Kings of Sleep

Last updated
Kings of Sleep
Stuart Hamm Kings of Sleep.jpg
Studio album by
ReleasedJune 19, 1989
RecordedDecember 1988 – February 1989
Genre Instrumental Rock
Length39:05
Label Relativity
Producer Stuart Hamm
Stuart Hamm chronology
Radio Free Albemuth
(1988)
Kings of Sleep
(1989)
The Urge
(1991)
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
Allmusic Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar half.svg [1]

Kings of Sleep is the second solo album released by bassist Stuart Hamm. [2] It was released on June 19, 1989 on Relativity Records.

Contents

The title of the album and many of the songs were inspired by the novels and short stories of William Gibson, including Neuromancer ("Black Ice" and "Terminal Beach" are both references from that novel), Count Zero (referring to the name of the novel as well as the hacker handle of one of the protagonists), and the short story The Winter Market (Kings of Sleep is the name of a fictional stim-album in that story).

Track listing

All songs written by Stuart Hamm, except where noted.

  1. "Black Ice" – 4:23
  2. "Surely the Best" – 5:19
  3. "Call of the Wild" – 4:41
  4. "Terminal Beach" – 3:57
  5. "Count Zero" – 4:13
  6. "I Want to Know" – 5:39
  7. "Prelude in C" (J.S. Bach) – 2:30
  8. "Kings of Sleep" (Kim Bullard & Stuart Hamm) – 8:23

Personnel

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ice-T</span> American rapper and actor (born 1958)

Tracy Lauren Marrow, better known by his stage name Ice-T, is an American rapper and actor. He is active in both hip hop and heavy metal. Ice-T began his career as an underground rapper in the 1980s and was signed to Sire Records in 1987, when he released his debut album Rhyme Pays. The following year, he founded the record label Rhyme $yndicate Records and released another album, Power (1988), which would go platinum. He also released several other albums that went gold, including The Iceberg/Freedom of Speech... Just Watch What You Say! (1989), O.G. Original Gangster (1991) and Home Invasion (1993).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Stuart Hamm</span> American bass guitar player (born 1960)

Stuart Hamm is an American bass guitar player, known for his session and live work with numerous artists as well as for his unconventional playing style and solo recordings.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Body Count (band)</span> American heavy metal band

Body Count is an American heavy metal band formed in Los Angeles in 1990. The group is fronted by Ice-T, who first established himself as a rapper but co-founded the group with lead guitarist Ernie C out of their interest in heavy metal music. Ice-T took on the role of vocalist and writing the lyrics for most of Body Count's songs, while Ernie C has been responsible for writing the group's music.

<i>Black Sabbath</i> (album) 1970 studio album by Black Sabbath

Black Sabbath is the debut studio album by English heavy metal band Black Sabbath, released on 13 February 1970 by Vertigo Records in the United Kingdom and on 1 June 1970 by Warner Bros. Records in the United States. The album is widely regarded as the first true heavy metal album, and the opening track, "Black Sabbath", has been referred to as the first doom metal song.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Al Stewart</span> Scottish musician (born 1945)

Alastair Ian Stewart is a Scottish-born singer-songwriter and folk-rock musician who rose to prominence as part of the British folk revival in the 1960s and 1970s. He developed a unique style of combining folk-rock songs with tales of characters and events from history.

<i>Freedom</i> (Neil Young album) 1989 studio album by Neil Young

Freedom is the 17th studio album by Canadian-American musician Neil Young, released on October 2, 1989. Freedom relaunched Young's career after a largely unsuccessful decade. After many arguments and a lawsuit, Young left Geffen Records in 1988 and returned to his original label, Reprise, with This Note's for You. Freedom brought about a new, critical and commercially successful album. It was released as an LP record, cassette tape, and CD.

<i>20/20</i> (The Beach Boys album) 1969 studio album by US band The Beach Boys

20/20 is the 15th studio album by American rock band the Beach Boys, released February 10, 1969 on Capitol Records. The LP was named for being their 20th overall release when factoring in live albums and compilations. Much of 20/20 consists of outtakes from earlier albums. It reached number 3 on UK record charts and number 68 in the U.S. Brian Wilson was absent during most of the album's recording after admitting himself into a psychiatric hospital, requiring brothers Carl and Dennis to retrieve several outtakes he had recorded years earlier. While Brian does not appear on the front cover, the inner gatefold of the original vinyl release features him alone, behind an eye examination chart.

<i>On the Beach</i> (Neil Young album) 1974 studio album by Neil Young

On the Beach is the fifth studio album by Canadian-American musician Neil Young, released by Reprise Records in July 1974. The album is the second of the so-called "Ditch Trilogy" of albums that Young recorded following the major success of 1972's Harvest, whereupon the scope of his success and acclaim became apparent; On the Beach was inspired by his feelings of retreat, alienation, and melancholy in response to this success.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Audio Adrenaline</span> Christian rock band

Audio Adrenaline was an American Christian rock band that formed in 1986 at Kentucky Christian University in Grayson, Kentucky. The band gained recognition during the 1990s and received two Grammy Awards and multiple Dove Awards. Audio Adrenaline were regular performers at the annual Creation Festival, Spirit West Coast festival, Agape Music Festival, and Alive Festival. In 2007, the group disbanded due to lead singer Mark Stuart's spasmodic dysphonia. During this time, they released eight studio albums.

