Smash the System: Singles and More | ||||
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Greatest hits album by | ||||
Released | September 2001 (2xCD) May 2005 (CD) | |||
Recorded | 1990–1999 | |||
Genre | Indie pop | |||
Length | 146:06 (Singles and More) 63:08 (Singles 1990-99) | |||
Label | Heavenly - HVNLP32CD | |||
Producer | Saint Etienne | |||
Saint Etienne chronology | ||||
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Alternative cover | ||||
Review scores | |
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Source | Rating |
Allmusic | [1] |
Allmusic | (re-release) [2] |
Smash the System: Singles and More (2001) is a double-CD greatest hits album by Saint Etienne. The compilation samples music from most of their releases spanning the years from 1990 to 1999. Most tracks are featured in their single or edit versions, with the exception of 'Join Our Club' which is a new mix as the original sounded too 'muddy'. Smash The System was also going to be the CD debut of 'Lover Plays The Bass', but the band 'forgot' to include it.
In 2005 the album was re-released as Smash the System: Singles 1990-99 containing only the singles. The newer version is only a single disc and uses a green version of the same artwork. This edition of the album replicates 13 of the 14 tracks that appear on the group's first singles album 1995's Too Young to Die – The Singles . Notable differences include the first appearance of the radio edit of "Avenue" on a Saint Etienne album, the 2001 remix of "Join Our Club", the inclusion of the US version of "Kiss and Make Up", and the omission of "I Was Born on Christmas Day". The compilation also has different shorter edits of "Sylvie" and "The Bad Photographer" that do not appear on Smash the System: Singles and More. The version of "Kiss and Make Up" also differs on both compilations, as the version featured on the 2005 edition is slightly shorter than the one included on the 2001 edition.
All tracks are written by Stanley and Wiggs; except where indicated
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Taken from | Length |
---|---|---|---|---|
1. | "Only Love Can Break Your Heart" (Featuring Moira Lambert) | Young | Foxbase Alpha , 1990 | 4:29 |
2. | "Kiss and Make Up" (US Version) | Wratten, Hiscock | Foxbase Alpha (US edition), 1991 | 5:15 |
3. | "Nothing Can Stop Us" | Foxbase Alpha, 1991 | 4:20 | |
4. | "Spring" | Foxbase Alpha, 1991 | 3:44 | |
5. | "Carnt Sleep" | Foxbase Alpha, 1991 | 4:44 | |
6. | "Filthy" (Featuring Q-Tee) | Stanley, Wiggs, Mais | You Need a Mess of Help to Stand Alone , 1991 | 5:33 |
7. | "Join Our Club" (2001 Remix) | You Need a Mess of Help to Stand Alone, 1992 | 3:16 | |
8. | "People Get Real" | You Need a Mess of Help to Stand Alone, 1992 | 4:43 | |
9. | "Paper" | Cracknell, Deebank | You Need a Mess of Help to Stand Alone, 1992 | 4:09 |
10. | "Avenue" | Catt, Cracknell, Stanley, Wiggs | So Tough , 1992 | 7:34 |
11. | "Mario's Cafe" | So Tough, 1993 | 4:38 | |
12. | "You're in a Bad Way" (Single Version) | Cracknell, Stanley, Wiggs | So Tough, 1993 | 3:02 |
13. | "Archway People" | You Need a Mess of Help to Stand Alone, 1993 | 3:26 | |
14. | "Who Do You Think You Are" | Dyer, Scott | You Need a Mess of Help to Stand Alone, 1993 | 3:27 |
15. | "Hobart Paving" (Single Version) | So Tough, 1993 | 4:51 | |
16. | "Pale Movie" | Cracknell, Stanley, Wiggs | Tiger Bay , 1994 | 3:46 |
17. | "Hug My Soul" (Radio Edit) | Batson, Cracknell, Male | Tiger Bay, 1994 | 3:53 |
Total length: | 75:05 |
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Taken from | Length |
---|---|---|---|---|
1. | "Like a Motorway" (Radio Edit) | Tiger Bay, 1994 | 3:41 | |
2. | "Cool Kids of Death" | Tiger Bay, 1994 | 5:39 | |
3. | "The Process" | Continental , 1995 | 3:11 | |
4. | "He's on the Phone" (Featuring Etienne Daho) (Radio Edit) | Cracknell, Daho, Stanley, Wiggs | Continental, 1995 | 4:07 |
