''Express'' is the second studio album by English

alternative rock Alternative rock, or alt-rock, is a category of rock music that emerged from the independent music underground of the 1970s and became widely popular in the 1990s. "Alternative" refers to the genre's distinction from mainstream or commercial ...

band Love and Rockets. It was released on 15 September 1986 on

Beggars Banquet Records Beggars Banquet Records is a British independent record label. Beggars Banquet started as a chain of record shops owned by Martin Mills and Nick Austin and is part of the Beggars Group of labels. History In 1977, spurred by the prevailing ...

. An even greater departure from the band members' previous work as

Bauhaus The Staatliches Bauhaus (), commonly known as the Bauhaus (), was a German art school operational from 1919 to 1933 that combined crafts and the fine arts.Oxford Dictionary of Art and Artists (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 4th edn., 20 ...

, the album's fusion of underground rock with pop stylings can be seen as an early example of

music, a genre that reached mainstream popularity in the early 1990s. "Kundalini Express" was featured in the 1986 Italian horror film ''

Demons 2 ''Demons 2'' ( it, Dèmoni 2) is a 1986 Italian horror film directed by Lamberto Bava and produced by Dario Argento. It is a sequel to Bava's 1985 film ''Demons'' and stars David Knight, Nancy Brilli, Coralina Cataldi Tassoni, as well as Argento ...

'' and appeared on an episode of the T.V. show ''

Miami Vice ''Miami Vice'' is an American crime drama television series created by Anthony Yerkovich and produced by Michael Mann (director), Michael Mann for NBC. The series stars Don Johnson as James "Sonny" Crockett and Philip Michael Thomas as Ricardo ...

''.

Reception

In their retrospective review,

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 ...

gave the album four-and-a-half stars out of five, writing, "rich in sonic detail, the

neo-psychedelic Neo-psychedelia is a diverse genre of psychedelic music that draws inspiration from the sounds of 1960s psychedelia, either updating or copying the approaches from that era. Originating in the 1970s, it has occasionally seen mainstream pop suc ...

''Express'' offers a listening experience like no other album – guitars spiral to dizzying heights from beds of sound, arrangements swirl, songs change and mutate."

Release history

In 2001, the album was remastered and expanded to include two single remixes and several contemporaneous

B-sides The A-side and B-side are the two sides of phonograph records and cassettes; these terms have often been printed on the labels of two-sided music recordings. The A-side usually features a recording that its artist, producer, or record company ...

, including a cover of

Pink Floyd Pink Floyd are an English rock band formed in London in 1965. Gaining an early following as one of the first British psychedelic groups, they were distinguished by their extended compositions, sonic experimentation, philosophical lyrics an ...

's "Lucifer Sam". Two short experimental pieces that had been found on the studio tape masters labelled as "B Side #1" and "B Side #2" were also added. "

Ball of Confusion "Ball of Confusion (That's What the World Is Today)" is a 1970 hit single for The Temptations. It was released on the Gordy (Motown) label, and written by Norman Whitfield and Barrett Strong. The song was used to anchor The Temptations' 1970 ' ...

" was released before ''Seventh Dream of Teenage Heaven'', but since the USA mix could not be fit on the reissue of that album, it was appended to the ''Express'' reissue.

Track listings

Personnel

; Love and Rockets *

Daniel Ash Daniel Ash (born 31 July 1957) is an English musician, songwriter and singer. He became prominent in the late 1970s as the guitarist for the iconic goth rock band Bauhaus, which spawned two related bands led by Ash: Tones on Tail and Love a ...

– guitar, saxophone, vocals * David J – bass guitar, vocals *

Kevin Haskins Kevin Michael Dompe (born 19 July 1960), born and best-known as Kevin Michael Haskins, is an English drummer, best known from the British rock group Bauhaus. He was also a member of Tones on Tail and Love and Rockets. Early career As a child ...

– drums, synthesizer ; Additional personnel * Allan Baker – choir master * Alan Brookes – choir vocalist on "An American Dream" * James Lowry – choir vocalist on "An American Dream" * John A. Rivers – additional keyboards * Robert Willey – choir vocalist on "An American Dream" ; Production * Love and Rockets – sleeve design * Mitch Jenkins – sleeve photography

References

External links

* * {{Authority control 1986 albums Love and Rockets (band) albums Beggars Banquet Records albums Neo-psychedelia albums