo Label was a British record label started by Chrysalis Group in 1994, and linked with Pony Canyon in Japan. The Chrysalis Group were the original owners of Chrysalis Records, which they sold to EMI.
In 2005, The Echo Label recorded a ...
, and then re-issued on 28 October in the same year in an Enhanced CD version, featuring their UK top 40 breakthrough single "
High
High may refer to:
Science and technology
* Height
* High (atmospheric), a high-pressure area
* High (computability), a quality of a Turing degree, in computability theory
* High (tectonics), in geology an area where relative tectonic uplift ...
" and its video. The original version of the album was deleted soon after and is relatively rare due to this reason.
Despite sizeable critical success, the album had minor commercial success, charting at number 65 in the UK albums chart. However, ''Polythene'' would later achieve Gold record status despite never having appeared in the top 50 of the album charts, a rare feat reflecting steady and consistent sales over a period of 20 years, rather than strong initial sales.
The album saw the group's early take on a more
grunge
Grunge (sometimes referred to as the Seattle sound) is an alternative rock genre and subculture that emerged during the in the American Pacific Northwest state of Washington, particularly in Seattle and nearby towns. Grunge fuses elements of p ...
-influenced sound, which was not seen on their other albums that followed. Many critics at the time called the band the UK's answer to
the Smashing Pumpkins
The Smashing Pumpkins (also referred to as simply Smashing Pumpkins) are an American alternative rock band from Chicago. Formed in 1988 by frontman and guitarist Billy Corgan, bassist D'arcy Wretzky, guitarist James Iha and drummer Jimmy Chamb ...
.
In April 1998, a VHS compilation of the music videos for the album's singles was released, titled
Polythene: The Video Singles.
Background
''Polythenes working title was ''Here in the Bubble''.
Prior to the release of ''Polythene'', Feeder had released several singles, which helped them build a cult following.
The album carries over two tracks – "Descend" and "Stereo World" – from Feeder's earlier EP, ''Swim''.
Reception
The band's second single off ''Polythene'', "Cement" was given a 5/5 review rating by ''Kerrang!'', and their "Single of the Week" accolade. The album itself was ranked 6th in the magazine's best albums of the year chart.
Metal Hammer
''Metal Hammer'' is a heavy metal music magazine and website founded in 1983, published in the United Kingdom by Future, with other language editions available in numerous other countries. ''Metal Hammer'' features news, reviews and long-form ...
voted it the best album of 1997 in its end of year critic's poll.
''Kerrang!'' later included ''Polythene'' in their ''200 Albums For the Year 2000'' list in the "Essential Britrock" category.
It appeared at number 87 in an early 2005 ''
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 vote, ranking the top 100 British rock albums of all-time.
Accolades
Track listing
total 46:30
total 51:04
total 57:57
* The album was reissued on 20 October 1997 with Polythene Girl being replaced with a remix by Chris Sheldon, non album single "
High
High may refer to:
Science and technology
* Height
* High (atmospheric), a high-pressure area
* High (computability), a quality of a Turing degree, in computability theory
* High (tectonics), in geology an area where relative tectonic uplift ...
" was added to the track listing as track 4 and Waterfall was removed and replaced by Change as track 10 between "Stereo World" and "Tangerine"
Personnel
;Feeder
*
Grant Nicholas
Grantley Jonathan "Grant" Nicholas (born 12 November 1967) is a Welsh musician, and lead singer and guitarist of the rock band Feeder.
Early years
Nicholas was born in Newport, South Wales, but grew up in Pwllmeyric, near Chepstow. He was educa ...
- vocals, guitar, production on "Polythene Girl", "My Perfect Day" and "Crash", concept, photography
*
Taka Hirose
Takashi "Taka" Hirose (Japanese: タカ・ヒロセ (広瀬 隆), born 28 July 1967 in Mizuho, Japan) is a Japanese musician and chef who is the current bass guitarist for the rock band Feeder.
Biography
Hirose began playing bass at the age of ...
- bass guitar
*
Jon Lee- drums
;Production
*
Chris Sheldon
Chris Sheldon (born 25 September 1962) is an English record producer, particularly of rock music based in London, England. He has produced or mixed records for the Foo Fighters, Garbage, Big Country, Feeder, Therapy?, Biffy Clyro, Oceansize, Pix ...
- production, mixing, engineering
*
Feeder - production on "Cement"
*
Brian Sperber
Brian Sperber is a rock producer/sound engineer/ mixer. He has spent the bulk of his career at Electric Lady Studios in New York City. After years as an audio engineer for artists as varied as Whitney Houston, Patti Smith, De La Soul, and Ozzy O ...
- production, engineering and mixing on "Polythene Girl", "My Perfect Day" and "Crash", remix on "Cement"
*
Audrey Riley
Audrey Riley is an English cellist and string arranger, based in the UK.
Career
Riley trained at the Guildhall School of Music with Leonard Stehn. She was a cellist for Virginia Astley from 1983 to 1986 and a one-time auxiliary member of The Fam ...
- string arrangements on "High"
*Matt Sime - engineering, mixing on "High"
*
Steve Power
Steve Power (born in Liverpool) is an English record producer best known for his work with Robbie Williams. He has produced and mixed a wide variety of artists over the years, including Blur, Busted, Andrea Bocelli, Feeder, Joe Cocker,Perciv ...
- mixing, additional engineering on "High"
*
Howie Weinberg
Howie Weinberg is an American audio mastering engineer with over 2,257 mastering credits, three TEC Awards, 21 Grammy Awards, two Juno Awards, and one Mercury Prize.
Career
Weinberg mastered Herbie Hancock's 1983 album ''Future Shock''. Other m ...
- mastering
;Artwork
*Jeremy Plumb - concept, design
*
Scarlet Page
Scarlet Lilith Eleida Page (born 24 March 1971) is an English photographer. She is the daughter of Led Zeppelin guitarist Jimmy Page and Charlotte Martin, a French model.
Childhood
Born in London, she grew up in England, and stayed at both Plump ...
- photography
*Dan McLewin - photography
*Andrew Cameron - photography
References
{{Authority control
1997 debut albums
Feeder albums
The Echo Label albums
Albums produced by Chris Sheldon