''The Honeymoon Is Over'' is the third studio album by Australian

indie rock Indie rock is a subgenre of rock music that originated in the United States, United Kingdom and New Zealand from the 1970s to the 1980s. Originally used to describe independent record labels, the term became associated with the music they produc ...

band The Cruel Sea, which was released in May 1993.McFarlane, Ian (1999). ''The Encyclopedia of Australian Rock and Pop''
'The Cruel Sea'
entry. Retrieved 13 November 2010. The album was produced by the band,

Tony Cohen Anthony Lawrence Cohen (4 June 19572 August 2017) was an Australian music record producer and sound engineer. He worked with Nick Cave's groups the Birthday Party, and then the Bad Seeds from 1979 to 2001. In mid-1986 he had followed Cave t ...

and

Mick Harvey Michael John Harvey (born 29 August 1958) is an Australian musician, singer-songwriter, composer, arranger and record producer. A multi-instrumentalist, he is best known for his long-term collaborations with Nick Cave, with whom he formed The ...

for Red Eye Records. It peaked at No. 4 on the

ARIA Albums Chart The ARIA Charts are the main Australian music sales charts, issued weekly by the Australian Recording Industry Association. The charts are a record of the highest selling songs and albums in various genres in Australia. ARIA became the offici ...

and has sold over 140,000 copies. Its lead single, "

Black Stick "Black Stick" is a 1993 song from Australian rock band The Cruel Sea. The song was released in March 1993 as the lead single from the band's third studio album, '' The Honeymoon Is Over''. It peaked at number 25 on the ARIA Charts. At the ARIA ...

" was released ahead of the album in March 1993 and peaked at No. 25 on the related Singles Chart. The title song, " The Honeymoon Is Over", was released in July 1993 as a single and reached the Top 50. It was followed by a cover of

Tony Joe White Tony Joe White (July 23, 1943 – October 24, 2018), nicknamed the Swamp Fox, was an American singer-songwriter and guitarist, best known for his 1969 hit " Polk Salad Annie" and for " Rainy Night in Georgia", which he wrote but which was first ...

's 1969 song, "Woman with Soul", in October which peaked at No. 64. The final single from the album, "Seems Twice", was issued in February 1994 and peaked at No. 90. In 1994, the band won five

ARIA Awards The Australian Recording Industry Association Music Awards (commonly known informally as ARIA Music Awards, ARIA Awards, or simply the ARIAs) is an annual series of awards nights celebrating the Australian music industry, put on by the Austra ...

: 'Single of the Year' and 'Song of the Year' for " The Honeymoon Is Over"; 'Album of the Year', 'Best Group' and 'Producer of the Year' for ''The Honeymoon Is Over''. The album’s liner notes details “For Lulamay”, Gormly’s daughter.

Background

The Cruel Sea was formed in late 1987 in Sydney by Jim Elliot on drums and Dan Rumour (aka Daniel Atkins) on guitar. By late 1988, Ken Gormly had joined on bass guitar and

James Cruickshank James George Watson, who performed as James Cruickshank (1962 – 8 October 2015), was an Australian musician. He was the long-term guitarist and keyboardist for indie rock group, the Cruel Sea. As a solo artist he released three albums, ''Hym ...

on keyboards and guitars. In 1989, the band invited vocalist

Tex Perkins Gregory Stephen Perkins (born 28 December 1964), better known by his stage name Tex Perkins, is an Australian singer-songwriter who fronted the Australian rock band The Cruel Sea, but has also performed with the Beasts of Bourbon, Thug, James B ...

, also a member of

Beasts of Bourbon Beasts of Bourbon were an Australian blues rock band formed in August 1983, with James Baker on drums (ex-Hoodoo Gurus, The Scientists), Spencer P. Jones on guitar (The Johnnys), Tex Perkins on vocals (Dum Dums), Kim Salmon on guitar and Boris ...

, to join them on-stage. The group signed with Red Eye Records and released their debut album, '' Down Below'', in December. Their second album, ''

This Is Not the Way Home ''This is Not the Way Home'' is the second studio album by Australian indie rock band The Cruel Sea. The album was released in October 1991 and peaked at number 62 on the Australian albums chart. With the release of ''This is Not the Way Home' ...

'' was issued in December 1991. ''The Honeymoon Is Over'' was produced by the band,

( The Birthday Party, Beasts of Bourbon) and

(

Robert Forster Robert Wallace Forster Jr. (July 13, 1941 – October 11, 2019) was an American actor, known for his roles as John Cassellis in '' Medium Cool'' (1969), Captain Dan Holland in ''The Black Hole'' (1979), Abdul Rafai in '' The Delta Force'' (1986 ...

Anita Lane Anita Louise Lane (18 March 1960 – 27 April 2021) was an Australian singer-songwriter who was briefly a member of the Bad Seeds with Nick Cave and Mick Harvey and collaborated with both bandmates. Lane released two solo albums, ''Dirty Pearl' ...

