Lovetown (album)

Last updated

Lovetown
Love town by Stephen Cummings.png
Studio album by
ReleasedJanuary 1988
Genre Rock, pop, Alternative rock
Label Rampant Records
Producer Mark Woods, Stephen Cummings
Stephen Cummings chronology
This Wonderful Life
(1986)
Lovetown
(1988)
A New Kind of Blue
(1989)
Singles from Lovetown
  1. "She Sets Fire to the House"
    Released: September 1987
  2. "Some Prayers Are Answered"
    Released: February 1988
  3. "My Willingness"
    Released: May 1988

Lovetown is the third studio album by Australian singer-songwriter Stephen Cummings. The album was released in January 1988 and peaked at number 61 on the Australian Kent Music Report. The album was re-released in 1989 with an altered track list and four bonus tracks. The album is listed in the 100 Best Australian Albums.

Contents

Reception

Ian McFarlane said "Lovetown was a very subtle, alluring, personal and mostly acoustic album. It was full of conversational, narrative vignettes from a world where the ironic title Lovetown certainly referred to Melbourne." [1]

In its 1987 yearbook, Rolling Stone Australia said that "Lovetown was as uncluttered, heartfelt and impacting as only the best music can be." adding "The stripped back arrangements placed a strong emphasis on the song, and Cummings' voice. Here the predominantly Cummings/Pendlebury penned tunes stood up to the closest scrutiny. The lyrics on the brilliant 'Everybody Wants to Get to Heaven But Nobody Wants to Die", "She Set Fire to the House' and 'Push It Up All Fall Down' consistently hit the spot as they incisively documented relationships on the skids. These songs were made to be presented in a loose, and traditional format. They had a remarkable, timeless presence." [2]

Track listing

Side A
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Everybody Wants to Get to Heaven But Nobody Wants to Die"3:47
2."My Willingness"
  • Cummings
  • Pendlebury
4:24
3."If You Don't Want My Love"
  • Cummings
  • Dean Richards
2:59
4."When Trouble Comes"
  • Cummings
  • Pendlebury
3:33
5."Where Are You Going"
  • Cummings
  • Pendlebury
3:48
Side B
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."You Jane"
  • Cummings
4:23
2."Some Prayers Are Answered"
  • Cummings
  • Pendlebury
3:57
3."She Sets Fire to the House" (with Andrew Pendlebury)
  • Cummings
  • Pendlebury
4:51
4."Push It Up, All Falls Down"
  • Cummings
  • Pendlebury
3:00
5."Viva Las Vegas"2:35

1989 Re-release

Side A
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Everybody Wants to Get to Heaven But Nobody Wants to Die" 
2."Some Prayers Are Answered"
  • Cummings
  • Pendlebury
 
3."If You Don't Want My Love"
  • Cummings
  • Dean Richards
 
4."When Trouble Comes"
  • Cummings
  • Pendlebury
 
5."Where Are You Going"
  • Cummings
  • Pendlebury
 
6."My Willingness"
  • Cummings
  • Pendlebury
 
7."You Jane"
  • Cummings
 
8."She Sets Fire to the House"
  • Cummings
  • Pendlebury
 
9."Push It Up, All Falls Down"
  • Cummings
  • Pendlebury
 
10."Viva Las Vegas" 
11."Time to Kill"  
12."She Set Fire to the House" (Electric)  
13."Who Listens to the Radio '89"
  • Cummings
  • Pendlebury
 
14."Last Round Up"
 

Charts

Chart (1988)Peak
position
Australian Album Kent Music Report [3] 61

Release history

RegionDateLabelFormatCatalogue
AustraliaJanuary 1988Rampant Records Vinyl, cassette RR052
Australia1989TrueTone RecordsCD, cassette CDP-793651

Related Research Articles

Pseudo Echo are an Australian new wave band that formed in 1982 by founding mainstay Brian Canham on vocals, guitar and keyboards. Other original members were Piero Gigliotti on bass keyboards and bass guitar, and Tony Lugton on keyboards. Later members included Anthony Argiro on drums, James Leigh on keyboards and his brother, Vince Leigh on drums. In the 1980s, Pseudo Echo had Australian top 20 hits with "Listening", "A Beat for You", "Don't Go", "Love an Adventure", "Living in a Dream" and their cover of "Funky Town", which peaked at No. 1 in 1986. In 1987, it reached No. 1 in Canada, No. 1 in New Zealand, No. 6 in the United States, and No. 8 in the United Kingdom.

