Stupid Stupid Stupid is the second studio album by British rock band Black Grape, released on 10 November 1997 through Radioactive Records. While touring in support of their debut studio album It's Great When You're Straight...Yeah (1995), vocalist Paul "Kermit" Leveridge was diagnosed with sepsis. Carl "Psycho" McCarthy temporarily filled in Kermit's role before being added to the line-up permanently. Though he was too ill to tour, Kermit joined the band in Hollywood to work on songs for their next album, which continued throughout 1996. They recorded their second album at Real World Studios in Bath and Westlake Audio in Los Angeles, California, over eight weeks with Danny Saber, John X Volaitis, and frontman Shaun Ryder as producers. Stupid Stupid Stupid is a dance-rock album that continues the party atmosphere of It's Great When You're Straight...Yeah while toning down that album's religious references.
Stupid Stupid Stupid received mixed reviews from music critics, some of whom saw it as a continuation of It's Great When You're Straight...Yeah, while others found it to be an inferior version of that album. It peaked at number 11 in the UK, as well as charting highly in Scotland and Sweden. It would be certified gold in the UK within a few months of release. With an appearance at the Phoenix Festival, Saber was made a member of Black Grape. "Get Higher" was released as the lead single from Stupid Stupid Stupid on 20 October 1997, reaching number 12 in Scotland and number 24 in the UK. It was followed by the European-only second single, "Dadi Waz a Badi". Following a fight prior to a show, Ryder fired the rest of the band; future touring plans were subsequently cancelled. "Marbles" was released as the album's third single on 23 February 1998, sitting outside of the top 40 in Scotland and the UK. By July 1998, Ryder said he would no longer be recording under the Black Grape name.
Background
Black Grape released their debut studio album, It's Great When You're Straight...Yeah, in August 1995.[1] It topped the UK Album Chart for two months and was eventually certified platinum.[2][3] All three of its singles – "Reverend Black Grape", "In the Name of the Father", and "Kelly's Heroes" – reached the top 20 in the UK, with "In the Name of the Father" peaking the highest at number 8.[2] After flying back to the United Kingdom after a show, vocalist Paul "Kermit" Leveridge fell ill and was subsequently diagnosed with sepsis.[4][5] In early 1996, the band embarked on a UK tour, with Carl "Psycho" McCarthy covering Kermit's role.[4] At the tour's conclusion, he joined the band on a permanent basis.[6] Dancer Bez left the band over disagreements with finances with the band's label, Radioactive Records.[5] Kermit was in a stable condition to help record "England's Irie", a song intended to promote the Euro 1996 football league.[7] Black Grape then toured across the United States and South America with Psycho; Kermit had to miss the trek as a result of a lung infection.[8][9]
Despite Kermit being too ill to tour, he flew to the US in May 1996; he, frontman Shaun Ryder, and producer Danny Saber worked on some new songs in a rented house in Hollywood.[10] The band released the non-album single "Fat Neck" in May 1996, which peaked at number ten in the UK.[2][11] Around it, they supported Oasis for two shows and headlined Tribal Gathering.[10] The following month, Ryder fired their management team, Nicholl and Dime, on the grounds that they were trying to extort money out of him.[12][13] He tried to find a new manager, being in contact with Nirvana associate Danny Goldberg and Henry Rollins contactee Richard Bishop, eventually going with Bishop's management company, 3AM.[13][14] Kermit and Psycho meanwhile hired the company Hot Soup, which consisted of their touring manager Tony Murray and Ryder's father, to manage the pair.[14] "England's Irie" was released as another non-album single that same month, peaking at number six in the UK.[2][15] They headlined the Saturday date of the Reading Festival. Throughout the year, the band spent three separate fortnight-long sessions at the rented Hollywood residence to write material for their next album, with the last occurring in December 1996.[16] They demoed 15 tracks in total while there.[17]
Production
