Tales of the City (album)

Last updated

Tales of the City (album)
Tales of the City.jpg
Studio album by
ReleasedMay 1988
Genre Rock
Label True Tone/Polygram
Producer Robin Smith
Rockmelons chronology
Tales of the City (album)
(1988)
Form 1 Planet
(1992)
Singles from Tales of the City
  1. "Rhymes"
    Released: July 1987
  2. "New Groove"
    Released: November 1987
  3. "What's It Gonna Be"
    Released: February 1988
  4. "Thief"/"Boogietron"
    Released: 4 July 1988 [1]
  5. "Jump"
    Released: October 1988
  6. "Boogietron"
    Released: December 1988

Tales of the City is the debut studio album by Australian rock band Rockmelons. It was released in May 1988 on True Tone Records and peaked at number six on the Australian album charts. [2] [3] The band shared the Australian Record Industry Association (ARIA) Award for 'Best Debut Album' in 1988 with 1927's album ...ish . [4]

Contents

It was re-issued in 1992 by Mushroom Records.

The first single, "Rhymes", was a cover of Al Green's song, from his 1974 album, Al Green Is Love .

Reception

Smash Hits said, "The plucky little Rockmelons finally come across with the goods, delighting their thousands of fans, confounding the doubting thomases, and failing to convert anyone else. You have a remarkably commercial album that's slightly muzak-ish and a little too jazzesque for me, but certainly like nothing else being done in Australia at the moment. [5]

Track listing

All songs written by R. Medhurst, B. Jones, J. Jones, R. Smith except where noted, according to Australasian Performing Right Association (APRA). [6]

  1. "New Groove" – 4:39
  2. "What's It Gonna Be?" – 4:46
  3. "Jump" – 2:31
  4. "Thief" (R. Medhurst, J. Jones, B. Jones) – 3:21
  5. "Dreams in the Empty City" (R. Medhurst, J. Jones, B. Jones) – 3:45
  6. "Get Back on the Groove" – 4:56
  7. "Rhymes" (A. Green, M. Hodges) – 4:43
  8. "Boogietron" (J. Jones, B. Jones) – 4:22
  9. "Money Talks" – 3:59

Personnel

Credited to:

Rockmelons

Recording details

Charts

Weekly charts

Chart (1988)Peak
position
Australian Albums (ARIA) [7] 14

Year-end charts

Chart (1988)Position
Australian Albums (ARIA) [8] 31

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">John Butler Trio</span> Australian rock band

The John Butler Trio were an Australian roots-rock band led by guitarist and vocalist John Butler, an APRA and ARIA-award-winning musician. They formed in Fremantle in 1998 with Jason McGann on drums, Gavin Shoesmith on bass and John Butler on vocals. By 2009, the trio consisted of Butler with Byron Luiters on bass and Nicky Bomba on drums and percussion, the latter being replaced by Grant Gerathy in 2013. After both Luiters and Gerathy exited the trio in early 2019, bassist OJ Newcomb and drummer Terepai Richmond joined the band, accompanied by touring musician Elana Stone on keyboards, percussion and backing vocals.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Eskimo Joe</span> Australian band

Eskimo Joe are an Australian alternative rock band that was formed in 1997 by Stuart MacLeod, on lead guitar, Joel Quartermain, on drums and guitar, and Kavyen Temperley, on bass guitar and vocals, in East Fremantle, Western Australia, Australia.

Wendy Joan Matthews is a Canadian-born Australian singer-songwriter who has been a member of Models and Absent Friends and is a solo artist. She released Top 20 hit singles in the 1990s including "Token Angels", "Let's Kiss ", "The Day You Went Away" and "Friday's Child" with Top 20 albums, You've Always Got The Blues, Émigré, Lily, The Witness Tree and her compilation, Stepping Stones. She has won six Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA) Awards. According to rock music historian, Ian McFarlane she provides "extraordinary, crystal-clear vocals [...] a soulfulness that was the mark of a truly gifted singer".

Butterfingers are an Australian rap rock group from Brisbane, Queensland. Most of their releases are on their own label, Valley Trash Records. They are currently signed to New World Artists.

