Razorblade Suitcase
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''Razorblade Suitcase'' is the second studio album by English rock band Bush, released on 19 November 1996 by
Trauma Trauma most often refers to: *Major trauma, in physical medicine, severe physical injury caused by an external source *Psychological trauma, a type of damage to the psyche that occurs as a result of a severely distressing event *Traumatic inju ...
and
Interscope Records Interscope Records is an American record label owned by Universal Music Group through its Interscope Geffen A&M imprint. Founded in late 1990 by Jimmy Iovine and Ted Field as a $20 million joint venture with Atlantic Records of Warner ...
. The follow-up to their 1994 debut ''
Sixteen Stone ''Sixteen Stone'' is the debut studio album by English rock band Bush, released on 6 December 1994 by Trauma and Interscope Records. It became the band's most popular album, peaking at number four on the US ''Billboard'' 200 and boasting numer ...
'', it was recorded at
Abbey Road Studios Abbey Road Studios (formerly EMI Recording Studios) is a recording studio at 3 Abbey Road, St John's Wood, City of Westminster, London, England. It was established in November 1931 by the Gramophone Company, a predecessor of British music ...
in London with engineer and producer
Steve Albini Steve Albini (pronounced ; born July 22, 1962) is an American musician, record producer, audio engineer and music journalist. He was a member of Big Black, Rapeman and Flour, and is a member of Shellac. He is the founder, owner and principal ...
. Its sound is more raw than that of its predecessor and has frequently been compared to
Nirvana ( , , ; sa, निर्वाण} ''nirvāṇa'' ; Pali: ''nibbāna''; Prakrit: ''ṇivvāṇa''; literally, "blown out", as in an oil lamp Richard Gombrich, ''Theravada Buddhism: A Social History from Ancient Benāres to Modern Colomb ...
's ''
In Utero ''In Utero'' is the third and final studio album by American rock band Nirvana. It was released on September 21, 1993, by DGC Records. After breaking into the mainstream with their second album, ''Nevermind'' (1991), Nirvana hired Steve Albin ...
'' (1993), which was also produced and engineered by Albini. The album is widely considered to be the last "grunge" sounding album of the 1990s. ''Razorblade Suitcase'' debuted at number one on the US ''Billboard'' 200, selling 293,000 copies in its first week of sales in the United States. To date, it remains the only Bush album to top the ''Billboard'' 200. The twentieth anniversary of the album was marked with a reissue officially titled ''Razorblade Suitcase (In Addition)'' on 16 December 2016, including the remastered album and four rare bonus tracks: "Broken TV," "Old," "Sleeper" and "Bubbles."


Recording and production

Gavin Rossdale wrote most of the songs for ''Razorblade Suitcase'' in under one month. "Swallowed", along with others from the album were written while on the road. In an interview with ''
Deseret News The ''Deseret News'' () is the oldest continuously operating publication in the American west. Its multi-platform products feature journalism and commentary across the fields of politics, culture, family life, faith, sports, and entertainment. Th ...
'' published on 2 January 1997, Rossdale explained:
"I was trying to write songs while my life was falling apart. While my longtime girlfriend of five years was leaving and packing in one room, I was writing in the other room."
The band chose Steve Albini to produce the album. In an interview with ''
Spin Spin or spinning most often refers to: * Spinning (textiles), the creation of yarn or thread by twisting fibers together, traditionally by hand spinning * Spin, the rotation of an object around a central axis * Spin (propaganda), an intentionally ...
'' during the final stages of the recording process Rossdale was quoted as saying that Albini "has been more important to me in terms of records I've listened to than any other person." Around the same time Albini declared that he put more time and energy into ''Razorblade Suitcase'' than he had with any previous albums.