Stephen Donald Cummings is an Australian rock singer and songwriter. He was the lead singer of Melbourne-based rock band the Sports from 1976 to 1981, followed by a solo career which has met with critical acclaim but has had limited commercial success. He has written two novels, Wonderboy (1996) and Stay Away from Lightning Girl (1999), and a memoir, Will It Be Funny Tomorrow, Billy (2009). In 2014 a documentary film, Don't Throw Stones, based on his memoir premiered as part of the Melbourne International Film Festival.

The Sports were an Australian rock group which performed and recorded between 1976 and 1981. Mainstay members were Stephen Cummings on lead vocals and Robert Glover on bass guitar, with long-term members such as Paul Hitchins on drums, Andrew Pendlebury on lead guitar and vocals, and Martin Armiger on guitar. Their style was similar to both 1970s British pub rock bands and British new wave. The Sports' top forty singles are "Who Listens to the Radio", "Don't Throw Stones", "Strangers on a Train" and "How Come". Their top 20 releases on the Australian Kent Music Report Albums Chart are Don't Throw Stones, Suddenly and Sondra.

I'm Talking are an Australian funk-pop rock band, which featured vocalists Kate Ceberano and Zan Abeyratne. They formed in 1983 in Melbourne and provided top ten hit singles "Trust Me", "Do You Wanna Be?" and "Holy Word" and a top fifteen album, Bear Witness, before disbanding in 1987. The group reunited in October 2018, and went on a 2019 tour as well as a series of small venue shows.

<i>INXSIVE</i> 1982 compilation album by INXS

INXSIVE is the first compilation album by Australian rock band INXS, which was released in 1982 on Deluxe Records for the Australian market only. It appeared in the top 100 of the Kent Music Report Albums Chart. INXSive features highlights from the band's first two studio albums, related B-sides, and two non-album singles: "Simple Simon" and "The Loved One". The latter is a cover of a 1966 single originally by The Loved Ones; INXS later re-recorded this song and released it on the album Kick.

The Cockroaches Australian pub rock band

The Cockroaches were an Australian pub rock band active throughout the 1980s. The band was founded in 1979 by the Field brothers—Paul, John, and Anthony —and Tony Henry on drums and Joseph Hallion on saxophone. They were joined in 1981 by Jeff Fatt on keyboards. In 1986 they signed with an independent label, Regular Records, which issued their first three albums, including The Cockroaches, which peaked at No. 9 on the Australian Kent Music Report Albums Chart; it sold 70,000 copies and was certified platinum by their label. The album spawned the single "She's the One", which became the band's biggest hit when it peaked at No. 7 on the Kent Music Report Singles Chart in April 1987. In 1988, The Daily Telegraph described the Cockroaches, who played over 300 gigs a year, as the "Hardest Working Rock'n'Roll Band" in the country.

<i>Persia</i> (EP) 1984 EP by The Church

Persia is the fourth extended play by the Australian psychedelic rock band the Church, which was released in August 1984. It was the follow-up to their earlier 1984 EP Remote Luxury, and continued in a similar stylistic vein.

Mondo Rock are an Australian rock band, formed in November 1976 in Melbourne, Victoria. Singer-songwriter Ross Wilson founded the band, following the split of his previous band Daddy Cool. Guitarist Eric McCusker, who joined in 1980, wrote many of the band's hits, and along with Wilson formed the core of the group. They are best known for their second album, Chemistry, which was released in July 1981 and peaked at number 2 on the Australian Kent Music Report. Their song "Come Said the Boy" peaked at number 2 in Australia in 1983.

Wendy Matthews is a Canadian-born Australian adult contemporary singer and songwriter. Her discography consists of nine studio albums, two live albums, two compilation albums, four video albums and twenty-four singles.

