''Big Smash!'' is the third album by the English musician

Wreckless Eric Eric Goulden (born 18 May 1954), known as Wreckless Eric, is an English rock music, rock and New wave music, new wave singer-songwriter, best known for his 1977 single "Whole Wide World (song), Whole Wide World" on Stiff Records. More than two d ...

. It was released as a double LP (SEEZ 21) and as a

cassette Cassette may refer to: Technology * Cassette (format) (or ''cassette tape''), a format that contains magnetic tape for audio, video, and data storage and playback * Compact Cassette, a worldwide standard for analog audio recording and playback ...

(ZSEES 21) on 29 February 1980. While the first LP comprised new material, the extra LP was the U.S.-only compilation album ''The Whole Wide World''. ''Big Smash!'' was re-issued as a 2-CD set in 2007 with 3 bonus tracks (CDSEEZ 21).Official Stiff discography a
stiff-records.com
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Critical reception

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...

'' praised the "good energetic and basic rock'n'roll" of the album and compared it with the oeuvre of

Dave Edmunds David William Edmunds (born 15 April 1944) is a Welsh retired singer, songwriter, guitarist and record producer. Although he is mainly associated with Pub rock (United Kingdom), pub rock and New wave music, new wave, having many hit record, h ...

, noticing that "Eric has his own sound, personality and point of view".

Robert Christgau Robert Thomas Christgau ( ; born April 18, 1942) is an American music journalist and essayist. Among the most influential music critics, he began his career in the late 1960s as one of the earliest professional rock critics and later became a ...

remarked in his '' Record Guide'' that "'Tis said the spunk has gone out of the lad, but though he does wax lyrical at times – I like the one where he admires the style of a girl handing in her tube ticket – he's as rude and scrawny as ever."

Track listings

Double LP (1980)

Side 1 #"A Popsong" #"Tonight (Is My Night)" #"Too Busy" #"Broken Doll" #"Can I Be Your Hero?" #"Back in My Hometown" Side 2 #"It'll Soon Be the Weekend" #"Strange Towns" #"Excuse Me" #"Break My Mind" #"Good Conversation" #"Out of the Blue" #"A Popsong (reprise)" Side 3 #" (I'd Go the) Whole Wide World" #"Take The Cash (K.A.S.H.)" #"Let's Go to the Pictures" (Alternate version) #"Walking on the Surface of the Moon" (Alternate version) #"Hit & Miss Judy" #"I Wish It Would Rain" Side 4 #"Reconnez Cherie" #"Veronica" #"Brain Thieves" #"Semaphore Signals" #"I Need a Situation" #"The Final Taxi" #"There Isn't Anything Else"

2CD set (2007)

CD 1 #"A Popsong" #"Tonight (Is My Night)" #"Too Busy" #"Broken Doll" #"Can I Be Your Hero?" #"Back in My Hometown" #"It'll Soon Be the Weekend" #"Strange Towns" #"Excuse Me" #"Break My Mind" #"Good Conversation" #"Out of the Blue" CD 2 #" (I'd Go the) Whole Wide World" #"Take the Cash (K.A.S.H.)" #"Let's Go to the Pictures" #"Walking on the Surface of the Moon" #"Hit & Miss Judy" #"I Wish It Would Rain" #"Reconnez Cherie" #"Veronica" #"Brain Thieves" #"Semaphore Signals" #"I Need a Situation" #"The Final Taxi" #"There Isn't Anything Else" #"A Little Bit More" #"Take the Cash (K.A.S.H.) - Live" #"I Need a Situation - Live"

Personnel

For LP/Disc 1

- vocals, rhythm guitar *Pete Gosling - lead guitar, electric and acoustic rhythm guitars *Walter Hacon - electric and acoustic rhythm guitars *

Malcolm Morley Malcolm A. Morley (June 7, 1931 – June 1, 2018) was a British-American visual artist and painter. He was known as an artist who pioneered in various styles, working as a photorealist and an expressionist, among many other genres. In 1984, he ...

- organ, piano, acoustic guitar *John Brown - electric bass guitar *Dave Otway (Professor Carnage) -

drums The drum is a member of the percussion instrument, percussion group of musical instruments. In the Hornbostel–Sachs classification system, it is a membranophones, membranophone. Drums consist of at least one Acoustic membrane, membrane, c ...

, percussion.

References

External links

Official Wreckless Eric website
{{Authority control Wreckless Eric albums 1980 albums Stiff Records albums