Motels (album)

Last updated
Motels
The-Motels-Motels.jpg
Studio album by
The Motels
ReleasedSeptember 17, 1979 (1979-09-17) [1]
RecordedMay–June 1979
Genre New wave
Length38:13
Label Capitol
Producer John Carter
The Motels chronology
Motels
(1979)		 Careful
(1980)
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
Allmusic Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svg [2]

Motels is the first studio album by new wave band The Motels, recorded in the spring of 1979 and released in the fall. It was produced by John Carter. It peaked at #175 on Billboard's album chart in December.

Contents

On May 12, 1979 (Mother's Day), The Motels signed with Capitol Records. The band began recording on the May 14 and finished within the first week of September. The band consisted of Martha Davis (lead vocals, guitar), Jeff Jourard (lead guitar), Marty Jourard (keyboard, saxophone), Michael Goodroe (bass) and Brian Glascock (drums). [3]

The first single, "Closets and Bullets", did not chart anywhere, but the second single, "Total Control", became a Top 10 hit in Australia and went Top 20 in France. (It 'Bubbled Under' at #109 in Billboard in the US.) A third single, "Anticipating", was released in Japan in early 1980 but failed to chart. The album was certified Gold in Australia in 1980.

Tina Turner recorded "Total Control" in 1985 on the We Are the World album, a superstar charity recording for famine relief efforts in Ethiopia. Anna Oxa recorded the song in Italian and it was released as a single in Italy in 1980. [4]

Track listing

All tracks are written by Martha Davis, except where noted.

Side 1
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Anticipating" 3:51
2."Kix" 2:15
3."Total Control"Martha Davis/Jeff Jourard5:54
4."Love Don't Help" 1:58
5."Closets and Bullets" 4:25
Total length:18:23
Side 2
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Atomic Cafe" 2:48
2."Celia" 3:07
3."Porn Reggae" 4:18
4."Dressing Up"Martha Davis/Jeff Jourard5:04
5."Counting" 4:33
Total length:19:50

Charts

Weekly charts

Chart (1979–80)Peak
position
Australian Albums (Kent Music Report) [5] 23
New Zealand Albums (RMNZ) [6] 4

Year-end charts

Chart (1980)Position
New Zealand Albums (RMNZ) [7] 16

Certifications and sales

RegionCertification Certified units/sales
Australia (ARIA) [8] Gold20,000^

^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

Personnel

Credits are taken from the CD's liner notes. [9]

The Motels

Production

Credits are taken from the CD's liner notes. [9]

Notes

    Related Research Articles

    The Motels American New Wave band

    The Motels are an American new wave band from Berkeley, California that is best known for the singles "Only the Lonely" and "Suddenly Last Summer", each of which peaked at No. 9 on the Billboard Hot 100, in 1982 and 1983, respectively. In 1980, The Motels song "Total Control" reached No. 7 on the Australian chart, and their song "Danger" reached No. 15 on the French chart.

    Violence of Summer (Loves Taking Over) 1990 single by Duran Duran

    "Violence of Summer " is a song by English new wave band Duran Duran, the first single from their sixth studio album, Liberty (1990). Having finished the 1980s with the Decade singles compilation, Duran Duran found the 1990s a new challenge, in which success would initially elude them. The lukewarm success of "Violence of Summer" would shadow the band for the next few years until 1993's "Ordinary World" returned them to chart success. The single reached number two in Italy but fared poorly in other countries, reaching number 20 in the United Kingdom and number 64 in the United States.

    <i>All Four One</i> 1982 studio album by the Motels

    All Four One is the third studio album by new wave band the Motels, released in 1982. It features the Top 10 hit "Only the Lonely", and the follow-up hit "Take the L". Both songs were assisted by popular MTV music videos. The album was recorded and mixed digitally.

    "Georgy Porgy" is a song written by David Paich, included on American rock band Toto's self-titled debut album in 1978. It was released as a single in 1979 and charted on the Billboard Hot 100 as well as on both the R&B and Dance charts.

    Metropolis (The Church song) 1990 single by the Church

    "Metropolis" is a song by Australian alternative rock band the Church. It was released as the lead single from their sixth album, Gold Afternoon Fix (1990), and the songwriting credits were given to all four members of the band. The song topped the US Billboard Modern Rock Tracks chart and reached number 19 in Australia. A music video directed by David Hogan and produced by Chris O'Brien was made for the song.

    <i>Careful</i> (The Motels album) 1980 studio album by The Motels

    Careful is the second studio album by new wave band The Motels. It was recorded between March and May 1980, and released in June 1980. The album was produced by John Carter who had produced the group's 1979 debut.