Ryder did not want to rush into recording their next album, preferring to take a slow-paced approach to it. In the meantime, Saber occupied himself working on Bridges to Babylon (1997) by the Rolling Stones, as well as remix tracks by the likes of David Bowie and U2. Ryder decided to take a break, purchasing a house outside of Cork, Ireland.[16] Black Grape recorded their new album over the course of eight weeks in July and August 1997.[18][19][20] In the midst of recording, Ryder was busy filming scenes for The Avengers (1998); they were accompanied by live member and keyboardist Martin Slattery.[19][21] Sessions were held at Real World Studios in Bath and Westlake Audio in Los Angeles, California, with Saber, John X Volaitis, and Ryder as producers. "Dadi Waz a Badi" had the extra credit of also being produced by It's Great When You're Straight...Yeah producer Stephen Lironi.[22]
Around this time, Kermit and Psycho were focused on trying to get their side project Manmade started; Ryder theorised that people had told the pair that they did not need him to be successful.[23] Ryder and Saber would often be sitting in the studio waiting for Kermit and Psycho to show up, who were recording for Manmade instead of for Black Grape. Ryder's frustration about the situation extended to Murray, saying he had a conflict of interest with the pair. Ryder wanted to continue the party atmosphere from their debut, but felt this was unattainable as the collaborative nature of that album was not present while making the new one.[24] He went as far as to compare it to the making of his previous band Happy Mondays' fourth studio album Yes Please! (1992): "The band was splintering and the music really suffered because of it".[25] Volaitis served as the main engineer, with assistance from Marco Milgliari, who was an additional engineer alongside Phil Ault, Ewan Davis, and Saber.[22] Saber claimed that Ryder would record as many as 20 tracks of his vocals for every song on the album.[21]Tom Lord-Alge, with assistance from Mauricio Iragorri, mixed the recordings at South Beach Studios in Miami, Florida, and Encore Studios in Los Angeles. Ted Jensen then mastered the album at Sterling Sound in New York.[22]
Composition and lyrics
Musically, the sound of Stupid Stupid Stupid has been described as dance-rock, with influence from soul.[26][27] Author Lisa Verrico wrote in her book High Life 'N' Low Down Dirty: The Thrills and Spills of Shaun Ryder that the album melded together "P-funk, soul, hip hop, rock and drum'n'bass beats with a buoyant brass section, bongos, scratching and the usual smattering of musical steals". It retained the party atmosphere of It's Great When You're Straight...Yeah; it lacked the religious references of that album, with Ryder claiming he put more effort into the lyrics for Stupid Stupid Stupid.[18] The title was taken from an occasion where the band was performing "Reverend Black Grape" on TV and had to change the lyric "talking bullshit... bullshit... bullshit" to "talking stupid... stupid... stupid".[21] All of the tracks were credited to Ryder, Saber, and Manmade, except "Lonely", by Posie Knight and Jerry Weaver.[22]
"Get Higher" is about Ryder's drug consumption; its intro consists of spliced speeches of former US president Ronald Reagan, making him sound like he is discussing drug use.[28][29][30] It was taken from "Just Say No", a TV campaign from the 1980s where Reagan and his wife Nancy warned against marijuana usage.[31][32] Ryder said he had "ripped [off] a bit" of "Reach for Love" (1984) by Marcel King for "Get Higher" in the hopes that listeners would "go back and discover the original".[33] "Squeaky" is about safe sex; its music is a cross between the sound of Led Zeppelin and baggy, with record scratches and duck noises.[28][34] "Marbles" is a trip hop and electronic house track that was compared to the work of Happy Mondays and continued the vocal sparring found on Black Grape's debut.[18][28][35] "Dadi Waz a Badi" is about having bad parents as role models and Ryder pondering whether he is a good father.[36][37] Both it and "Marbles" recalled the sound of Happy Mondays' third studio album, Pills 'n' Thrills and Bellyaches (1990).[30]
"Rubberband" is a guitar-focused rock song with heavy bass parts, topped by Ryder's distorted voice being run through a flangepedal.[28][34] It channels the sound of "Devils Haircut" (1996) by Beck and lifts the guitar part from the Pills 'n' Thrills and Bellyaches opening track, "Kinky Afro".[34] "Spotlight" includes a musical tribute to Phil Lynott and is the only track on the album not to feature vocals from Kermit.[22][38] "Tell Me Something" is a drum and bass track with Latin music flourishes and borrows elements of "Fools Gold" (1989) by the Stone Roses and the psychedelic work of the Byrds.[34] "Money Back Guaranteed" is a series of toilet jokes.[38] "Lonely" is a cover of the Frederick Knight track "I've Been Lonely for So Long (1972); Black Grape's version of the track was compared to Exile on Main St. (1972)-era Rolling Stones.[18][39] They decided to do a version of it after listening to its respective album, I've Been Lonely for So Long (1972), while in the studio.[21] The album concludes with the Latin funk of "Words".[30]
