Information Society (album)

Last updated
Information Society
Information Society (album).png
Studio album by
ReleasedJune 21, 1988 (1988-06-21)
Recorded
Genre
Length43:42
Label
Producer
Information Society chronology
Creatures of Influence
(1984)
Information Society
(1988)
Hack
(1990)
Singles from Information Society
  1. "What's on Your Mind (Pure Energy)"
    Released: April 26, 1988
  2. "Walking Away"
    Released: 1988
  3. "Repetition"
    Released: 1989
  4. "Lay All Your Love on Me"
    Released: 1989
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar half.svg [2]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar half.svgStar empty.svg [4]

Information Society is the debut studio album by American synth-pop band Information Society, released on June 21, 1988, by Tommy Boy Records and Reprise Records. It was the band's first release under a major label, after two independently released extended plays. The album was certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) on December 6, 1988, denoting shipments in excess of 500,000 copies in the United States. Four singles were released from the album, including "What's on Your Mind (Pure Energy)", the group's most commercially successful single to date. It was one of the only albums released in the seldom-used CD+G format.

Contents

Production

Information Society is one of the very few albums to have CD+G content. As the CD+G format never caught on and compatible players are difficult to find, the whole content was also made available on the band's website. "What's on Your Mind (Pure Energy)" and "Walking Away" were used in a sampler disc bundled with the Sega CD to showcase the console's CD+G capability. It had the same graphics as the album.

According to the CD+G notes, [5] instruments used in the production of this album include: Akai S-900 sampler, E-MU SP-12 Drum Machine, Prophet 2002 Sampler (X2), Yamaha TX Rack Module (X8), Moog Minimoog Synthesizer, Roland Super Jupiter Synth (X3), Roland JX-3P Synth, Roland S-50 Synth. This album was recorded onto floppy disk via Voyetra Technology's "Sequencer Plus MK III" MIDI sequencer software in the summer of 1987. It was transferred to 48-track analog tape in autumn 1987, at which time vocals were added. The 48-track was then mixed down to a stereo master in winter 1987–1988.

Track listing

All tracks produced by Fred Maher, except "Running" by Paul Robb.

Software
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."What's on Your Mind (Pure Energy)"4:33
2."Tomorrow"
4:08
3."Lay All Your Love on Me"3:39
4."Repetition"Robb4:32
5."Walking Away"Robb5:01
Hardware
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
6."Over the Sea"Valaquen3:53
7."Attitude"
  • Robb
  • Valaquen
4:11
8."Something in the Air"Robb4:53
9."Running"Murat Konar7:41
10."Make It Funky"Robb1:11

Personnel

Credits adapted from the liner notes of Information Society. [6]

Information Society

Additional musicians

Technical

  • Fred Maher – production, mixing, recording engineering (tracks 1–8, 10); arrangements, programming
  • Paul Robb – production (track 9)
  • Roey Shamir – mixing, mix engineering (tracks 1–8, 10)
  • Joey Gardner – mixing (track 9)
  • "Little" Louie Vega – mixing (track 9)
  • Kevin Laffey – executive production
  • Chopper Black – recording engineering (track 9)
  • Eric Calvi – mix engineering (track 9)
  • Jon Smith – mix engineering (track 9)
  • Oz Fritz – engineering assistance
  • Angela Piva – engineering assistance
  • The Latin Rascals (Tony Moran and Albert Cabrera) – edits (track 9)
  • Herb Powers Jr. – mastering

Artwork

Charts

Chart performance for Information Society
Chart (1988)Peak
position
Canada Top Albums/CDs ( RPM ) [7] 41
US Billboard 200 [8] 25
US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums (Billboard) [9] 78

Certifications

Certifications for Information Society
RegionCertification Certified units/sales
United States (RIAA) [10] Gold500,000^

^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

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References

  1. Ira Robbins. "Information Society". Trouser Press . Retrieved 13 July 2022.
  2. 1 2 Bush, John. "Information Society – Information Society". AllMusic . Retrieved September 11, 2018.
  3. Cooper, William. Information Society - Hack (1990): Review at AllMusic. Retrieved January 2, 2024.
  4. The Rolling Stone Album Guide. Random House. 1992. p. 343.
  5. "Information Society CD+G (Completed)". YouTube . Archived from the original on 2021-12-14.
  6. Information Society (liner notes). Information Society. Tommy Boy Records. 1988. 9 25691-2.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  7. "RPM100 Albums" (PDF). RPM . Vol. 49, no. 6. November 26, 1988. p. 11. ISSN   0033-7064 via World Radio History.
  8. "Information Society Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved September 11, 2018.
  9. "Information Society Chart History (Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved September 11, 2018.
  10. "American album certifications – Information Society – Information Society". Recording Industry Association of America. December 6, 1988. Retrieved September 11, 2018.