Sunnyboys are an Australian power pop band formed in Sydney in 1979. Fronted by singer-songwriter, guitarist Jeremy Oxley, the band "breathed some freshness and vitality into the divergent Sydney scene". Their first two albums, Sunnyboys and Individuals both appeared in the Top 30 of the Australian Kent Music Report Albums Chart.

Quasimodos Dream (song) 1981 single by The Reels

"Quasimodo's Dream" is a song by Australian pop/new wave band The Reels and was released as the title single off their second album, Quasimodo's Dream in May 1981. The album peaked at No. 27 on the Australian Kent Music Report Albums Chart but the single did not reach the Top 50 of the related Singles Chart. Rock music historian, Ian McFarlane claimed, "the album's highlight was the sparse, evocative title track". The song, written by lead singer Dave Mason, is now regarded as a classic—in 2001 it was named by Australasian Performing Right Association (APRA) at No. 10 of their Top 30 Australian songs of all time. It was covered by fellow Australians Kate Ceberano (1989) and Jimmy Little (1999).

Bury Me Deep in Love 1987 single by The Triffids

Bury Me Deep in Love is a single released by Australian folk rock group The Triffids from their album Calenture. It appeared in October 1987 and reached No. 48 on the Australian Kent Music Report Singles Chart. It was produced by Gil Norton and written by David McComb, the group's lead singer and guitarist. The B-sides "Baby Can I Walk You Home" and "Region Unknown" were produced by Victor Van Vugt and The Triffids. The single was released as 7", 12" & CD single versions.

<i>Rose Tattoo</i> (Rose Tattoo album) 1978 studio album by Rose Tattoo

Rose Tattoo is the debut self-titled album by Australian hard rock band Rose Tattoo released in November 1978 on the Albert Productions label. It was produced by the famous Vanda & Young team who have worked with AC/DC, The Angels and Stevie Wright. The album was released as Rock 'n' Roll Outlaw in some markets. Eight bonus tracks were added for the 1990 CD edition for Repertoire Records.

Andrew Scott Pendlebury is an Australian guitarist-songwriter. From 1977 to 1981 was a member of The Sports and from 1986 to 1988 he joined Slaughtermen. He has undertaken other projects and issued four solo albums. At the ARIA Music Awards of 1993, Pendlebury's solo work, Don't Hold Back That Feeling, won the ARIA Award for Best Adult Contemporary Album. From 2003 he has been a member of The Mercurials.

<i>Sunnyboys</i> (album) 1981 studio album by Sunnyboys

Sunnyboys is the debut studio album by the Australian power pop group of the same name. It was released in September 1981 on Mushroom Records, which peaked at No. 13 on the Australian Kent Music Report albums chart.

<i>Reckless</i> (The Sports album) 1978 studio album by The Sports

Reckless is the debut studio album by Australian rock and pop band The Sports, released in May 1978. The album peaked at number 43 on the Australian Kent Music Report.

<i>Suddenly</i> (The Sports album) 1980 studio album by The Sports

Suddenly is the third studio album by Australian rock and pop band The Sports, released in March 1980. The album peaked at number 13 on the Australian Kent Music Report.

Peter Luscombe is an Australian drummer and composer.

Shane O'Mara is an Australian musician and record producer.

<i>Goodbye Tiger</i> 1977 studio album by Richard Clapton

Goodbye Tiger is the fourth studio album by Australian rock music singer-songwriter, Richard Clapton. It was released in August 1977 via Infinity Records/Festival Records and was produced by Richard Batchens. It peaked at No. 11 on the Kent Music Report Albums Chart. In October 2010 it was listed at No. 15 in the book, 100 Best Australian Albums.

References

  1. McFarlane, Ian (1999). "Encyclopedia entry for 'The Sports'". Encyclopedia of Australian Rock and Pop . St Leonards, NSW: Allen & Unwin. ISBN   1-86508-072-1. Archived from the original on 6 August 2004. Retrieved 2 March 2019.
  2. "MEDIA: Reviews: LoveTown". LoveTown. Retrieved 2 March 2019.
  3. Kent, David (1984). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992. St Ives: Australian Chart Book. p. 94. ISBN   0-646-11917-6. N.B. The Kent Report chart was licensed by ARIA between mid-1983 and 19 June 1988.