) of Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds. Released in May 1993, it peaked at No. 4 on the ARIA Albums Chart, and sold over 140,000 copies. Late in 1994, the group toured Europe, again supporting Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds. They followed with a headlining tour across Europe and to Canada. On the

Triple J Hottest 100, 1993 The 1993 Triple J Hottest 100, counted down in January 1994, was the inaugural countdown of the most popular songs of the year, according to listeners of the Australian radio station Triple J (as opposed to previous incarnations of the poll, whe ...

, three tracks from ''The Honeymoon Is Over'' appeared, "The Honeymoon Is Over" at No. 9, "Black Stick" (No. 21) and "Delivery Man" (No. 95).

Recording

Perkins said, "We put the album down over three, one-week sessions, which is the longest we've ever taken to do it. If I spend too much time in the studio I get bored — desensitised. It's like I have nothing more to offer. But the actual recording was very easy — it's when you're mixing that it becomes microscopic — studying each sound. That doesn't flow so easily."

Reception

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 databa ...

's Tom Demalon said the album "blends organic, rootsy instrumentation with clever, well-written lyrics to produce an album that is a joy from start to finish". Randy Krbechek of ''Metronews'' was impressed, " tis a treat. From the instrumental tracks (such as the North African-influenced "Orleans Stomp" and the pop-rock, "Seems Twice") to rock cuts like "Better Than Love" and "Black Stick", The Cruel Sea delivers the goods". Reviewed in

Rolling Stone Australia ''Rolling Stone'' Australia is the Australian edition of the United States' ''Rolling Stone'' magazine devoted to music, politics, and popular culture, published monthly. The Australian version of ''Rolling Stone'' was initially published in 197 ...

at the time of the release, it was said that the album differed from the band's previous releases because of the Cajun feel that permeated the album.

's production was particularly praised. The music was described as, "part

Elvis Elvis Aaron Presley (January 8, 1935 – August 16, 1977), or simply Elvis, was an American singer and actor. Dubbed the " King of Rock and Roll", he is regarded as one of the most significant cultural figures of the 20th century. His ener ...

Sun Sessions guitar twang, part Booker T-inspired instrumental groove, part

Tom Waits Thomas Alan Waits (born December 7, 1949) is an American musician, composer, songwriter, and actor. His lyrics often focus on the underbelly of society and are delivered in his trademark deep, gravelly voice. He worked primarily in jazz during ...

percussive and lyrical growl, and a lot of Southern American country influence à la

's "

Polk Salad Annie "Polk Salad Annie" is a 1968 song written and performed by Tony Joe White.
Its lyrics describe t ...

Accolades

At the

ARIA Music Awards of 1994 The Eighth Australian Recording Industry Association Music Awards (generally known as the ARIA Music Awards or simply The ARIAS) was held on 30 March 1994 at the State Theatre in Sydney. Radio and TV personality Richard Stubbs hosted the ce ...

, The Cruel Sea won 'Single of the Year' and 'Song of the Year' for "The Honeymoon Is Over", 'Album of the Year', 'Best Group' and 'Producer of the Year' (

) for ''The Honeymoon Is Over'' and received five further nominations including 'Best Cover Art' by Kristyna Higgins and Jay Manby. At an after-party, a drunken guest attacked Higgins, a professional photographer, and a fracas ensued with Perkins defending his partner. Also that night, two of their ARIA trophies were stolen. In October 2010, ''The Honeymoon Is Over'' was listed in the book, '' 100 Best Australian Albums''.

Track listing

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certification

Personnel

The Cruel Sea members *Jim Elliott – drums, percussion *Dan Rumour – guitars, percussion *

– keyboards, guitar, backing vocals, percussion *Ken Gormly – bass guitar, percussion *

– vocals, harmonica, guitar Additional musicians *Geoff Hales – percussion *

Ross Hannaford Ross Andrew Hannaford (1 December 1950 – 8 March 2016) was an Australian musician, active in numerous local bands. He was often referred to by his nickname "Hanna". Widely regarded as one of the country's finest rock guitarists, he was best kn ...

– guitar *

– tambourine, xylophone Production details *Producer – The Cruel Sea,

*Mastering – Don Bartley *Engineer – Tony Cohen *Editing, sequencing – David Macquarie *Studio – Metropolis and Atlantis (Melbourne) **Planet (

Perth Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia. It is the fourth most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a population of 2.1 million (80% of the state) living in Greater Perth in 2020. Perth i ...

) – "Black Stick" Art work *Cover art – Kristyna Higgins, Jan Manby **Cover photo – Kristyna Higgins **Concept – Tex Perkins **Photography – Tex Perkins, Kristyna Higgins

References

External links

''The Honeymoon Is Over''
at

Discogs Discogs (short for discographies) is a database of information about audio recordings, including commercial releases, promotional releases, and bootleg or off-label releases. While the site was originally created with a goal of becoming the ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Honeymoon Is Over 1993 albums ARIA Award-winning albums Albums produced by Tony Cohen The Cruel Sea (band) albums