Release
Black Grape played their first show in 1997, performing at the Phoenix Festival, which marked the introduction of Saber as a member of the band.[40] In August 1997, the band's documentary, The Grape Tapes, premiered at the Edinburgh Film Festival.[20] It was directed by Tom Bruggen, who originally wanted to make a documentary on Happy Mondays; as that band broke up, Bruggen filmed the formation of Black Grape.[41] "Get Higher" was released as the album's lead single on 20 October 1997; this version omitted the audio clip of Reagan.[18] Two versions were released on CD: the first with remixes of "Get Higher" and a live version of "Rubberband", while the second included remixes of "Rubberband" and the music video for "Get Higher".[42][43]Stupid Stupid Stupid was released on 10 November 1997, after initially being scheduled for October 1997.[34][44] Ryder said the album's artwork received criticism from some people in the US as the golliwog doll depicted with googly eyes came across as a racist stereotype, to which he responded: "We had two black kids in the band, Kermit and Psycho, who hadn't even thought anything of it".[45]
In November and December 1997, Black Grape embarked on a UK tour titled The Get Higher Tour, with support from Dust Junkys.[46] "Dadi Waz a Badi" was released as a single exclusively in Europe, with a live version of "Rubberband" as its B-side.[47] Prior to a concert in Doncaster on 7 December 1997, Ryder reportedly fired the rest of the band. It came after a fight between the members and resulted in a previously scheduled New Year's Eve show at Alexandra Palace in London. Representatives on behalf of the band said Ryder was dealing with "nervous exhaustion" as a result of filming The Avengers. They added that they were attempting to have a meeting for the members to sort out their issues.[48] Plans for a music video for their next single, as well as tours of Australia and Japan in early 1998, were cancelled due to the uncertainty of the band's status.[49] In late December 1997, it was confirmed that Kermit departed to focus on Manmade; by January 1998, Psycho was also confirmed to have left Black Grape.[49][50] Ryder claimed a "power play" between Murray and 3AM was the reason for Kermit and Psycho leaving.[50] Ryder also mentioned that Psycho had developed an ego due to the success of Black Grape.[51]
"Marbles" was released as the album's third single on 23 February 1998.[52] Two versions were released on CD: the first with a radio edit, remixes, and a demo of "Marbles", while the second featured "Harry the Dog", a remix of "Marbles", and an uncensored music video for "Get Higher".[53][54] After initially being planned for release on 27 January 1998, Stupid Stupid Stupid was eventually released in the US on 24 February 1998.[55][56] Additional tours of Europe and the US were in the planning stages, though these were also cancelled, including an appearance at Glastonbury Festival.[50][57] A representative for Ryder said these cancellations were due to Ryder wanting to make a feature film with Bruggen.[57] In July 1998, Ryder said he would no longer be performing shows or recording new music under the Black Grape moniker.[58]
Stupid Stupid Stupid was met with mixed reviews from music critics.[51] It is often considered to be similar to the band's debut album, but without that album's "infectious beats, mammoth hooks, and surreal humour."[59]The Daily News's Michael Mehle wrote that it went "a long way toward streamlining [the sound of their debut] for American audiences", highlighting the "rap influences" and "thick, high-impact dance tracks".[60] Author Dave Thompson, in his book Alternative Rock (2000), wrote that it was "more focused" than the first time, with the band "refin[ing] their sound down into a powerful funkadelic hybrid ..."[66]MTV reviewer Lily Moayeri said it followed their debut with "[w]ell-rounded grooves, funky hip-hop rhythms, and soulful vocal offerings with an inherent sense of humor".[36] Ed Masley of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette saw it as a "musical trainwreck of breakbeats, samples, loops and sky-high Wonderwalls of rock guitar".[26]CMJ New Music Monthly writer Andrew Beaujon called it "one hell of a funky document", adding that the "party-in-the-studio patina" that Ryder has been attempting since Happy Mondays was "now fully realized".[39]