Content


Musical style

Illustrated to be a
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 ...
album by ''
Entertainment Weekly ''Entertainment Weekly'' (sometimes abbreviated as ''EW'') is an American digital-only entertainment magazine based in New York City, published by Dotdash Meredith, that covers film, television, music, Broadway theatre, books, and popular ...
'', ''Razorblade Suitcase'' invited strong comparisons to the music of
Nirvana ( , , ; sa, निर्वाण} ''nirvāṇa'' ; Pali: ''nibbāna''; Prakrit: ''ṇivvāṇa''; literally, "blown out", as in an oil lamp Richard Gombrich, ''Theravada Buddhism: A Social History from Ancient Benāres to Modern Colomb ...
, whose final album ''
In Utero ''In Utero'' is the third and final studio album by American rock band Nirvana. It was released on September 21, 1993, by DGC Records. After breaking into the mainstream with their second album, ''Nevermind'' (1991), Nirvana hired Steve Albin ...
'' had been produced by Albini in 1993. "
Swallowed Swallowing, sometimes called deglutition in scientific contexts, is the process in the human or animal body that allows for a substance to pass from the mouth, to the pharynx, and into the esophagus, while shutting the epiglottis. Swallowing ...
" and "
Bonedriven "Bonedriven" is a song by the British rock band Bush, released on 16 April 1997. It is the third single from the band's second album ''Razorblade Suitcase'' (1996). It followed the band's hit singles "Swallowed" and "Greedy Fly." "Bonedriven" a ...
" in particular conjured a description of "irresistibly reminiscent" of Nirvana. "Straight No Chaser" was opined by '' The A.V. Club'' to be the "sister ballad" to the band's earlier hit "
Glycerine Glycerol (), also called glycerine in British English and glycerin in American English, is a simple triol compound. It is a colorless, odorless, viscous liquid that is sweet-tasting and non-toxic. The glycerol backbone is found in lipids know ...
", while "Cold Contagious" invited comparisons to the work of
Neil Young Neil Percival Young (born November 12, 1945) is a Canadian-American singer and songwriter. After embarking on a music career in Winnipeg in the 1960s, Young moved to Los Angeles, joining Buffalo Springfield with Stephen Stills, Richie Fu ...
.


Lyrics

Nicholas Slayton of ''Medium'' opined that the lyrics of ''Razorblade Suitcase'' "focused on three main ideas and problems"; being trapped in situations with no way out, fallout from relationships and
loneliness Loneliness is an unpleasant emotional response to perceived isolation. Loneliness is also described as social paina psychological mechanism which motivates individuals to seek social connections. It is often associated with a perceived lack ...
. "Insect Kin" pertained to Rossdale's previous love interest
Courtney Love Courtney Michelle Love (née Harrison; born July 9, 1964) is an American singer, guitarist, songwriter, and actress. A figure in the alternative and grunge scenes of the 1990s, her career has spanned four decades. She rose to prominence as ...
, "History" was themed around
abortion Abortion is the termination of a pregnancy by removal or expulsion of an embryo or fetus. An abortion that occurs without intervention is known as a miscarriage or "spontaneous abortion"; these occur in approximately 30% to 40% of pre ...
, while "Personal Holloway" reflected lament for societal norms forced on women. Gavin Rossdale commented in 2017 that the lead-single, "Swallowed", reflected "massive success after failing for years".


Promotion

In 1997, Bush embarked on a worldwide tour, the Razorblade Suitcase Tour, to promote the album. Stretching from late January into November of that year, it took the band through Europe, North America, South America, Asia, and Australia. It included stops at many major music festivals around the world, including
Glastonbury Festival Glastonbury Festival (formally Glastonbury Festival of Contemporary Performing Arts and known colloquially as Glasto) is a five-day festival of contemporary performing arts that takes place in Pilton, Somerset, England. In addition to contemp ...
,
Pinkpop Festival The Pinkpop Festival is an annual music festival held at Landgraaf, Netherlands. It is usually held on the Pentecost weekend (''Pinksteren'' in Dutch, hence the name). If Pentecost falls on an early date in May, the festival is held later in Ju ...
,
Reading Festival The Reading and Leeds Festivals are a pair of annual music festivals that take place in Reading and Leeds in England. The events take place simultaneously on the Friday, Saturday and Sunday of the August bank holiday weekend. The Reading Festiv ...
,
Rock am Ring The (German for "Rock at the Ring") and ("Rock in the Park") festivals are two simultaneous rock music festivals held annually. While ''Rock am Ring'' takes place at the Nürburgring race track, ''Rock im Park'' takes place at the Zeppelinfeld ...
,
Rock im Park The (German for "Rock at the Ring") and ("Rock in the Park") festivals are two simultaneous rock music festivals held annually. While ''Rock am Ring'' takes place at the Nürburgring race track, ''Rock im Park'' takes place at the Zeppelinfeld ...
, and
Pukkelpop Pukkelpop is an annual music festival that takes place near the city of Hasselt, Belgium, in mid- to late August. It is held within a large enclosure of fields and woodland—adjacent to a dual carriageway called ''Kempische Steenweg''—in the ...
.


