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Good Humor | ||||
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Studio album by | ||||
Released | 4 May 1998 | |||
Recorded | Spring 1997 | |||
Studio | Tambourine Studios (Malmö, Sweden) | |||
Genre | Alternative rock, synth-pop | |||
Length | 43:35 | |||
Label | Creation | |||
Producer | Tore Johansson | |||
Saint Etienne chronology | ||||
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Singles from Good Humor | ||||
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Review scores | |
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Source | Rating |
AllMusic | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
Robert Christgau | ![]() ![]() |
Entertainment Weekly | B [3] |
NME | 4/10 [4] |
Pitchfork | 8.0/10 [5] (7.4/10 deluxe) |
Rolling Stone | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
Good Humor is the fourth studio album by English alternative dance band Saint Etienne. It was released on 4 May 1998 by Creation Records. The American spelling of humor is used in the title as the band were, according to Sarah Cracknell, "fed up with the 'quintessentially English' tag, so there was a bit of a backlash against that." [7]
The album was a departure for the group, who had been associated with the indie dance genre. Tiger Bay , their previous album, had added many acoustic and orchestral elements but still belonged to the synth-pop and dance genres, while Good Humor is more acoustic, having more in common musically with their 1993 hit single "You're in a Bad Way". Good Humor was demoed in the UK using synths and drum machines, but was recorded in Sweden under the guidance of Tore Johansson, who augmented their sound with a full band and a horn section.
Good Humor was recorded in two weeks at Tambourine Studios, Malmö, Sweden. The album was produced by Tore Johansson, who had produced all of The Cardigans' previous studio albums. [8] Most of the B-sides were also recorded and produced during the two-week sessions. Sarah Cracknell cut short the promotion of her solo album Lipslide and single "Goldie" to record the album.[ citation needed ]
The album's opening track, "Wood Cabin", contains the lyrics "Never write a love song/Never write a trip out/Never write a ballad". These lines are paraphrased from an interview that the Manic Street Preachers did for BBC2's Snub TV in 1991 ("We'll never write a love song, ever. Full stop. Or a ballad, or a trip-out..."), when the Manics and Saint Etienne were both signed to Heavenly Records.
Saint Etienne had always been affiliated with Creation Records through Heavenly Records, but Good Humor was their first release for the label proper. Its original release date was planned for summer 1997 but was delayed by Creation because they were committed to promoting Oasis's album Be Here Now .
In the United States, the group was signed to the Sub Pop label. A limited edition of the US release contained a bonus disc titled Fairfax High, consisting mostly of B-sides from UK singles. Each of the tracks on the bonus disc is available as part of the 2010 deluxe edition of Good Humor. Fairfax High was the first of a series of US-only singles, albums and EPs.
The first single was "Sylvie", which reached number twelve on the UK singles chart. The band wanted "Lose That Girl" to be the second single from the album[ citation needed ], but Creation decided on "The Bad Photographer", which reached number twenty-seven. "Lose That Girl" was scheduled for release by Creation in late 1998 but was scrapped at close to the last minute. [9] Remixes by the Trouser Enthusiasts were produced, but were not pressed to even promo 12". The Trouser Enthusiasts' remix was later featured as a bonus track on the North American-only B-sides compilation Interlude .
An instrumental demo of "Lose That Girl" and a single mix of "Sylvie" by album keyboardist Gerard Johnson are included on the fan club CD Nice Price . The band-written sleeve notes describe the influence of soft rock on the former. The song also had the working title of "Jazz Odyssey" (a nod to This is Spinal Tap ).
A double-disc deluxe edition of the album was released on 4 October 2010. The bonus disc contained Fairfax High in its entirety, as well as a number of other tracks. In September 2018, St Etienne toured a performance of the entire album across nine cities in USA and Canada.
All tracks are written by Sarah Cracknell, Bob Stanley and Pete Wiggs; except where indicated
No. | Title | Length |
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1. | "Wood Cabin" | 4:07 |
2. | "Sylvie" | 4:48 |
3. | "Split Screen" | 3:24 |
4. | "Mr. Donut" | 3:34 |
5. | "Goodnight Jack" | 4:37 |
6. | "Lose That Girl" | 4:03 |
7. | "The Bad Photographer" | 4:14 |
8. | "Been So Long" | 3:33 |
9. | "Postman" | 3:46 |
10. | "Erica America" | 4:02 |
11. | "Dutch TV" | 3:27 |
Initial copies of the UK vinyl LP were issued with a bonus 10" CRE 290X, which contained the "Friday Night Boiler Mix" of "Sylvie" and the "Kid Loco Talkin' Blues Mix" of "4:35 in the Morning".