5. | "Angel" (Way Out West radio edit) | "Angel / Burnt Out Car" promo release, 1996 | 4:09 | |
6. | "Burnt Out Car" (Balearico mix) | Continental, 1996 | 4:19 | |
7. | "Shad Thames" | Continental, 1997 | 3:33 | |
8. | "Wood Cabin" | Cracknell, Stanley, Wiggs | Good Humor , 1998 | 4:07 |
9. | "Sylvie" (Radio Edit) | Cracknell, Stanley, Wiggs | Good Humor, 1998 | 4:01 |
10. | "Lose That Girl" | Cracknell, Stanley, Wiggs | Good Humor, 1998 | 4:03 |
11. | "The Bad Photographer" (Radio Mix) | Cracknell, Stanley, Wiggs | Good Humor, 1998 | 3:59 |
12. | "Goodnight Jack" (Edit) | Cracknell, Stanley, Wiggs | Good Humor, 1998 | 4:37 |
13. | "Madeleine" | Cracknell, Wiggs | "The Bad Photographer" single, 1998 | 3:59 |
14. | "4.35 in the Morning" (Kid Loco Mix) | Cracknell, Waterfield | "The Bad Photographer" single, 1998 | 4:37 |
15. | "Jack Lemmon" | The Misadventures of Saint Etienne , 1999 | 4:20 | |
16. | "Saturday" (Fugu Mix) | Cracknell, Stanley, Wiggs | The Misadventures of Saint Etienne, 1999 | 3:21 |
17. | "52 Pilot" | Cracknell, Stanley, Wiggs | Places to Visit , 1999 | 5:38 |
Total length: | 71:01 |
All tracks are written by Stanley and Wiggs; except where indicated
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
---|---|---|---|
1. | "Only Love Can Break Your Heart" (Featuring Moira Lambert) | Young | 4:29 |
2. | "Kiss and Make Up" (US Version Edit) | Wratten, Hiscock | 4:47 |
3. | "Nothing Can Stop Us" | 4:20 | |
4. | "Join Our Club" (2001 Remix) | 3:16 | |
5. | "People Get Real" | 4:43 | |
6. | "Avenue" (Radio Edit) | Catt, Cracknell, Stanley, Wiggs | 3:49 |
7. | "You're in a Bad Way" (Single Version) | Cracknell, Stanley, Wiggs | 3:02 |
8. | "Who Do You Think You Are" | Dyer, Scott | 3:27 |
9. | "Hobart Paving" (Single Version) | 4:51 | |
10. | "Pale Movie" | Cracknell, Stanley, Wiggs | 3:46 |
11. | "Like a Motorway" (Radio Edit) | 3:41 | |
12. | "Hug My Soul" (Radio Edit) | Batson, Cracknell, Male | 3:53 |
13. | "He's on the Phone" (Featuring Etienne Daho) (Radio Edit) | Cracknell, Daho, Stanley, Wiggs | 4:07 |
14. | "Burnt Out Car" (Balearico mix) | 4:19 | |
15. | "Sylvie" (Radio Edit) | Cracknell, Stanley, Wiggs | 3:32 |
16. | "The Bad Photographer" (Radio Edit) | Cracknell, Stanley, Wiggs | 3:19 |
Total length: | 63:08 |
Saint Etienne are:
Chart (2001) | Peak position |
---|---|
Scottish Albums (OCC) [3] | 99 |
UK Albums (OCC) [4] | 84 |
Chart (2007) | Peak position |
---|---|
UK Budget Albums (OCC) [5] | 41 |
Saint Etienne is an English band from Greater London, formed in 1990. The band consists of Sarah Cracknell, Bob Stanley and Pete Wiggs. Commonly associated with the indie dance scene of the 1990s, their music blends club culture with 1960s pop and other disparate influences.
Tales from Turnpike House is the seventh studio album by English alternative dance band Saint Etienne, released on 13 June 2005 by Sanctuary Records. It is a concept album in which the songs depict characters who all live in the eponymous block of flats in London.
Finisterre is the sixth studio album by English alternative dance band Saint Etienne, released on 7 October 2002 by Mantra Records. A double-disc deluxe edition was released on 3 May 2010 by Heavenly Records.
Travel Edition 1990–2005 is a compilation album by the British pop band Saint Etienne. It was released 22 November 2004 in the United States only on the Sub Pop label.
Sound of Water is an album by Saint Etienne, released in 2000. Sound of Water was developed as Saint Etienne's ambient and trip hop statement.
Foxbase Alpha is the debut studio album by English band Saint Etienne, released on 16 September 1991 by Heavenly Recordings.
Interlude is an album by Saint Etienne. Released by Sub Pop in the US and Mantra in Canada, this 2001 collection featured UK b-sides and extra songs left over from the recording sessions for their 2000 album, Sound of Water.
