| Speed Ballads | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | 5 October 1998 | |||
| Recorded | Republica, Westside, Metropolis, Strongroom, Whitfield Street, The Barge & Heirophony, London | |||
| Length | 39:38 | |||
| Label | ||||
| Producer |
| |||
| Republica chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| Allmusic |   [1] |
| NME | [2] |
Speed Ballads is the second album by the band Republica. Released in 1998, the album was the follow-up to Republica's self-titled debut album.
Speed Ballads reached #37 on the UK Album Charts. [3] The album never received release in the United States. [4]
On 22 April 2023 - Record Store Day - the album was released on vinyl for the first time, with a run of 1,000 copies. [5]
The album spawned only one single, "From Rush Hour With Love." It achieved modest success, peaking at number 20 on the UK Singles chart, but spending only three weeks on the chart. [3] The follow-up single, "Try Everything," [1] received only limited release, due to the bankruptcy and closure of Deconstruction Records, the group's label. [6]
The album was met with mixed reviews from contemporary music critics. AllMusic's Jason Damas felt that the album "exhibits some remarkable growth" over its predecessor, calling the album "far more diverse" and highlighting "Try Everything," "From Rush Hour with Love," and "Fading of the Man" as choice cuts. [1]
All tracks are written by Saffron, Tim Dorney and Johnny Male, except where noted
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "From Rush Hour with Love" | 3:25 |
| 2. | "Fading of the Man" | 4:34 |
| 3. | "Try Everything" (Saffron, Dorney, Male, Guy Batson) | 4:02 |
| 4. | "Luxury Cage" (Saffron, Dorney, Male, Andy Todd) | 5:03 |
| 5. | "Faster Faster" | 3:20 |
| 6. | "Nothing's Feeling New" (Saffron, Dorney, Male, Jeremy Williams) | 3:51 |
| 7. | "Millennium" (Saffron, Dorney, Male, Todd) | 3:14 |
| 8. | "Pretty Girl Hate" | 3:47 |
| 9. | "Kung Fu Movies" (Saffron, Dorney, Male, Pete Smith) | 4:00 |
| 10. | "Pub Pusher" | 4:22 |
| Total length: | 39:38 | |
There are known to be five B-sides from the Speed Ballads era.
Republica
Additional musicians
Republica are an English alternative rock band formed in 1994. The height of their popularity spanned from 1996 to 1999. The current line-up consists of Saffron (vocals), Tim Dorney (keyboards), and Johnny Male (guitar).
Samantha Marie Sprackling, known professionally as Saffron, is a British singer, songwriter, actress and the lead singer of the musical group Republica. She also performs solo and appeared in London's Starlight Express onstage for two years.
Republica is the debut studio album by English band Republica. It was first released in the United States on 30 July 1996 by RCA Records, and by Deconstruction Records in the United Kingdom. Three singles were released from the album: "Bloke", "Ready to Go" and "Drop Dead Gorgeous", with the last two being hits.
"17 Again" is a song by British pop duo Eurythmics from their eighth studio album, Peace (1999). It was released as the album's second single on 10 January 2000. The lyrics to "17 Again" find the duo reminiscing about their long-standing career in pop music. The closing of "17 Again" contains an interpolation of Eurythmics' 1983 single "Sweet Dreams ".
"In Your Care" is the second single released from English singer-songwriter Tasmin Archer's debut album, Great Expectations (1992). It was released on 8 February 1993 but failed to pick up as much airplay and media support as "Sleeping Satellite", stalling at number 16 on the UK Singles Chart. The song also charted in New Zealand at number 36 but stayed in the top 50 for only one week. The money made from this release was donated to the charity Child Line.
"Whoa" is the second single from the album The Naked Truth by rapper Lil' Kim which is produced by J.R. Rotem. "Whoa" never made it to the Billboard Hot 100 but charted on the Billboard Bubbling Under Hot 100 for five weeks peaking at number 4. Also, the single made it to the R&B/Hip-Hop Tracks chart, where it peaked at number 30. Originally sent to US radio on November 22, 2005, it was then re-released in February to coincide with the airing of her reality show, Lil' Kim: Countdown to Lockdown, for which it served as the theme song. It was released in the United Kingdom on May 15, 2006.