    <i>Little Robbers</i> 1983 studio album by The Motels

    Little Robbers is the RIAA Gold-certified fourth studio album by new wave band The Motels. It was recorded between February and August 1983 and released on September 16 of that year.

    <i>Shock</i> (The Motels album) 1985 studio album by The Motels

    Shock is the fifth studio album by new wave band The Motels. It was recorded during 1984 and 1985, and released in August 1985. It sold approximately 400,000 copies in the United States.

    <i>Standing Room Only</i> (The Motels album) 2007 live album by The Motels

    Standing Room Only is the first live album by the band The Motels, recorded live on June 9, 2006, at The Coach House, San Juan Capistrano.

    <i>Atomic Cafe: Greatest Songs Live</i> 2009 live album by The Motels

    Atomic Cafe: Greatest Songs Live is the second live album released by the band The Motels, recorded live in Boston in 1979 & 1980.

    <i>Anthologyland</i> 2001 compilation album by The Motels, Martha Davis, and others

    Anthologyland is a compilation album containing material from the new wave band, The Motels, plus work by Warfield Foxes, and solo work by Martha Davis, including a couple of duets with Sly Stone and Ivan Neville. This two disc album is a collection of alternate takes, demonstrations, live recordings, outtakes, and sound track releases.

    <i>...So the Story Goes</i> 2004 studio album by Martha Davis

    ...So the Story Goes is the second solo studio album by Martha Davis, who is better known as the lead singer for the band The Motels.

    <i>Apocalypso</i> (The Motels album) 2011 studio album by The Motels

    Apocalypso was released in 2011, although it was recorded in 1981 and intended to be the third studio album by the band The Motels.

    <i>This</i> (The Motels album) 2008 studio album by The Motels

    This is the seventh studio album by the band The Motels, recorded with current touring band whom Martha Davis has been working with for a few years. When Matthew Morgan, a producer-engineer from Portland met up with The Motels, the resulting work became the new album, This.

    Beautiful Life, also known as Beautiful Life: A Slight Miscalculation, is the third solo studio album by Martha Davis, who is better known as the lead singer for the band The Motels. The 2008 album is a concept album Martha developed with some help from Matthew Morgan about her mother's life and death by suicide.

    The Motels & Martha Davis discography includes the following.

    Martha Davis (musician) Musical artist

    Martha Emily Davis is an American rock and new wave singer-songwriter from Berkeley, California. She is most famous for being the lead singer of the band The Motels, but has also made several solo albums, contributed many songs to motion pictures, been on television, and worked onstage with Teatro ZinZanni.

    Shame (The Motels song) 1985 song by the Motels

    "Shame" is a song by American new wave band The Motels, which was released in 1985 as the lead single from their fifth studio album Shock. The song was written by Martha Davis and produced by Richie Zito. "Shame" peaked at number 21 on the US Billboard Hot 100.

    Remember the Nights 1983 song by the Motels

    "Remember the Nights" is a song by American new wave band The Motels, which was released in 1983 as the second single from their fourth studio album Little Robbers. The song was written by Martha Davis and Scott Thurston, and produced by Val Garay. "Remember the Nights" peaked at number 36 on the US Billboard Hot 100.

    Shock (The Motels song) 1985 song by the Motels

    "Shock" is a song by American new wave band The Motels, which was released in 1985 as the second single from their fifth studio album Shock. The song was written by Martha Davis and Scott Thurston, and produced by Richie Zito. "Shock" peaked at number 84 on the US Billboard Hot 100.

    References

    1. ↑ "THE MOTELS: Albums". www.the-motels.info.
    2. ↑ Motels at AllMusic
    3. ↑ "The Motels Timeline". www.the-motels.info.
    4. ↑ "Artist's Story".
    5. ↑ Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 (illustrated ed.). St Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. p. 209. ISBN   0-646-11917-6.
    6. ↑ "Charts.nz – The Motels – The Motels". Hung Medien. Retrieved January 28, 2022.
    7. ↑ "Top Selling Albums of 1980 — The Official New Zealand Music Chart". Recorded Music New Zealand . Retrieved January 28, 2022.
    8. ↑ "International Certifications" (PDF). Cash Box . June 21, 1980. p. 40. Retrieved December 3, 2021– via World Radio History.
    9. 1 2 Motels (CD liner). The Motels. Australasia: Capitol Records. 1979. 7484452.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)


    This page is based on this Wikipedia article
    Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
    Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.