<i>Flex-Able</i> 1984 studio album by Steve Vai

Flex-Able is the debut studio album by American virtuoso guitarist Steve Vai. This was his first as a solo artist, and was created in Stucco Blue, a shed converted into a studio in Vai's old back garden. It is very different from many of his other albums, and is largely influenced by Frank Zappa. Flex-Able does not rely as much on massive guitar arrangements and shred moments as the rest of his output from the 1990s onwards, with the exception of Leftovers which is a compilation of bonus tracks and remasters from his sessions at 'Stucco Blue'.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Kings</span> Canadian rock band formed 1977

The Kings are a Canadian rock band formed in 1977 in Oakville, Ontario. They are best known for their 1980 song "This Beat Goes On/Switchin' To Glide", which was a hit in the United States and Canada.

<i>Body Count</i> (album) 1992 studio album by Body Count

Body Count is the debut studio album by American heavy metal band Body Count, released on March 30, 1992, by Sire Records. The album's material focuses on various social and political issues ranging from police brutality to drug abuse. It also presents a turning point in the career of Ice-T, who co-wrote the album's songs with lead guitarist Ernie C and performed as the band's lead singer. Previously known only as a rapper, Ice-T's work with the band helped establish a crossover audience with rock music fans. The album produced the single "There Goes the Neighborhood".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bernie Marsden</span> British guitarist (1951–2023)

Bernard John Marsden was an English rock and blues guitarist. He is primarily known for his work with Whitesnake, having written or co-written with David Coverdale many of the group's hit songs, such as "Fool for Your Loving", "Walking in the Shadow of the Blues", "Ready an' Willing", "Lovehunter", "Trouble", and "Here I Go Again".

<i>Radio Free Albemuth</i> (album) 1988 studio album by Stuart Hamm

Radio Free Albemuth is the debut solo album by bassist Stuart Hamm, released in 1988 on Relativity Records. Hamm is backed up by guitarists Allan Holdsworth and Joe Satriani. The title of the album and many of the songs were inspired by the novels of Philip K. Dick.

<i>The Urge</i> (album) 1991 studio album by Stuart Hamm

The Urge is the third solo album released by bassist Stuart Hamm, released in 1991. It was the first of Hamm's solo albums to feature vocals, and included guest appearances by guitarist Eric Johnson and Tommy Lee of Mötley Crüe. The song "Quahogs Anyone?" was recorded live at Santa Barbara on September 27, 1990.

<i>In the County of Kings</i> 2007 studio album by Eric Stuart Band

In The County Of Kings is the fifth album from the Eric Stuart Band, in which Eric Stuart is the songwriter and lead singer. This album was released in 2007 under Stuart's own independent label, Widow's Peak Records. The title of the album comes from Kings County, Brooklyn, where Stuart was born and raised. In addition, the front cover art depicts the Brooklyn Bridge and New York City in juxtaposition with the Great Pyramid, the Sphinx of Giza, and the Valley of the Kings, which are in Egypt. The musical style of In The County Of Kings is more country-sounding than any previous Eric Stuart Band album, and is described by Eric Stuart as "Concrete Country." With regard to this, Stuart writes,

I was trying to come up with a way to explain the type of music I play. Americana was too rootsy, Folk-Rock only touched on a part of my sound and County/Rock made it sound like I wore a cowboy hat. I am born and raised in Brooklyn, New York, but I play music with a strong lyrical, melodic, story based approach. There are many country elements as well. I thought the combination of "Concrete" to connect with the sidewalks and buildings I grew up around as well as the rock connotations that word brings plus the "Country" would show I was touching on string songwriting and storytelling that went with country music.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Adam and the Ants</span> English rock band

Adam and the Ants were an English rock band that formed in London in 1977. The band existed in two versions, both of which were fronted by Adam Ant, between 1977 and 1982. The first phase began when the band were founded in May 1977 and were called the Ants until November of that year. They later changed their style from punk rock to post-punk and new wave, and released one album. The final line-up of this version consisted of Dave Barbarossa, Matthew Ashman, and Leigh Gorman—all of whom left the band in January 1980 at the suggestion of manager Malcolm McLaren to form Bow Wow Wow.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Do Anything You Want To</span> 1979 single by Thin Lizzy

"Do Anything You Want To" is a song by the Irish hard rock band Thin Lizzy. It was the second single released from their 1979 album Black Rose: A Rock Legend. It was recorded at Pathe Marconi EMI Studios in Paris, France.

"Crime in the City " is a song written by Neil Young that was first released on his 1989 album Freedom, although Young had performed longer versions in concert earlier. It was not released as a single but reached number 34 on the Billboard Magazine Mainstream Rock Tracks chart. It is a lengthy song, with a released version of almost nine minutes, but earlier versions were more than twice as long. It has been characterized as a document of moral rot in urban regions of the United States in the late 1980s.

Harry Cody is a Swedish songwriter, composer, and guitarist. He was a founding member of the glam metal and industrial band Shotgun Messiah, before joining Coma and founding Das Cabal. He has recorded with Tom Waits, among others.

References

  1. Kings of Sleep at AllMusic
  2. "Stuart Hamm - Kings Of Sleep". Discogs.com.