"Candy" is a song by Ash, released as the fourth single from their album Free All Angels on 1 October 2001. It was released as a single CD as a 7-inch vinyl, as well as on DVD format. Candy performed only slightly better than previous single "Sometimes", reaching number 20 on the UK Singles Chart and number 25 in Ireland.
"Like a Rose" is a song by British-Norwegian boy band A1. It was released on 21 February 2000 as the fourth single from their debut album, Here We Come (1999). The single peaked at No. 6 on the UK Singles Chart. The single was the final official single from the album; however, a follow-up promo single, "If Only", was released exclusively on 12-inch vinyl.
Lovelife is the fourth and final studio album by English rock band Lush. It was released on 5 March 1996 by 4AD. On Lovelife, the band moved away from their earlier dream pop and shoegazing style and embraced a more Britpop-oriented sound. The album was produced by Pete Bartlett and the band at Protocol Studios in London, and engineered by Giles Hall. Three songs were released as singles: "Single Girl", "Ladykillers", and "500 ", all of which achieved moderate success on the UK Singles Chart, reaching the top 30 positions. On release, Lovelife reached number eight on the UK Albums Chart.
"Say Hello, Wave Goodbye" is a song from the album Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret by English synth-pop duo Soft Cell that was released as a single in January 1982 and reached number three on the UK Singles Chart.
"An End Has a Start" is the title track and second single from Editors' second album. The single was released on 3 September 2007 on CD, maxi-CD and 7" vinyl. The B-side "Open Up" first appeared on the Japanese edition of the album as a bonus track.
"You're the World to Me" is the first single taken from David Gray's Greatest Hits album. The single was produced by producer Chris Thomas and released on 5 November 2007. In an interview, Gray described the song as "joyous" and his new Greatest Hits album as "a bag of happy shit".
"Single-Bilingual" is a song by English synth-pop duo Pet Shop Boys, released on 11 November 1996 as the third single from their sixth studio album, Bilingual (1996). The track peaked at number 14 on the UK Singles Chart. The song is named "Single" on the album version but was retitled "Single-Bilingual" because Everything but the Girl also had a song named "Single", which had been released the previous May. The album version cross-fades with the previous track, "Discoteca", of which both the album and single versions feature an interpolation at the end.
"In Walked Love" is a song by the American girl group Exposé. Written by Diane Warren and produced by Steve Thompson and Michael Barbiero, the song can be found on the group's 1992 album Exposé, their third studio album. Lead vocals on the pop ballad were performed by Ann Curless. The song features Al Pitrelli as guest guitarist. In 1996, British singer Louise covered the song and reached number 17 on the UK Singles Chart with her rendition.
"Newborn" is a single by English rock band Elbow and is the third single from their debut album, Asleep in the Back. There were four formats : one CD promo, one 12" vinyl remix promo, 2CD, and 12" vinyl. Several of the songs on the single had been previously on The Newborn EP.
Psyche is the debut studio album released by British recording duo PJ & Duncan, now better known as Ant & Dec. Recording on the album began in 1993, following the release of a track the duo performed during their time on Byker Grove, "Rip it Up". The song was then re-worked into their debut single, "Tonight I'm Free", which was released in December 1993 on Telstar Records. The album includes the duo's best known track, "Let's Get Ready to Rhumble", which topped the UK Singles Chart almost two decades after its initial release.
"Solid Wood" is a song by British singer-songwriter Alison Moyet, released as the second and final single from her 1995 compilation album Singles. It was written by Moyet and produced by Ian Broudie.
"Everything My Heart Desires" is the second single by English singer Adam Rickitt. The single debuted at number fifteen on the UK Singles Chart and stayed on the charts for six weeks. The song was covered by the singer Mandy Moore for her album I Wanna Be with You (2000).
"Don't Make Me Wait" is a song by English boy band 911. It was released in the United Kingdom on 28 October 1996 as the third single from their debut studio album, The Journey (1997). It debuted and peaked at number 10 on the UK Singles Chart and at number 65 on the German Singles Chart. The song was the first of a string of consecutive top 10 hit singles in the UK.
"Every Lover's Sign" is a song by the British duo The Lover Speaks, released in 1986 as the third single from their self-titled debut album. It was written by David Freeman and Joseph Hughes, and produced by Jimmy Iovine and The Lover Speaks.