Release and reception

''Razorblade Suitcase'' was released on 19 November 1996, through
Trauma Records Trauma Records was a Los Angeles-based independent record label created in 1993 by Paul Palmer and Rob Kahane. Trauma Records had a joint venture agreement with Interscope Records that included financing and distribution through Interscope Records ...
. It debuted at number one on the ''Billboard'' 200, selling 293,000 copies in its first week. It remained at number one during its second week of release in the US. The album also debuted at number one in Canada, with first-week sales of 45,900 copies. Despite the album selling fewer copies than ''
Sixteen Stone ''Sixteen Stone'' is the debut studio album by English rock band Bush, released on 6 December 1994 by Trauma and Interscope Records. It became the band's most popular album, peaking at number four on the US ''Billboard'' 200 and boasting numer ...
'' in the US, it marked a commercial peak for the band in their native Britain, where it reached number four on the
UK Albums Chart The Official Albums Chart is a list of albums ranked by physical and digital sales and (from March 2015) audio streaming in the United Kingdom. It was published for the first time on 22 July 1956 and is compiled every week by the Official Charts ...
. The band originally planned to release the album in early 1997 but decided it would be better for a late 1996 release, especially considering that U2's next album was pushed into 1997. The
lead single A lead single (also known as a debut single) is the first single to be released from a studio album by an artist or a band, usually before the album itself is released and also occasionally on the same day of the album's release date. Release s ...
from the album, "
Swallowed Swallowing, sometimes called deglutition in scientific contexts, is the process in the human or animal body that allows for a substance to pass from the mouth, to the pharynx, and into the esophagus, while shutting the epiglottis. Swallowing ...
", was released in October 1996 and was a huge success in the US, holding the number one spot on the US ''Billboard''
Modern Rock Tracks Alternative Airplay (formerly known as Modern Rock Tracks (1988–2009) and Alternative Songs (2009–2020)) is a music chart in the United States that has appeared in ''Billboard'' magazine since September 10, 1988. It ranks the 40 most-playe ...
chart for 7 weeks. It remains the band's longest charting number one single. "Swallowed" also marked the commercial peak for the band in their native United Kingdom's singles charts, where it made number 7. "
Greedy Fly "Greedy Fly" is a song by alternative rock band Bush, released on 28 January 1997 as the second single from their second studio album, ''Razorblade Suitcase'' (1996). Music video Bush were one of the early pioneers of the enhanced CD single, ...
" was the second single released from ''Razorblade Suitcase'' and reached number three on the US Modern Rock Tracks chart. The singles "Swallowed" and "Greedy Fly" peaked at number seven and number twenty-two, respectively, on 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 ...
. "
Bonedriven "Bonedriven" is a song by the British rock band Bush, released on 16 April 1997. It is the third single from the band's second album ''Razorblade Suitcase'' (1996). It followed the band's hit singles "Swallowed" and "Greedy Fly." "Bonedriven" a ...
" and " Cold Contagious" followed as singles but did not make an impact on the charts. "
Mouth In animal anatomy, the mouth, also known as the oral cavity, or in Latin cavum oris, is the opening through which many animals take in food and issue vocal sounds. It is also the cavity lying at the upper end of the alimentary canal, bounded on ...
" was remixed and later released as a single from the band's 1997 album '' Deconstructed''. The remixed version reached number five on the US Modern Rock Tracks chart. "Mouth" is featured on the soundtrack and in the film ''
An American Werewolf in Paris ''An American Werewolf in Paris'' (the "An" does not appear in the title scene) is a 1997 dark fantasy comedy horror film directed by Anthony Waller, screenplay by Tim Burns, Tom Stern, and Waller, and starring Tom Everett Scott and Julie De ...
''. The "Mouth" music video features
Julie Delpy Julie Delpy (; born 21 December 1969) is a French-American actress, film director, screenwriter, and singer-songwriter. She studied filmmaking at NYU's Tisch School of the Arts and has directed, written, and acted in more than 30 films, includ ...
, who also starred in the film.