Silvio Essinger of Jornal do Brasil considered it "mind-numbing – it has [a] hypnotic swing" that is fronted by "damaged soul, drunken funk and a lot of psychedelicism, all in one puff".[62] Richard T. Thurston of Ink 19 saw it as akin to Oasis' works and called it a "ballsy hybrid of dance and rock that is ripe for young ears."[67] Brent DiCrescenzo of Pitchfork described it as "[l]oud, obnoxious, and perfect for the setting."[27]Entertainment Weekly contributor Mark Bautz saw it as a "lackadaisical effort that verges on dullness" since the majority of the tracks are "so indistinguishable that the disc rapidly descends from a lively groove into a familiar rut."[61]NME's Steve Sutherland called it "a calculatedly offensive gesture almost beautiful in the perfection of its simplicity."[38]The Independent writer Andy Gill thought that it "simply doesn't move like it should", with "no twitch to its funk." He summarised it as being "[m]ore dumbed-down than drugged-up."[68]
Eric Weisbard of Spin thought that the "tunes are almost an afterthought this time", signalling that "Dadi Waz a Badi" and "Tell Me Something" were the only songs that "capture the manic pop thrill" of their debut.[64]Wall of Sound's Daniel Durchholz echoed a similar statement, calling it "disconcertingly unfocused and pleasing only in dribs and drabs".[65] Johnny Walker of MTV felt that Saber's "ace production and arsenal of instrumental touches" are not able to hide that the album "doesn't pack the punch of the band's debut". He added that the "insistence here on repeating simplistic choruses ad infinitum start to grate after a while".[30] In a review for Rolling Stone, journalist Greg Kot said that the band "don't quite squeeze out the same head-spinning elixir" as their debut.[63] In a dismissive review from E! Online, the staff there remarked that despite the band's lack of songwriting, it "doesn't stop 'em from making CDs", referring to it as "boring and repetitive".[69]
Stupid Stupid Stupid peaked at number 11 in the UK[2] and was certified gold by the British Phonographic Industry within a few months.[70] It also charted at number 10 in Scotland and number 40 in Sweden.[71][72] "Get Higher" reached number 12 in Scotland and number 24 in the UK.[2][73] "Marbles" reached number 44 in Scotland and number 46 in the UK.[2][74] The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette ranked Stupid Stupid Stupid as the 8th best album of 1998.[75]
Track listing
All songs written by Shaun Ryder, Danny Saber, and Manmade, except "Lonely" by Posie Knight and Jerry Weaver. All tracks produced by Saber, John X Volaitis, and Ryder, except "Dadi Waz a Badi" by those three and Stephen Lironi.[22]
Martin Slattery – horn arrangements, electric piano (track 2), flute (tracks 2 and 8), saxophone (tracks 3, 4, 6, and 9), Hammond B-3 (tracks 4 and 9), Rhodes (track 9)
Garbage is a Scottish-American rock band formed in 1993 in Madison, Wisconsin. The band's line-up consisting of Scottish singer Shirley Manson (vocals) and American musicians Duke Erikson, Steve Marker, and Butch Vig has remained unchanged since its inception. All four members are involved in the songwriting and production process. Garbage has sold over 17 million albums worldwide.
Mark Berry, better known as Bez, is an English percussionist, dancer, DJ and media personality. He is best known as a member of the rock bands Happy Mondays and Black Grape.
Shaun William George Ryder is an English singer, songwriter and poet. As lead singer of Happy Mondays, he was a leading figure in the Madchester cultural scene during the late 1980s and early 1990s. In 1993, he formed Black Grape with former Happy Mondays dancer Bez. He was the runner-up on the tenth series of I'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here!. Ryder collaborated with Gorillaz on "Dare", which peaked at number one on the UK Singles Chart in September 2005, becoming the band's only UK number one single. Ryder is known for his distinctive sprechgesang and lyricism.
Black Grape are an English rock band formed in Salford in 1993, featuring former members of Happy Mondays and Ruthless Rap Assassins. Their musical style fuses funk and electronic rock with electronic programming and samples.
