| Pleasure Club | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | 1996 | |||
| Genre | Rock | |||
| Label | Geffen [1] | |||
| Producer | Phil Nicolo | |||
| James Hall chronology | ||||
| ||||
Pleasure Club is an album by the American musician James Hall, released in 1996. [2] [3] Starting over in the 2000s, Hall named his band for the album. [4] [5]
Hall supported the album by opening for Rage Against the Machine on a European tour, and for Love and Rockets in the United States. [6] [7] Pleasure Club's first single was "Honky Time". [8]
The album was produced primarily by Phil Nicolo. [9] Hall took more satisfaction from his live show, and regarded the album as a primer for what he could do onstage. [8] He considered the album's music to be "anti-grunge", noting its theatricality. [10]
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [11] |
| The Encyclopedia of Popular Music |  [12] |
| The Sydney Morning Herald | [13] |
Trouser Press wrote that "Hall’s singing is more ragged and urgent; he’s finally developed a distinctive vocal style of his own." [14] CMJ New Music Monthly stated that the album "finds [Hall] infusing a soulful, bluesy wail into a pastiche of '70s and '80s influences—sort of like what would have come after Raw Power if Iggy had followed Bowie into his Philadelphia soul phase." [15] The Times-Picayune deemed it "an edgy, post-punk, post-pop brand of new rock." [16]
Guitar Player determined that "guitarist Lynn Wright supports ... Hall with sizzling treble tones, an acidic, razor-edged attack and a healthy eclecticism that embraces psychedelic R&B, blues-infused punk and neoroots balladry." [17] The Sydney Morning Herald noted that Hall "has a sound sense of dynamics, knowing when to hold back, and when to let loose." [13] The Philadelphia Inquirer opined that Pleasure Club "catches Hall in somewhat reserved demeanor—at times, he sounds as though he's emulating Jeff Buckley's moody moves." [7]
AllMusic called the album "brilliant, powerful stuff," writing: "Much less obviously derivative than the Black Crowes or Lenny Kravitz, Hall's distinctive sound may remind you of the greats, but by album's end he's carved out his own niche." [11]
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Pleasure Club" | |
| 2. | "Illingness" | |
| 3. | "Heatwave Radio" | |
| 4. | "Morninglust" | |
| 5. | "Honky Time" | |
| 6. | "Should Know Better" | |
| 7. | "Black Is Black" | |
| 8. | "I'm Needy" | |
| 9. | "Back Stabbing" | |
| 10. | "Elevation" | |
| 11. | "Illustrated Babeis" | |
| 12. | "Use Me, Baby" | |
| 13. | "Need My Man" | |
| 14. | "So Precious" |
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