20th anniversary reissue

The 20th anniversary of ''Razorblade Suitcase'' was marked by a reissue, officially titled ''Razorblade Suitcase (In Addition)''. It was released digitally on 16 December 2016, and on
vinyl Vinyl may refer to: Chemistry * Polyvinyl chloride (PVC), a particular vinyl polymer * Vinyl cation, a type of carbocation * Vinyl group, a broad class of organic molecules in chemistry * Vinyl polymer, a group of polymers derived from vinyl ...
on 10 February 2017. The reissue includes the remastered album and four rare bonus tracks: "Broken TV", "Old", "Sleeper", and "Bubbles". Prior to the reissue, three of the four bonus tracks had been released as B-sides ("Broken TV" with "Swallowed" and "Old" with "Greedy Fly") or found on compilations, but "Sleeper" had never received a proper release. The vinyl release of the reissue is on 180 gram black and white swirl vinyl and comes housed in a metallic silver gatefold cover with re-interpreted artwork, a poster of lyrics (including the songs that weren't on the original), and liner notes from producer
Steve Albini Steve Albini (pronounced ; born July 22, 1962) is an American musician, record producer, audio engineer and music journalist. He was a member of Big Black, Rapeman and Flour, and is a member of Shellac. He is the founder, owner and principal ...
.


Critical reception

Reviews for the album were generally mixed, negative, or average. Some critics dismissed the album because they felt that although the band attempted to distance themselves from bands like Nirvana and
Pearl Jam Pearl Jam is an American rock band formed in Seattle, Washington, in 1990. The band's lineup consists of founding members Jeff Ament (bass guitar), Stone Gossard (rhythm guitar), Mike McCready (lead guitar), and Eddie Vedder (lead vocals, g ...
in terms of their sound, they ultimately failed at creating a sound of their own. For example, ''Entertainment Weekly'' reviewer David Browne stated that some of the songs on the album could have easily been on the record Nirvana never made (due to
Kurt Cobain Kurt Donald Cobain (February 20, 1967 – April 5, 1994) was an American musician who served as the lead vocalist, guitarist and primary songwriter of the rock band Nirvana. Through his angst-fueled songwriting and anti-establishment persona ...
's suicide). Andy Gill from ''
The Independent ''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publish ...
'' also stated that portions of the album are very reminiscent of Nirvana, citing songs such as "Swallowed" and "Bonedriven" as irresistible reminders of Nirvana. ''Rolling Stones Matt Diehl criticized the album at the time of its release, giving the album two out of five stars. Johnny Cigarettes from '' NME'' gave the album an extremely negative review, rating it 1/10 "for spelling their name right on the top of the record". However, ''Razorblade Suitcase'' was not criticized by all critics. ''Select'' magazine gave the effort three out of five stars.
AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Music ...
's
Stephen Thomas Erlewine Stephen Thomas Erlewine (; born June 18, 1973) is an American music critic and senior editor for the online music database AllMusic. He is the author of many artist biographies and record reviews for AllMusic, as well as a freelance writer, oc ...
stated:
"The problem is that Gavin Rossdale has not come up with any hooks, which means that while Razorblade Suitcase is more pleasing and visceral on the surface, it offers no hooks to make it memorable, unlike the hit singles from Sixteen Stone."


Packaging

The album's working title was ''Ghost Medicine'' but was changed for unknown reasons. The title ''Razorblade Suitcase'' comes from the lyrics of the song "Synapse" and is lead singer Gavin Rossdale's interpretation of "emotional baggage." The album artwork was by
Vaughan Oliver Vaughan Oliver (12 September 1957 – 29 December 2019) was a British graphic designer based in Epsom, Surrey. Oliver was best known for his work with graphic design studios 23 Envelope and v23. Both studios maintained a close relationship with ...
and Adrian Philpott. Oliver had previously created the artwork for the
Pixies A pixie (also pisky, pixy, pixi, pizkie, and piskie in Cornwall and Devon, and pigsie or puggsy in the New Forest) is a mythical creature of British folklore. Pixies are considered to be particularly concentrated in the high moorland areas aro ...
' ''
Surfer Rosa ''Surfer Rosa'' is the debut studio album by the American alternative rock band Pixies, released in March 1988 on the British label 4AD. It was produced by Steve Albini. ''Surfer Rosa'' contains many of the elements of Pixies' earlier output, incl ...
'', which was also produced by Steve Albini.


