''The La's'' is the only studio album by English

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

the La's The La's were an English rock band from Liverpool, originally active from 1983 until 1992. Fronted by singer, songwriter and guitarist Lee Mavers, the group are best known for their hit single " There She Goes". The band was formed by Mike Badge ...

, released on 1 October 1990 by

Go! Discs Go! Discs was a London-based record label, launched in 1983 from offices in Wendell Road, Shepherd's Bush, by Andy Macdonald and Lesley Symons. The pair founded the label after Macdonald left his job as press officer at Stiff Records, and Sym ...

. It included " There She Goes", the group's biggest hit, and "

Timeless Melody "Timeless Melody" is a rock song written by Liverpool singer/guitarist Lee Mavers and recorded by Mavers' band The La's. Music video The music video contains footage from live shows (parts of which are slowed down), depictions of Egyptian hierog ...

". A

deluxe edition The terms special edition, limited edition, and variants such as deluxe edition, or collector's edition, are used as a marketing incentive for various kinds of products, originally published products related to the arts, such as books, prints, r ...

of ''The La's'' was released on 7 April 2008. In 2013, ''

NME ''New Musical Express'' (''NME'') is a British music, film, gaming, and culture website and brand. Founded as a newspaper in 1952, with the publication being referred to as a 'rock inkie', the NME would become a magazine that ended up as a f ...

'' ranked ''The La's'' at number 153 on its list of

the 500 greatest albums of all time "The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time" is a recurring opinion survey and music ranking of the finest albums in history, compiled by the American magazine ''Rolling Stone''. It is based on weighted votes from selected musicians, critics, and indust ...

Release and reception

''The La's'' was released in 1990 on

in the United Kingdom and in 1991 on

London Records London Recordings (or London Records and London Music Stream) is a British record label that marketed records in the United States, Canada, and Latin America for Decca Records from 1947 to 1980 before becoming semi-independent. The London nam ...

in the United States. The album was praised by critics and embraced by fans. It was the result of nearly three years in the studio with a string of acclaimed producers. Each attempted to capture the sound sought by Lee Mavers, the lead singer and principal songwriter of the band. However, due to Mavers' exacting expectations, the sound eluded each of the producers, and the album eventually released was immediately disowned by the band.

Legacy

In 2013, ''

'' ranked ''The La's'' at number 153 on its list of

. In 2016, ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first kno ...

'' placed the record at number 13 on its list of the "40 Greatest One-Album Wonders". ''The La's'' was also included in the book ''

1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die ''1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die'' is a musical reference book first published in 2005 by Universe Publishing. Part of the ''1001 Before You Die'' series, it compiles writings and information on albums chosen by a panel of music critics ...

''.

Noel Gallagher Noel Thomas David Gallagher (born 29 May 1967) is an English singer, songwriter, and musician. He was the chief songwriter, lead guitarist, and co-lead vocalist of the rock band Oasis until their split in 2009. After leaving Oasis, he formed ...

Oasis In ecology, an oasis (; ) is a fertile area of a desert or semi-desert environment'ksar''with its surrounding feeding source, the palm grove, within a relational and circulatory nomadic system.” The location of oases has been of critical imp ...

named it as one of his 13 favourite albums.

Track listing

;Bonus tracks ;''The La's – Deluxe Edition'' (2008) Disc 1 tracks 1–12 per original release

Personnel

The La's *

Lee Mavers Lee Anthony Mavers (born 2 August 1962) is an English musician. Mavers was the songwriter, singer and rhythm guitarist in The La's and is best known for the song " There She Goes" from October 1988. Mavers was originally the bassist for the Live ...

– lead vocals and backing vocals, guitars * John Power – basses and backing vocals * Peter "Cammy" Camell – lead guitars * Neil Mavers – drums and tambourine * John "Boo" Byrne – electric guitar (on "There She Goes") *

Chris Sharrock Chris Sharrock (born 30 May 1964) is an English drummer, hailing from Bebington, Cheshire (now Merseyside), England. He has been a member of the Icicle Works, the La's, the Wild Swans, World Party, the Lightning Seeds, Robbie Williams's live ...

– drums and tambourine (on "There She Goes") *

Paul Hemmings Paul Jeremy Hemmings is an English musician and photographer. Hemmings is a supporter of Everton F.C Career He played with The La's, Mike Badger and The Onset and Ian Broudie and the Lightning Seeds. He is also a partner in Liverpool's indepen ...

– electric guitar (on "Way Out") * John "Timmo" Timson – drums, tambourine and bells(on "Way Out") ;Production *

Steve Lillywhite Stephen Alan Lillywhite, (born 15 March 1955) is a British record producer. Since he began his career in 1977, Lillywhite has been credited on over 500 records, and has collaborated with a variety of musicians including new wave acts XTC, Big ...

– producer, mixing * Mark Wallis – additional producer, engineer * Donal Hodgson – engineer (on "Looking Glass") * Bob Andrews – producer (on "There She Goes") *

Dave Charles Dave Charles, also known as David Charles is a British drummer, recording engineer & record producer. He often appears under both names on the same album, e.g. Help Yourself's ''The Return of Ken Whaley'', where Dave Charles is credited with dr ...

– engineer (on "There She Goes") ;Additional personnel * Ryan Art – design ;''The La's: Deluxe Edition'' personnel * Barry Sutton – guitar (disc one: tracks 13–18, disc two: tracks 1–13, 20) *

– drums (disc one: tracks 13–18, disc two: tracks 1–13, 18–20) *

– guitar (disc two: tracks 14–15) * John "Timmo" Timson – drums (disc two: tracks 14–15) * Peter "Cammy" Camell – guitar (disc two: tracks 16–17) * Iain Templeton – drums (disc two: tracks 16–17) * John "Boo" Byrne – guitar (disc two: tracks 18–19) ;''The La's: Deluxe Edition'' production personnel *

Mike Hedges Mike Hedges (born 1953) is a British audio producer/engineer best known for his work with The Cure, Siouxsie and the Banshees, and Manic Street Preachers. During his career, Hedges has worked with an eclectic roster of artists ranging from roc ...

– producer, remastering (disc two: tracks 1–13) * Ian Grimble – engineer, mixing (disc two: tracks 1–13) * Kevin Metcalfe – remastering (disc two: tracks 1–13) *

John Porter John Porter may refer to: Politicians * John Porter (portreeve), 1390–94, Member of Parliament (MP) for Taunton * John Porter (Illinois politician) (1935–2022), Illinois politician, U.S. Representative * John Porter (MP for Bramber) (died 1599 ...

– producer (disc two: track 14) * Kenny Jones – engineer (disc two: track 14) * Gavin MacKillop – producer (disc two: track 15) * Andy MacDonald – remixing (disc two: track 15) *

John Leckie John William Leckie (born 23 October 1949) is an English record producer and recording engineer. His production credits include Magazine's ''Real Life'' (1978), XTC's ''White Music'' (1978) and Dukes of Stratosphear's '' 25 O'Clock'' (1985), t ...

– producer (disc two: tracks 16–17) * Barry Hammond – engineer (disc two: tracks 16–17) * Mike Shepherd – engineer (disc two: tracks 16–17) * Bob Andrews – producer (disc two: tracks 18–19) *

– engineer (disc two: tracks 18–19) * Jeremy Allom – producer (disc two: track 20) * Mike Haas – engineer (disc two: track 20)

Chart performance

References

External links

* *
''The La's''
at

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(streamed copy where licensed) {{DEFAULTSORT:Las, The 1990 debut albums albums produced by Steve Lillywhite The La's albums