Squirrel and G-Man Twenty Four Hour Party People Plastic Face Carnt Smile is the debut studio album by the English rock band Happy Mondays, which was released in mid-April 1987 by Factory Records. After finalising their line-up, the band began playing local venues in Manchester, toured with New Order, and released an EP and a single in 1985. Happy Mondays' debut album was recorded at Fire House in London in December 1986 with producer John Cale. Halfway through the two weeks of sessions, they scrapped all their recordings and began again. Cale and engineer Dave Young did not understand the band members' vision of the album, and found them difficult to work with. Deemed a punk-funk and post-punk album, most of its songs were lyrically akin to stories on The Twilight Zone.
Bummed is the second studio album by English rock band Happy Mondays, released on 21 November 1988 on Factory Records. During 1987 and early 1988, the band discovered house music and the rave drug ecstasy. Factory producer Martin Hannett was subsequently enlisted to produce the band's next album. Sessions were held at The Slaughterhouse recording studio in Driffield over three weeks. The period was noted for heavy drug use by the band and Hannett, with their manager later calling it the first "ecstasy-fuelled" album. Hannett moved recording to Strawberry Studios, where extra instrumentation was added. Bummed is a Madchester-style psychedelic funk album, where much of the lyrical content was influenced by the 1970 film Performance, with dialogue from the film sampled throughout.
Pills 'n' Thrills and Bellyaches is the third studio album by the English rock band Happy Mondays, released on 5 November 1990 by Factory Records. Disc jockey (DJ) Paul Oakenfold and collaborator Steve Osborne were previously enlisted by the band for remixes. The success of these led to the pair producing "Step On", a cover of the John Kongos song, for Happy Mondays. The band went on a tour of the United States, and by the end of which, had started recording their next album with Oakenfold and Osborne at Capitol Studios in Los Angeles, California. They returned to the United Kingdom, where further recording took place at Eden Studios in London until September 1990. Described as a Madchester album, Pills 'n' Thrills and Bellyaches saw substantial input from Oakenfold and Osborne, with the former making loops while the latter handled song arrangements.
Yes Please! is the fourth studio album by British rock band Happy Mondays, released on 22 September 1992 through Factory Records. Following the non-album single "Judge Fudge", Factory allotted the band a budget of £150,000 for their next album. After settling on producers Chris Frantz and Tina Weymouth, both members of Talking Heads and Tom Tom Club, Happy Mondays decamped to Blue Wave Studio in Saint Philip, Barbados, in February 1992. The sessions were plagued by a variety of issues, such as frontman Shaun Ryder developing a crack habit and dancer Bez breaking his arm three times. With little finished material and a lack of lyrics, the band returned to the United Kingdom; Ryder was admitted into a detox centre. Recording continued for two weeks in May 1992 at Comfort's Place Studio in Lingfield, Surrey, where Ryder did his vocals. Yes Please! is a soul funk album with a bleak sound that earned it a comparison to Unknown Pleasures (1979) by Joy Division.
"Stupid Girl" is a song by American rock band Garbage from their self-titled debut studio album (1995). The song was written and produced by band members Duke Erikson, Shirley Manson, Steve Marker and Butch Vig. "Stupid Girl" features lyrics about a young woman's ambivalence and is a musical arrangement centered on a repetitive bassline and a drum sample from the Clash's 1980 song "Train in Vain".
"Milk" is a song written and produced by American alternative rock band Garbage from their self-titled debut studio album (1995). The song was released internationally the following year as the album's fifth and final single. Garbage collaborated with trip hop musician Tricky on a new version of "Milk" for single release. Much media comment was made regarding a rumoured fall-out over the sessions, when it became known that Garbage produced a further mix of "Milk" that only incorporated Tricky's vocals from that session.
It's Great When You're Straight...Yeah is the debut studio album by the English rock band Black Grape, released on 7 August 1995 through Radioactive Records. Following the breakup of Happy Mondays, frontman Shaun Ryder formed Black Grape with vocalist Paul "Kermit" Leveridge and dancer Bez. They were put in contact with management company Nicholl and Dime, who secured the band a recording contract with Radioactive Records. After demos and the band finalizing their line-up, Ryder met with producers Stephen Lironi and Danny Saber. Black Grape recorded their debut studio album in late 1994 and early 1995 at Rockfield Studios in Wales, Chapel Studios in Lincolnshire, and Boundary Row in London. It's Great When You're Straight...Yeah is a dance-pop and pop funk album, with its title meaning being sober from drugs.
