''The Devil Drives'' is the sixth album by Dave Graney 'n' The Coral Snakes. It was released in May 1997 on Mercury Records. Note: n-lineversion updated from 1999 book. The album peaked at No. 18 on the

Australian Recording Industry Association The Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA) is a trade association representing the Australian recording industry which was established in the 1970s by six major record companies, EMI, Festival, CBS, RCA, WEA and Universal replacing th ...

(ARIA)

Album Charts A record chart, in the music industry, also called a music chart, is a ranking of recorded music according to certain criteria during a given period. Many different criteria are used in worldwide charts, often in combination. These include rec ...

. It was also produced by Dave Graney,

Clare Moore Clare Christina Moore is an Australian musician, songwriter, arranger, producer and performer whose principal instrument is the drums. She has also performed as a keyboard player, singer and vibraphone player. Moore writes and performs with son ...

and David Ruffy. The album was recorded in August 1996 in Kiss Studios, Melbourne and mixed in October 1996 at London at Matrix Maison Rouge studios. The singles from the album were, "Feelin Kinda Sporty" in April, and "A Man on the Make" in September. The album was also accompanied by a media CD with an interview with Dave Graney called ''Coffins Have No Pockets''. This was part of a media booklet based on a Holden Monaro owners manual in a plastic booklet/folder. The single won 'Best Video' by Mahony in

1997 File:1997 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The movie set of ''Titanic'', the highest-grossing movie in history at the time; ''Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone'', is published; Comet Hale-Bopp passes by Earth and becomes one of t ...

, the album was nominated for 'Best Cover Art' by Mahony and Graney received a nomination as 'Best Male Artist'. It was the last studio album with the Coral Snakes and with Universal Music as the group disbanded in December.

Title concept

The name of the album follows the old proverb "''Needs must when the devil drives''", in which drive is a reference to coercing or (figuratively) pushing. However, the imagery of the album is suggestive of a literal interpretation of the devil driving (piloting) a car.

Reception

Professional reviews

See table.

Track listing

# "The Oblivion Seekers" - 3:57 # "My Only Regret (I Opened My Mouth)" - 4:25 # "I Don't Know You Exist" - 4:15 # "Rackin' Up Some Zeds" - 4:25 # "Everybody Loves a Mass Killer" - 4:52 # "I Dig the Pioneers" - 3:50 # "The Sheriff of Hell" - 4:58 # "Pianola Roll" - 3:16 # "Land of the Giants" - 5:24 # "I Love Your Gravity" - 4:48 # "Biker in Business Class" - 4:29 # "A Man on the Make" - 4:11 # "Pascal et Caroline" - 6:41 # "The Devil Drives" - 3:59 # "Feelin' Kinda Sporty" - 3:11

Personnel

Musicians

* Andy Baldwin - violin *

Rebecca Barnard Rebecca Chirnside Barnard (born 26 December 1960) is an Australian singer, songwriter, producer and musician. She was the lead singer of the band Rebecca's Empire from 1993 to 2000, and has forged a solo career since her debut album, ''Fortifie ...

- backing vocals * Gordy Blair - bass, backing vocals * Robin Casinader - piano, organ, violin, backing vocals * Dave Graney - vocals, acoustic guitar * Rod Hayward - guitar, backing vocals *

- drums, percussion, organ, vibraphone, vocals * David Ruffy - sampler (programming, edits, loops) * Liduina Van Der Sman - flute, backing vocals

Production details

Engineer - Kenny Jones Engineer Assistant - Sean Thompson Engineer - Andy Baldwin Mixer - David Ruffy Producer - Dave Graney, Clare Moore, David Ruffy Studio - Kiss, Melbourne (recording) Matrix Maison Rouge, London (Mixing)

Artwork

Cover art - Tony Mahony

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Devil Drives 1997 albums Dave Graney 'n' the Coral Snakes albums Mercury Records albums