''The Fall and Rise of Hugh Cornwell'' is a

compilation album A compilation album comprises Album#Tracks, tracks, which may be previously released or unreleased, usually from several separate recordings by either one or several Performing arts#Performers, performers. If by one artist, then generally the tr ...

by English musician

Hugh Cornwell Hugh Alan Cornwell (born 28 August 1949) is an English musician, singer-songwriter and writer, best known for being the lead vocalist and lead guitarist for the punk rock and new wave band the Stranglers from 1974 to 1990. Since leaving the ...

, released on 28 August 2015 by

Invisible Hands Music Invisible Hands Music is a UK-based independent record label. The label is owned and run entirely by Charles Kennedy who started out by self-releasing cassettes sold at gigs by his first band 'Night World' in 1987. The first CD release was ''Fr ...

on both CD and

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 m ...

. It is Cornwell's first ever anthology of his post- Stranglers solo career, collecting 12 tracks from his first six solo albums (two tracks from each) plus a new studio recording of the live favourite "Live It and Breathe It" (CD and digital only). Due to time limitation of the vinyl version, tracks from Cornwell's 2012 album ''

Totem and Taboo ''Totem and Taboo: Resemblances Between the Mental Lives of Savages and Neurotics'', or ''Totem and Taboo: Some Points of Agreement between the Mental Lives of Savages and Neurotics'', (german: Totem und Tabu: Einige Übereinstimmungen im Seelenl ...

'' were omitted on all formats.

Critical reception

David Jeffries of

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...

wrote that the collection "subscribes to the "leave them wanting more" theory, as it whets the appetite instead of fully satisfying." Jeffries would have liked it to include more tracks, "but brevity is the thing here," he wrote, "and this tight, no-filler track list packs quite the punch." Tim Peacock of ''

Record Collector ''Record Collector'' is a British monthly music magazine. It was founded in 1980 and distributes worldwide. History The early years The first standalone issue of ''Record Collector'' was published in March 1980, though its history stretches ba ...

'' felt that the album's contents "vividly reveal that ornwellremains a creative force to be reckoned with." He wrote: "Mired in glossy 80s production values, the selections from ''

Wolf The wolf (''Canis lupus''; : wolves), also known as the gray wolf or grey wolf, is a large canine native to Eurasia and North America. More than thirty subspecies of ''Canis lupus'' have been recognized, and gray wolves, as popularly u ...

'' have, admittedly, dated, but the hooky, bittersweet "Under Her Spell," the mellow, poetic "Cadiz" and the '' No More Heroes''-esque punch of '' Hooverdam'' highlight "Please Don't Put Me on a Slow Boat to Trowbridge" all serve notice that Cornwell's post-Stranglers oeuvre ought to be regarded with considerably more respect." '' Goldmine'' magazine's Patrick Prince felt that the only time the compilation "slips and falls" is when it "temporarily embarks into the slick area of

MTV MTV (Originally an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable channel that launched on August 1, 1981. Based in New York City, it serves as the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group, part of Paramount Media Networks, a di ...

-ish '80s" in songs like "Break of Dawn" and "First Bus to Babylon." Otherwise, he was positive, writing, ""Under Her Spell" is a wonderful

Syd Barrett Roger Keith "Syd" Barrett (6 January 1946 – 7 July 2006) was an English singer, songwriter, and musician who co-founded the rock band Pink Floyd in 1965. Barrett was their original frontman and primary songwriter, becoming known for his ...

-type sing-a-long to a '60s

Who Who or WHO may refer to: * Who (pronoun), an interrogative or relative pronoun * Who?, one of the Five Ws in journalism * World Health Organization Arts and entertainment Fictional characters * Who, a creature in the Dr. Seuss book ''Horton Hear ...

beat; "Please Don't Put Me on a Slow Boat to Trowbridge" is close to the pop aggression that made

the Jam The Jam were an English mod revival/ punk rock band formed in 1972 at Sheerwater Secondary School in Woking, Surrey. They released 18 consecutive Top 40 singles in the United Kingdom, from their debut in 1977 to their break-up in December 198 ...

unique in their day; and "Lay Back on Me Pal" has a nice case of its own

Britpop Britpop was a mid-1990s British-based music culture movement that emphasised Britishness. It produced brighter, catchier alternative rock, partly in reaction to the popularity of the darker lyrical themes of the US-led grunge music and to the ...

... but it's all Hugh Cornwell."

Track listing

Personnel

See individual albums for full personnel credits. *

Laurie Latham Laurie Latham (born 1955) is a British rock producer who worked with Glenn Tilbrook, Paul Young and others. He has produced albums by Ian Dury & the Blockheads, Echo & the Bunnymen, Squeeze, The Stranglers, The Christians and Slapp Happy. Care ...

– producer (1, 8, 9, 11) * Liam Watson – producer (2, 7) *

Gary Langan Gary Michael Langan (born 19 April 1956) is an English engineer, record producer, mixer and musician. Biography His career started at age 18 when he worked as an assistant engineer at Sarm East Studios, learning the craft from Gary Lyons and M ...

– producer (3, 6) *Hugh Cornwell – producer (4, 12), artwork concept * Ian Ritchie – producer (4, 12) *

Danny Kadar Danny Kadar (born August 15, 1969) is an American record producer, audio engineer, and mixer, living in New Orleans. While growing up in New York City, Kadar first began as a student photographer studying at Pratt Institute, he later decided to g ...

– producer (5, 10) *

Tony Visconti Anthony Edward Visconti (born April 24, 1944) is an American record producer, musician and singer. Since the late 1960s, he has worked with an array of performers. His first hit single was T. Rex's " Ride a White Swan" in 1970, the first of man ...

– producer (5, 10) *Miles Showell – mastering (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 c ...

) *Sara-Jane Morley – design *Charles Kennedy – liner notes

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Fall and Rise of Hugh Cornwell Hugh Cornwell albums 2015 compilation albums Albums produced by Laurie Latham Albums produced by Liam Watson (record producer) Albums produced by Tony Visconti