Uncle Dysfunktional is the fifth studio album by English rock band Happy Mondays. It was released by Sequel Records on 2 July 2007. After the band reunited in 2004, they toured into 2005; by 2006, a new album was recorded with producer Sunny Levine. Initial sessions were held at The Studiosound in Rochdale and Make It Nice Studio in Leicester with Dave Parkinson, before moving to Moolah Rogue Studios in Stockport with Levine. Uncle Dysfunktional is an electro-funk record, with influences from country and hip hop.
"Reverend Black Grape" is a song which was released in May 1995 by the English rock band Black Grape. It was the first single to be taken from their debut studio album It's Great When You're Straight...Yeah and peaked at #9 on the UK Singles Chart.
The Ruthless Rap Assassins were a British hip hop group from Hulme, Manchester, England. The group was formed by MC Kermit La Freak and brothers Dangerous Hinds and Dangerous C.
"Psycho Man" is a single by rock band Black Sabbath. It was originally released on the Reunion album in 1998, and was the first of two new singles from the album, the other being "Selling My Soul." The song reached number 3 on the U.S. Mainstream Rock chart. The song was later included in Ozzy Osbourne's 2005 box set Prince of Darkness. The music and lyrics were written by singer Ozzy Osbourne and guitarist Tony Iommi. "Psycho Man" and "Selling My Soul" are the only Black Sabbath songs to be credited just to these two members. In Canada, the song reached number 24 on the RPM charts.
Amateur Night in the Big Top is the debut studio album by British singer Shaun Ryder, the former frontman of Happy Mondays and Black Grape. The album is subtitled "Clowns and Pet Sounds". It was released in September 2003 and co-produced by Pete Carroll, Shane Norton and Cabaret Voltaire's Stephen Mallinder. It was recorded in Perth, Australia and released on the OffWorld Sounds record label run by Ryder's Carroll and Mallinder.
The Black Ryder is songwriting duo Aimee Nash and Scott Von Ryper, who originate from Sydney, Australia.
Imagine Dragons are an American pop rock band formed in 2008, based in Las Vegas, Nevada, and currently consisting of lead singer Dan Reynolds, guitarist Wayne Sermon, and bassist Ben McKee. The band first gained exposure with the release of their single "It's Time", followed by their debut album Night Visions (2012), which resulted in the chart-topping singles "Radioactive" and "Demons". Rolling Stone named "Radioactive", which held the record for most weeks charted on the Billboard Hot 100, the "biggest rock hit of the year". MTV called them "the year's biggest breakout band", and Billboard named them their "Breakthrough Band of 2013" and "Biggest Band of 2017", and placed them at the top of their "Year in Rock" rankings for 2013, 2017, and 2018. Imagine Dragons topped the Billboard Year-End "Top Artists – Duo/Group" category in 2018.
Pop Voodoo is the third studio album by British band Black Grape, released on 4 August 2017 through UMC. After a one-off show in 2010, Black Grape reunited to play a show in April 2015, by which point, they were being managed by Alan McGee. Following a tour of the United Kingdom and a collaboration with Paul Oakenfold, the band worked on a few ideas for new songs. They travelled to Spain in September 2016, initially as a writing trip, before it evolved into recording sessions for their next album. Recorded was done at Martin "Youth" Glover's residential studio in Sierra Nevada, Spain and in London. Pop Voodoo is a funk, pop and trip hop album that sees several instruments being played by Youth, alongside a variety of session musicians.
Masley, Ed (1 January 1999). "'98 Best Pop CDs". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. ISSN0006-2510. Archived from the original on 25 October 2021. Retrieved 25 October 2021.
Verrico, Lisa (1998). High Life 'N' Low Down Dirty: The Thrills and Spills of Shaun Ryder. London: Ebury Press. ISBN0-09-185419-9.
Warburton, John; Ryder, Shaun (2011). Hallelujah!: The Extraordinary Story of Shaun Ryder and Happy Mondays. London: Virgin Books. ISBN978-0-7535-0781-0.
Weisbard, Eric (February 1998). "Reviews". Spin. Vol.14, no.2. ISSN0886-3032. Archived from the original on 25 October 2021. Retrieved 25 October 2021.
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