| Sir Army Suit | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | August 1978 [1] | |||
| Recorded | 1973–78 | |||
| Studio | Sounds Interchange, Toronto | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | 36:05 | |||
| Label | Daffodil, Capitol | |||
| Producer | Terry Brown | |||
| Klaatu chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| Allmusic |    link |
Sir Army Suit is the third album recorded by the Canadian rock band Klaatu.
Despite aggressive promotion by Capitol and the band, including bandmember interviews conducted by phone with live radio shows, [5] the album suffered mediocre sales, because of fading popular interest in the band after the 1977 rumour about the band being the Beatles recording anonymously was dispelled. With Sir Army Suit, the band began to reveal their images to the public, first in the album's artwork, then in March 1979 with an animated music video depicting the musicians in caricature. The video was broadcast on 10 March 1979 on Don Kirshner's Rock Concert . [6]
A newly remastered deluxe edition of the album was released on 31 October 2013 via the band's own independent record label "Klaatunes". This re-issue includes a bonus DVD containing animated music videos for "A Routine Day", "Everybody Took A Holiday", "Tokeymor Field" and "Perpetual Motion Machine", plus an hour-long interview with the three band members: Terry Draper, Dee Long, and John Woloschuk. [7]
This is the only original Klaatu album whose cover was not painted by Ted Jones; the cover of Sir Army Suit was painted by Ian Thomas Band keyboardist Hugh Syme, mainly known for album cover work with Rush. All three members appear on the back cover. The front cover features a self-portrait of Hugh Syme and Klaatu's previous graphic artist, Ted Jones. Other people featured on the back cover are Queen Elizabeth II, Linda and Terry Brown and Francis W. Davies.
The album focuses more on pop songs than previous Klaatu albums. [2] Many of these songs were hold-overs from early demos the band made pre-fame and were revived because band member John Woloschuk had spent a year writing and arranging the Hope album, leaving him artistically drained. The band's other main songwriter, Dee Long, picked up the ball with many new compositions and ultimately co-produced and engineered the record while the band's regular producer, Terry Brown, was busy working with Rush and Max Webster.
According to AllMusic ‘s Peter Kurtz, the album, while predominantly reflecting 1960s pop and British Invasion music, also contains elements of other musical styles including disco and heavy metal. [8] [2] A reviewer for Julian Cope's Head Heritage wrote that the album seemed "more of a Beatle-soundalike record" than Klaatu's debut, as if the Beatles had continued in "a parallel universe where Ringo dropped out in the early '70s and the remaining three continued to peaceably work together right through glam and metal and on up to disco (though in the Klaatu universe apparently punk never happened.)" [9] AllMusic's Dave Steger praised the first two Klaatu albums but criticized the rest as "downright ghastly pop-rock affairs". [10]
All songs written by Dee Long, except where noted.
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "A Routine Day" | John Woloschuk | 3:11 |
| 2. | "Juicy Luicy" | Woloschuk | 3:39 |
| 3. | "Everybody Took a Holiday" | 3:00 | |
| 4. | "Older" | 3:17 | |
| 5. | "Dear Christine" | Woloschuk | 3:53 |
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Mister Manson" | 4:16 | |
| 2. | "Tokeymor Field" | Woloschuk | 3:29 |
| 3. | "Perpetual Motion Machine" | 3:17 | |
| 4. | "Chérie" | 3:07 | |
| 5. | "Silly Boys" | Long, Woloschuk | 4:59 |
"Beatlesque" or "Beatles-esque" describes a musical resemblance to the English rock band the Beatles. The term is loosely defined and has been applied inconsistently to a wide variety of disparate artists.
Klaatu was a Canadian rock group formed in 1973 by the duo of John Woloschuk and Dee Long. They named themselves after an ambassador, Klaatu, from an extraterrestrial confederation who visits Earth with his companion robot Gort in the film The Day the Earth Stood Still. After recording two non-charting singles, the band added drummer Terry Draper to the line-up; this trio constituted Klaatu throughout the rest of the band's recording career.
Trapeze were an English rock band from Cannock, Staffordshire. Formed in 1969, the band originally featured former The Montanas members John Jones and Terry Rowley (keyboards), and former Finders Keepers members Glenn Hughes, Mel Galley and Dave Holland (drums). Jones and Rowley left the band following the release of their self-titled debut album in 1970, with the lineup of Hughes, Galley and Holland continuing as a trio. After the release of Medusa later in 1970 and You Are the Music... We're Just the Band in 1972, Hughes left Trapeze in 1973 to join Deep Purple.
Hope is the second album by the Canadian rock band Klaatu and their first concept album. Released in September 1977, it won a Juno Award for "Best Engineered Album" and a Canadian Music Critics award for "Best Album" that same year. The album follows the loose concept of space travelers visiting a distant planet.
