| It's Better to Travel | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
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| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | 11 May 1987 | |||
| Recorded | 1985–1987 | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | 63:45 | |||
| Label | Mercury | |||
| Producer | Paul Staveley O'Duffy | |||
| Swing Out Sister chronology | ||||
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| Singles from It's Better to Travel | ||||
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It's Better to Travel is the debut album by the British pop band Swing Out Sister, released in 1987 on Mercury Records. Upon its release, the album reached number one on the UK Albums Chart. [6]
This was Swing Out Sister's debut album and contained the hit single "Breakout", which reached number 4 on the UK Singles Chart in November 1986 and number 6 on the US pop chart in November 1987. Subsequent singles released from It's Better to Travel include "Surrender", "Twilight World" and "Fooled by a Smile". Their debut single "Blue Mood" was remixed for the albums release. The original vinyl and cassette release comprised the first nine tracks shown below. The remaining tracks were added to the subsequent CD release.
The album also garnered the band two American Grammy Award nominations for Best New Artist and Best Pop Vocal Performance by a Group or Duo ("Breakout") at the ceremony held in 1988.
For this album, Swing Out Sister consisted of vocalist Corinne Drewery, keyboardist Andy Connell and drummer Martin Jackson. Jackson would depart the group during the recording of their second album, Kaleidoscope World .
The title for the album was derived from a quote by the Scottish author Robert Louis Stevenson: "To travel hopefully is a better thing than to arrive, and the true success is to labour." [7]
A four track video EP "And Why Not" was also released in 1987.
On 16 July 2012, It's Better to Travel was re-released in an expanded 2-disc version, to celebrate the 25th anniversary of its release. It contained both the remastered version of the original album, plus a bonus disc of various remixes and B-sides, most of which were previously unavailable on CD. [8]
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [9] |
| Smash Hits | 8/10 [10] |
Caroline Sullivan of Melody Maker described the songs on It's Better to Travel as "spanking, sparkling, radio-friendly little tunes, dressed up in some Dagworthy/Galliano fashionwear and committed to vinyl by a good-looking girl and two male partners." [7] Lucy O'Brien of New Musical Express mentioned a "lush, laidback funky mix with nifty horn section" and stated that "it should be less a case of Swing than Break Out Sister." [7]
All tracks credited to "Swing Out Sister"
LP and cassette version
CD version
Note: The version of "Breakout" listed as the "NAD Mix" is actually "A New Rockin' Version". This was corrected in the 2012 re-issue.
CD1
CD2
| Chart (1987) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Australia (Kent Music Report) [11] | 23 |
| United Kingdom (Official Charts Company) | 1 |
| United States (Billboard 200) | 40 |
Wild Mood Swings is the tenth studio album by English rock band the Cure, released on 6 May 1996 by Fiction Records. The album charted at number nine on the UK Albums Chart, staying on chart for six weeks, and charted at number 12 in the US Billboard 200.
Swing Out Sister are a British pop group best known worldwide for the 1986 song "Breakout". Other hits include "You On My Mind", "Twilight World", "Waiting Game", and a remake of the Eugene Record soul composition "Am I the Same Girl?"
Kaleidoscope World is the second studio album by the British band Swing Out Sister. It was released in 1989 and features the singles "You on My Mind", "Where in the World?", "Forever Blue", and "Waiting Game". With the addition of an orchestra, this album features a more sophisticated, easy listening/retro sound than their previous synth-oriented debut album, 1987's It's Better to Travel. The album reached #9 on the UK Albums Chart.
"Come On Get Up" is a song by American recording artist Janet Jackson from her seventh studio album, All for You (2001). A tribal house and pop song, it was written and produced by Jackson, Rockwilder, and Jam & Lewis.
"Swing the Mood" is a song by British novelty pop music act Jive Bunny and the Mastermixers, released as the first single from their debut album, Jive Bunny: The Album (1989). Produced by the father and son DJ team of Andy and John Pickles, "Swing the Mood" is a cut and paste record which fused a number of early rock and roll records with liberal use of Glenn Miller's "In the Mood".
"Breakout" is a song by British band Swing Out Sister. It was released in September 1986 as the second single from their debut album It's Better to Travel. Written and performed while the group was still a trio, it became one of their biggest hits, reaching the number four in the United Kingdom; in the US, it rose in 1987 to number six on the Billboard Hot 100 and number one on the Billboard Adult Contemporary chart. The song was nominated for Best Pop Vocal Performance by a Duo or Group at the 30th Annual Grammy Awards in 1988.
"Surrender" is a 1987 single released by British pop act Swing Out Sister from their debut album, It's Better to Travel. It was issued as the follow-up to the successful single, "Breakout". The song peaked at #7 on the UK Singles Chart in January 1987 and logged four weeks in the top ten.
"Twilight World" is a song by the British pop act Swing Out Sister. The song is included on their debut album, It's Better to Travel. It was written by the members of the group at that time, Andy Connell, Corinne Drewery and Martin Jackson.
"Fooled by a Smile" is a 1987 song by the British pop act Swing Out Sister. It was the final single to be taken from their debut album It's Better To Travel and reached #43 on the UK Singles Chart in July of that year.
"Am I the Same Girl?" is a popular song written by Eugene Record and Sonny Sanders. First recorded in 1968 by Barbara Acklin, "Am I the Same Girl?" charted most successfully in the US as a 1992 release by Swing Out Sister. However, the song had its greatest impact as a 1968–69 instrumental hit single by Young-Holt Unlimited under the title "Soulful Strut".
Harem Scarem is a Canadian hard rock/melodic hard rock band from Toronto, Ontario. Harem Scarem initially achieved popularity in their native Canada and Japan. The band was active from 1987 to 2008, and again from 2013 after reforming. Throughout their career, they have released 15 studio albums, plus numerous live and compilation albums, and a re-record of Mood Swings in 2013. Totals record sales are in excess of one million worldwide.
This is a partial discography of albums and singles released by Swing Out Sister. To date, the group has released ten studio albums. In addition, they have put out various other live, compilation or remix albums, some of which are only available in certain regions of the world.
Get in Touch with Yourself is the third studio album by the British pop group Swing Out Sister. The album was released on Fontana Records in 1992 and was produced by Paul Staveley O'Duffy.
The Living Return is the fourth studio album by the British pop group Swing Out Sister. It was released in August 1994 on Mercury Records.
Best of is a 1996 retrospective compilation album by Swing Out Sister, containing their successful singles spanning the years 1986 through 1996. It is their first compilation album—and last Fontana Records album.
"On Fire" is a song recorded by Lisa Stansfield's band, Blue Zone for their 1988 album, Big Thing. It was written by Stansfield, Ian Devaney and Andy Morris, and produced by Paul Staveley O'Duffy and Blue Zone. "On Fire" was released as the first European single on 26 October 1987.
Breakout is a compilation album by English pop group Swing Out Sister in 2001. The album features many of the band's singles as well as album tracks and B-sides.
"Blue Mood" is the debut single by British band Swing Out Sister. It was released in 1985, but it did not chart. It appears on the first album, It's Better to Travel.
"Where in the World" is a single by British band Swing Out Sister. It was the second single off the second studio album, Kaleidoscope World and was slightly edited for release. The song "The Windmills of Your Mind" was recorded live for The Jeff Graham Show, courtesy of Radio Luxembourg.
Mood Swing is the debut album by American new wave group The Nails. Recorded and released in 1984, it included the novelty single "88 Lines About 44 Women," which entered the Billboard Dance Club Songs chart, and placed at number 208 on the US Pop Albums Sales chart. It is retrospectively held in high regard by critics.
