Nothin' But Trouble (Blue Murder album)

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Nothin' But Trouble
Bluemurder-nothinbuttrouble1.jpg
Studio album by
Released31 August 1993
StudioJohn Sykes' Home Studio
Genre Hard rock
Length55:33
Label Geffen
Producer John Sykes
Blue Murder chronology
Blue Murder
(1989)
Nothin' But Trouble
(1993)
Screaming Blue Murder: Dedicated to Phil Lynott
(1994)
Singles from Nothin' But Trouble
  1. "We All Fall Down"
    Released: 1993
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svg [1]
Collector's Guide to Heavy Metal 7/10 [2]
Chicago Tribune Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svg [3]
The Corsair Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar half.svgStar empty.svg [4]
Metal Hammer 3/7 [5]
Herald News Star full.svgStar full.svgStar half.svgStar empty.svg [6]
Rock Hard 7.5/10 [7]

Nothin' But Trouble is the second and final studio album by hard rock band Blue Murder. Released on 31 August 1993 by Geffen Records, the album was produced by the band's vocalist-guitarist John Sykes. [8] [9]

Contents

After the disappointing sales of their 1989 debut album, Blue Murder entered a long period of inactivity. According to bassist Tony Franklin and drummer Carmine Appice, Sykes was deeply affected by the record's failure. [10] [11] Eventually the group began work on another album, but progress was slow, partly due to Sykes constructing a new home studio. [9] Meanwhile, Franklin and Appice grew increasingly tired of waiting. [10] [12] Appice left Blue Murder in early 1991 and was briefly replaced by Anders Johansson. [13] [14] Franklin announced his departure in August 1991. [15] Sykes was eventually joined by bassist Marco Mendoza and drummer Tommy O'Steen. [9] However, Franklin had already recorded seven of the songs, while Appice was brought back briefly as session drummer on nine. [10] [12] Keyboardist Nik Green, meanwhile, was promoted to a full-time member, having already played on the group's debut album. Sykes recruited former Baton Rouge vocalist Kelly Keeling as well, but he left shortly before the album's release. [16] Producer Mike Stone was also briefly involved in recording process. [13]

Nothin' But Trouble was generally well received by critics, but commonly described as a step-down from the band's debut album. [7] "We All Fall Down" was released as a single and reached number 35 on the Album Rock Tracks chart. [17] The record itself failed to chart, something Sykes blamed on Geffen Records, who he felt "didn't do anything" to promote the album. [18]

Track listing

All tracks by John Sykes, except "Itchycoo Park" by Ronnie Lane and Steve Marriott

No.TitleLength
1."We All Fall Down"4:47
2."Itchycoo Park" (Small Faces cover)3:46
3."Cry for Love"6:57
4."Runaway"5:58
5."Dance"4:08
6."I'm on Fire"4:45
7."Save My Love"4:48
8."Love Child"5:29
9."Shouldn't Have Let You Go"4:10
10."I Need an Angel"7:02
11."She Knows"3:38
Total length:55:33
Japanese bonus track
No.TitleLength
12."Bye Bye"4:14
Total length:59:47

Personnel

Credits are adapted from the album's liner notes. [19]

Blue Murder
Additional musicians
Technical
  • John Sykes - production, engineering
  • Mike Fraser - mixing
  • Nik Green - engineering
  • Alex Woltman - engineering
  • George Marino - mastering
Management
  • John Kalodner - A&R
  • Debra Shallman - A&R coordination
  • Anita Camarata - representation
Design
  • Wendy Sherman - art direction, design
  • Stuart Watson - photography
  • Diggy - cat direction
  • Robin Sloane - creative direction
  • Sofie Howard - creative services manager

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References

Footnotes

  1. "Blue Murder - Nothin' But Trouble". AllMusic . All Media Network . Retrieved 13 February 2018.
  2. Popoff 2007, pp. 56 –&#32, 57.
  3. You, Brenda (10 March 1994). "Blue Murder Nothing But Trouble (Geffen)". Chicago Tribune . Chicago, Illinois, United States. p. 63. Retrieved 26 November 2023 via Newspapers.com.
  4. Nishimoto, Rei (23 March 1994). "Blue Murder/Nothin' But Trouble". The Corsair . Santa Monica, California. Retrieved 12 August 2021 via California Digital Newspaper Collection.
  5. Staude, Jörg (1993). "Blue Murder - Nothin But Trouble (MCA/BMG Ariola)". Metal Hammer . Vol. 10, no. 9. Berlin, Germany: ZAG Zeitschriften-Verlag. p. 54.
  6. DiIorio, Donald (10 June 1994). "Blue Murder psyches out on 'Nothin' But Trouble'". Herald News . Woodland Park, New Jersey, United States. p. 15. Retrieved 26 November 2023 via Newspapers.com.
  7. 1 2 "Blue Murder - Nothin' But Trouble". Rock Hard. Retrieved 3 February 2021.
  8. "Sykes: Er Lebt". Metal Hammer . Vol. 10, no. 7. Berlin, Germany: ZAG Zeitschriften-Verlag. 1993. p. 7.
  9. 1 2 3 Douglas, Nick (1993). "Blue Murder". Metal Hammer . Vol. 10, no. 9. Berlin, Germany: ZAG Zeitschriften-Verlag. pp. 128–129.
  10. 1 2 3 "Blue Murder Bassist Talks John Sykes, the Breakup & Whitesnake". full in bloom. 4 February 2020. Retrieved 3 February 2021 via YouTube.
  11. Appice & Gittins 2016, p. 195.
  12. 1 2 "Carmine Appice Talks Blue Murder Breakup, 1989 Album, Nothin' But Trouble, John Sykes, Budgets". full in bloom. 2 May 2020. Retrieved 3 February 2021 via YouTube.
  13. 1 2 Johansson 2016.
  14. "News". Metal Hammer . Vol. 8, no. 4. Berlin, Germany: Jürgen Wigginghaus. 1991. p. 9.
  15. "Franklin Blue over Murder-ous split". Kerrang! . No. 353. London, England: United Newspapers. 10 August 1991. p. 6.
  16. Koolen, Martin. "Kelly Keeling Interview". RockUnited.com. Retrieved 3 February 2021.
  17. "Mainstream Rock Songs - Week of April 16, 1994". Billboard. Retrieved 3 February 2021.
  18. "June 1999 Interview with Tony Nobles of Vintage Guitar Magazine". 27 March 2008. Archived from the original on 27 March 2008. Retrieved 3 February 2021.
  19. Nothin' But Trouble (booklet). Blue Murder. Geffen Records. 1993. GED24419.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)

Sources