Track listing

All songs written by
Gavin Rossdale Gavin McGregor Rossdale (born 30 October 1965) is an English guitarist and actor, best known as the lead singer and rhythm guitarist of the rock band Bush. He helped form Bush in 1992; on the band's separation in 2002, he became the lead singer ...
*"Whatever/History Reprise" (hidden track) *"A Tendency to Start Fires", "Straight No Chaser" and "Synapse" do not appear on the LP version due to time constraints.


Personnel

Bush *
Gavin Rossdale Gavin McGregor Rossdale (born 30 October 1965) is an English guitarist and actor, best known as the lead singer and rhythm guitarist of the rock band Bush. He helped form Bush in 1992; on the band's separation in 2002, he became the lead singer ...
– lead vocals, rhythm guitar *
Nigel Pulsford Nigel Pulsford (born 11 April 1961) is a British musician, and the original guitarist of the alternative rock band Bush. Early life Pulsford was born in 1961 in Newport, Monmouthshire, and grew up with two sisters, Angela and Jan. (Angela w ...
– lead guitar, backing vocals * Dave Parsons – bass * Robin Goodridge – drums Other musicians *Perry Montague-Mason –
violin The violin, sometimes known as a '' fiddle'', is a wooden chordophone ( string instrument) in the violin family. Most violins have a hollow wooden body. It is the smallest and thus highest-pitched instrument ( soprano) in the family in regu ...
*Frank Schaefer –
cello The cello ( ; plural ''celli'' or ''cellos'') or violoncello ( ; ) is a bowed (sometimes plucked and occasionally hit) string instrument of the violin family. Its four strings are usually tuned in perfect fifths: from low to high, C2, G2, ...
*Winston – backing vocals *
Gavyn Wright Gavyn Wright is a British violinist and orchestra leader with the London Session Orchestra and Penguin Cafe Orchestra. He is best known for his orchestral arrangements on pop productions (including Elton John, Simply Red, Bush, Mecano, Oasis ...
– violin Technical personnel * Gavin Rossdale – string arrangements * Nigel Pulsford – arranger, string arrangements *
Steve Albini Steve Albini (pronounced ; born July 22, 1962) is an American musician, record producer, audio engineer and music journalist. He was a member of Big Black, Rapeman and Flour, and is a member of Shellac. He is the founder, owner and principal ...
engineer Engineers, as practitioners of engineering, are professionals who Invention, invent, design, analyze, build and test machines, complex systems, structures, gadgets and materials to fulfill functional objectives and requirements while considerin ...
, producer *
Tom Elmhirst Tom Elmhirst (born 8 June 1971) is a British mix engineer. He has worked with artists including Adele, Beck, David Bowie, Cage the Elephant, Lady Gaga, Residente, and Amy Winehouse, among many others. Elmhirst has received numerous accolades ...
– assistant engineer * Paul Hicks – assistant engineer * Paul Palmer – mixing * Robert Vosgien – mastering * Glen Lutchford –
photography Photography is the art, application, and practice of creating durable images by recording light, either electronically by means of an image sensor, or chemically by means of a light-sensitive material such as photographic film. It is emplo ...
* Timothy O'Donnell – design assistant * Vaughan Oliver –
art direction Art director is the title for a variety of similar job functions in theater, advertising, marketing, publishing, fashion, film and television, the Internet, and video games. It is the charge of a sole art director to supervise and unify the vis ...
, design * Adrian Philpott – art direction, design *Gavyn Wright – string arrangements * David j. Holman – mixing * Mixed – Cactus Studio Hollywood


Charts


Weekly charts


Year-end charts


Certifications


References


External links


Bush Fansite
{{Authority control Bush (British band) albums 1996 albums Interscope Records albums Trauma Records albums Albums produced by Steve Albini