3:47 EST is the debut album by the Canadian progressive rock group Klaatu, released in August 1976. The album was renamed Klaatu when released in the United States by Capitol Records. The album is notable for its Beatlesque psychedelia. The Juno-nominated album cover was painted by a friend of Klaatu's members, a Canadian graphic artist, Ted Jones.
"Sub-Rosa Subway" is a song written by the Canadian rock band Klaatu, from their album 3:47 EST, describing the efforts of Alfred Ely Beach to create the Beach Pneumatic Transit, the New York City Subway's precursor. His work is described as secretive. The song peaked at No. 62 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in 1977.
"Calling Occupants of Interplanetary Craft" is a song by Canadian rock band Klaatu, originally released in 1976 on their first album 3:47 EST. The song was played to open night-time transmission of the pirate radio station Radio Caroline. The year following its release, American soft rock duo the Carpenters covered the song, using a crew of 160 musicians. The Carpenters' version reached the top 10 in the UK and Canada, and charted at number 1 in Ireland.
Wild Cherry was an American funk rock band formed in Mingo Junction, Ohio, in 1970 that was best known for its song "Play That Funky Music".
Sun Set is a box set of various Klaatu rarities, outtakes, demos, live tracks and other recordings from 1973 to 1981. It was launched at the "KlaatuKon" 2005 convention in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The final nine tracks on disc one are alternate versions of Klaatu's second album project, Hope. Referred to as "The Orchestral Hope", this included a track not present on the version of Hope which was originally released; "Epilogue," which joined "So Said the Lighthouse Keeper" and "Hope".
Endangered Species is the fourth and penultimate album by the Canadian rock band Klaatu, released in mid-1980. It was branded upon release as an attempt at a harder rock and roll sound geared for AOR radio, contrasting with the pop stylings of their previous album Sir Army Suit.
Magentalane was the fifth and final album of new material by the Canadian rock group Klaatu.
Yellow Magic Orchestra is the first official studio album by Japanese electronic music band Yellow Magic Orchestra, who were previously known as the Yellow Magic Band. Originally released by Alfa Records, in Japan in 1978, the album was released by A&M Records in Europe and the United States and Canada in early 1979, with the US version featuring new cover art but without the closing track of "Acrobat". Both versions would later be re-issued in 2003 as a double-disc format, with the American version as the first disc.
John Jones is a British Canadian musician, record producer, songwriter and audio engineer who has worked with Duran Duran, Celine Dion, Fleetwood Mac, Sir George Martin, Dan Hill, Steve Ferrone, Alan Frew, and the Rolling Stones.
Crossroads is a 1988 music collection box set of the work of Eric Clapton released by Polydor Records. The set includes his work with the Yardbirds, John Mayall & the Bluesbreakers, Cream, Blind Faith, Delaney & Bonnie & Friends and Derek and the Dominos, as well as his solo career.
Spirits Having Flown is the fifteenth album by the Bee Gees, released in 1979 by RSO Records. It was the group's first album after their collaboration on the Saturday Night Fever soundtrack. The album's first three tracks were released as singles and all reached No. 1 in the US, giving the Bee Gees an unbroken run of six US chart-toppers in a one-year period and equaling a feat shared by Bing Crosby, Elvis Presley, and The Beatles. It was the first Bee Gees album to make the UK top 40 in ten years, as well as being their first and only UK No. 1 album. Spirits Having Flown also topped the charts in Australia, Canada, Germany, New Zealand, Sweden and the US. The album has sold more than 20 million copies worldwide.
"Tragedy" is a song released by the Bee Gees, written by Barry, Robin & Maurice Gibb, included on their 1979 album Spirits Having Flown. The single reached number one in the UK in February 1979 and repeated the feat the following month on the US Billboard Hot 100. In 1998, it was covered by British pop group Steps, whose version also reached number one in the UK.
Terry Edward Draper is a Canadian musician who was the drummer and one of three songwriters for the 1970s progressive rock band Klaatu.
Spirits Having Flown Tour was the eighth concert tour by the Bee Gees in support of their fifteenth studio album Spirits Having Flown (1979). The tour began on 28 June 1979 in Fort Worth, Texas reaching a total of 38 cities before coming to a close on 6 October 1979 in Miami, Florida. It was their most lavish and successful tour during the height of their popularity following two straight number-one albums and six number-one singles and grossed over $10 million from 49 shows, as reported by Billboard by the end of its run. The tour was organized and promoted by Jerry Weintraub and Concerts West.
"Little Neutrino" is a track written by Dee Long, from the album 3:47 EST by the progressive rock group Klaatu.
The Wild Places is the third studio album by English singer-songwriter and musician Duncan Browne. Released in 1978 through Logo and Sire Records, it is Browne's first solo album since his departure from the band Metro that year, and features contributions from session musicians Tony Hymas, John Giblin and Simon Phillips. In contrast to his previous self-titled solo record, the sound of the album is fully electric and ranges from progressive rock to straightforward rock music and synthpop.
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