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
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12. | "Sylvie" (Friday Night Boiler Mix) | ||
13. | "4:35 in the Morning" (Kid Loco Talkin' Blues Mix) | Cracknell, Mark Waterfield |
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
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1. | "Hill Street Connection" | 3:54 | |
2. | "Hit the Brakes" | 3:46 | |
3. | "Madeleine" | Cracknell, Wiggs | 3:57 |
4. | "Swim Swan Swim" | 3:03 | |
5. | "4:35 in the Morning" (Kid Loco Mix) | Cracknell, Mark Waterfield | 4:34 |
6. | "Clark Co. Record Fair" | 3:15 | |
7. | "Zipcode" | 3:02 | |
8. | "My Name is Vlaovic" | Cracknell, Wiggs | 2:32 |
9. | "Afraid to Go Home" | 3:27 | |
10. | "La La La" | Manuel de la Calva, Ramón Arcusa, Julien | 3:13 |
11. | "Cat Nap" | 2:45 |
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
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1. | "Hill Street Connection" | 3:55 | |
2. | "Hit the Brakes" | 3:46 | |
3. | "Madeleine" | Cracknell, Wiggs | 3:57 |
4. | "Swim Swan Swim" | 3:03 | |
5. | "4.35 in the Morning" | Cracknell, Mark Waterfield | 4:34 |
6. | "Clark Co. Record Fair" | 3:15 | |
7. | "Zipcode" | 3:02 | |
8. | "My Name Is Vlaovic" | Cracknell, Wiggs | 2:32 |
9. | "Afraid to Go Home" | 3:27 | |
10. | "La La La" (Originally recorded by Massiel) | Manuel de la Calva, Ramón Arcusa, Julien | 3:13 |
11. | "Do You Love Me?" (previously unreleased) | Cracknell, Wiggs | 2:57 |
12. | "Cat Nap" | 2:47 | |
13. | "Jack Lemmon" | 4:22 | |
14. | "Constantly" | 2:47 | |
15. | "The Emidisc Theme" | 2:21 | |
16. | "4.35 in the Morning" (original version) | Cracknell, Mark Waterfield | 3:59 |
Chart (1998) | Peak position |
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European Albums ( Music & Media ) [10] | 73 |
Japanese Albums (Oricon) [11] | 75 |
Norwegian Albums (VG-lista) [12] | 11 |
Scottish Albums (OCC) [13] | 28 |
Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan) [14] | 51 |
UK Albums (OCC) [15] | 18 |
UK Independent Albums (OCC) [16] | 2 |
Saint Etienne is an English band from Greater London, formed in 1990. The band consists of Sarah Cracknell, Bob Stanley and Pete Wiggs. Commonly associated with the indie dance scene of the 1990s, their music blends club culture with 1960s pop and other disparate influences.
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Tiger Bay is the third studio album by English indie dance band Saint Etienne. It was released 28 February 1994 by Heavenly Records. In an interview with Record Collector, band member Bob Stanley stated that the title is a reference to the 1959 film Tiger Bay.
Smash the System: Singles and More (2001) is a double-CD greatest hits album by Saint Etienne. The compilation samples music from most of their releases spanning the years from 1990 to 1999. Most tracks are featured in their single or edit versions, with the exception of 'Join Our Club' which is a new mix as the original sounded too 'muddy'. Smash The System was also going to be the CD debut of 'Lover Plays The Bass', but the band 'forgot' to include it.
Lipslide is the debut solo album from Saint Etienne lead singer Sarah Cracknell. The album was co-produced by Cracknell and a variety of producers and released in the UK by Gut Records in 1997. Upon its release Lipslide earned favorable reviews from music critics, although it was not a commercial success. Musically the album does not stray too far from Cracknell's work with Saint Etienne, as it contains electronic and indie-styled pop music.
Too Young to Die – Singles 1990–1995 is a compilation album by English indie dance band Saint Etienne released on 13 November, 1995, collecting the group's singles spanning the period of 1990 to 1995.
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"He's on the Phone" is a song by British pop group Saint Etienne in collaboration with French singer-songwriter Étienne Daho, released in October 1995 by Heavenly and MCA as a single from their third compilation album, Too Young to Die (1995). A fast-paced dance track, it is one of Saint Etienne's biggest hits, reaching number 11 on the UK Singles Chart, number 31 in Iceland, number 41 in Sweden and number 33 on the US Billboard Dance Club Songs chart. The lyrics tell of an "academia girl" trying to escape from a relationship with a married man: He's on the phone / And she wants to go home, / Shoes in hand, / Don't make a sound, / It's time to go. At the centre of the track is a spoken-word section by Daho.
"Pale Movie" is a song by British pop group Saint Etienne, released in February 1994 by Heavenly Records as the first single from the group's third album, Tiger Bay (1994). The song reached number 28 on the UK Singles Charts and also became a hit in Iceland, peaking at number 24. In common with the folk music theme of the album, the song combines a Eurodance beat with Spanish folk-style guitars. The lyrics use surreal imagery to describe a man's love for a mysterious woman. Although the title is not sung, some of the words refer to cinema: "In the bed where they make love / She's in a film on the sheets. / He shows dreams like a movie, / She's the softness of cinema seats." Other lines are stranger: "her skin as white as the milk, / Just like a Sherpa Tenzing / under a Manila silk."
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"Sylvie" is a 1998 song written and performed by British pop group Saint Etienne and released as the first single from their fourth album, Good Humor (1998). Produced by Swedish record producer, composer and musician Tore Johansson, it peaked at number 12 on the UK Singles Chart and number 62 on the Eurochart Hot 100. The song also reached number seven in Scotland and number two on the UK Indie Singles Chart. The accompanying music video was directed by Björn Lindgren and filmed in Havana, Cuba.
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