Good Humor is the fourth studio album by English alternative dance band Saint Etienne. It was released on 4 May 1998 by Creation Records. The American spelling of humor is used in the title as the band were, according to Sarah Cracknell, "fed up with the 'quintessentially English' tag, so there was a bit of a backlash against that."
Tiger Bay is the third studio album by English indie dance band Saint Etienne. It was released 28 February 1994 by Heavenly Records. In an interview with Record Collector, band member Bob Stanley stated that the title is a reference to the 1959 film Tiger Bay.
You Need a Mess of Help to Stand Alone is the first compilation album by English band Saint Etienne, released on 6 December 1993 by Heavenly Recordings. It compiles singles and B-sides released by the group during the period between 1990 and 1993, most notably the non-album singles "Kiss and Make Up" (1990), "Speedwell" (1991), "Join Our Club/People Get Real" (1992) and "Who Do You Think You Are" (1993). The compilation's title is derived from the song of the same name by the Beach Boys.
Singles is a greatest hits album by English band New Order. It was released on 3 October 2005 by London Records. The two-disc compilation includes the band's singles released between 1981 and 2005. Unlike the CD version of earlier singles compilation Substance 1987, the B-sides are not included. While Substance 1987 aimed to showcase New Order's 12-inch singles, Singles instead features mostly seven-inch versions, some of which are rare and differ from the album versions.
Too Young to Die – Singles 1990–1995 is a compilation album by English indie dance band Saint Etienne released on 13 November, 1995, collecting the group's singles spanning the period of 1990 to 1995.
"You're in a Bad Way" is a song by British pop group Saint Etienne, released in February 1993 by Heavenly and Warner as the second single from their second album, So Tough (1993). The song is a deliberately old-fashioned throwback to 1960s pop music. In an interview with Melody Maker magazine, Bob Stanley claims that it was written in ten minutes as a simple imitation of Herman's Hermits, and was only intended to be a B-side to "Everlasting", but the record company decided that it should be a single. "Everlasting" was dropped as a single and remained unreleased until it was eventually included on disc 2 on the deluxe edition of So Tough in 2009.
"He's on the Phone" is a song by British pop group Saint Etienne in collaboration with French singer-songwriter Étienne Daho, released in October 1995 by Heavenly and MCA as a single from their third compilation album, Too Young to Die (1995). A fast-paced dance track, it is one of Saint Etienne's biggest hits, reaching number 11 on the UK Singles Chart, number 31 in Iceland, number 41 in Sweden and number 33 on the US Billboard Dance Club Songs chart. The lyrics tell of an "academia girl" trying to escape from a relationship with a married man: He's on the phone / And she wants to go home, / Shoes in hand, / Don't make a sound, / It's time to go. At the centre of the track is a spoken-word section by Daho.
"Avenue" is a song by British pop group Saint Etienne, released in October 1992 as the first single from their second album, So Tough (1992). It was originally titled "Lovely Heart" or "Young Heart". The album version is a 7-minute version with lengthy instrumental sequences; it was edited down to around 4 minutes for radio play, though the commercial single contained the full-length version, with the radio edit only released on promotional material. The edit wasn't released commercially until 2005's Travel Edition 1990-2005.
Fairy Tales From Saint Etienne (1995) is a compilation album by the British band Saint Etienne which was released only in Japan. It is a mix of album tracks, singles and B-sides.
English alternative dance band Saint Etienne have released ten studio albums, two soundtrack albums, nine compilation albums, two remix albums, seven mix albums, two video albums, one box set, four extended plays, 38 singles, and five promotional singles.
London Conversations: The Best of Saint Etienne is a compilation album by the English electronic music group Saint Etienne. It was released as a single CD, a 2CD set, a deluxe 2CD/DVD set, and a 2LP vinyl set. It features the 2008 Xenomania Mix of "Burnt Out Car", the Richard X mix of "This Is Tomorrow" and "Method of Modern Love". The compilation features a selection of their regular A-sides on the first disc, while disc two includes various further A-sides, B-sides, non-singles and album tracks.
"Kiss and Make Up" is a song by Saint Etienne, released as a single in 1990. It is a cover version of "Let's Kiss and Make Up", a song by The Field Mice from their 1989 album, Snowball.
"Hug My Soul" is a song by British band Saint Etienne. It was the third single from their third album, Tiger Bay (1994), and was released in September 1994 by Heavenly Records. It was written by vocalist Sarah Cracknell along with songwriting partners Guy Batson and Johnny Male.