Disco Montego was an Australian R&B and dance music trio. The Dowlut brothers Dennis and Darren, together with Tony Vass formed Kaylan in Melbourne in 1995. They released an R&B album No Commandments in 2000, which reached No. 23 in Australia and spawned three top 50 singles. In May 2001, they became the studio based group Disco Montego, and released further singles followed by Disco Montego in September 2002. Their production work included remixing Mariah Carey's "Boy " in 2004.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Diesel (musician)</span> Musical artist

Mark Denis Lizotte is an American-born Australian singer-songwriter and musician, who has released material under the name Diesel, Johnny Diesel, as leader of band Johnny Diesel & the Injectors, and as a solo performer, as well as under his birth name. Two of his albums reached No. 1 on the Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA) Albums Charts, Hepfidelity in 1992 and The Lobbyist in 1993.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Under the Milky Way</span> 1988 single by the Church

"Under the Milky Way" is a single by Australian alternative rock band the Church, released on 15 February 1988, and appears on their fifth studio album Starfish. The song was written by bass guitarist and lead vocalist Steve Kilbey and his then-girlfriend Karin Jansson of Curious (Yellow). It peaked at No. 22 on the Australian Kent Music Report Singles Chart, No. 24 on the United States Billboard Hot 100 and No. 25 on the New Zealand Singles Chart; it also appeared in the Dutch Single Top 100. At the ARIA Music Awards of 1989, the song won 'Single of the Year'. It was issued simultaneously in both 7" vinyl and 12" vinyl formats by Arista Records (internationally) and Mushroom Records.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1927 (band)</span> Australian pop-rock band

1927 are an Australian pop rock band formed in 1987 with James Barton on drums, Billy Frost on bass guitar, his brother Garry Frost on guitar and keyboards, and Eric Weideman on vocals, guitar and keyboards. They were popular in the late 1980s and early 1990s with major hit songs. Their multi-platinum number-one album, ...ish (1988) was followed by The Other Side (1990). At the ARIA Music Awards of 1989 they won two categories: Breakthrough Artist – Album for ...ish and Breakthrough Artist – Single for "That's When I Think of You". At the 1990 ceremony they won Best Video for "Compulsory Hero", which was directed by Geoffrey Barter. In 1992 the group released a third studio album, 1927, which reached the top 40; but they disbanded the following year. Weideman reformed 1927 in 2009 with a new lineup.

<i>All for One</i> (The Screaming Jets album) 1991 studio album by The Screaming Jets

All for One is the debut album by Australian hard rock band The Screaming Jets which was released in April 1991. It peaked at No. 2 on the ARIA Charts.

<i>...Ish</i> (album) 1988 studio album by 1927

...ish is the debut album by Australian pop rock band 1927, released on 14 November 1988, which peaked at number one for four weeks in early 1989 on the ARIA Albums Chart. The album remained in the top 50 for 46 weeks and reached No. 2 on the 1989 ARIA Year End Albums Chart. The album was awarded 5× platinum certification – for shipment of more than 350,000 copies. At the ARIA Music Awards of 1989, 1927 won 'Breakthrough Artist – Single' for "That's When I Think of You" and 'Breakthrough Artist – Album' for ...ish. At the 1990 ceremony the group won 'Best Video' for "Compulsory Hero", which was directed by Geoff Barter. In 1999 rock music historian, Ian McFarlane, described the album as "brimful of stirring, stately pop rock anthems". As of 2002, it was in the top 10 of the most successful debut albums by Australian artists.

Invertigo were an Australian four-piece pop rock group active in the early 2000s. They originally formed as Vertigo in 1996, by the three Leigh brothers: Gerry on guitar, James on keyboards and Vince on drums ; together with Hugh Wilson on lead vocals. They had a top 40 hit on the ARIA Singles Chart with "Forever Lately" and released an album before disbanding in 1999. The Leigh brothers formed Invertigo in 2000 with Christian Argenti on lead vocals. Their highest charting single, "Chances Are...", reached No. 19 and their sole album, Forum, peaked at No. 11. That group broke up in 2003.

The Black Sorrows are an Australian blues rock band formed in 1983 by mainstay vocalist Joe Camilleri, who also plays saxophone and guitar. Camilleri has used various line-ups to record 17 albums, with five reaching the top 20 on the ARIA Albums Charts: Hold on to Me, Harley and Rose, Better Times, The Chosen Ones - Greatest Hits and Lucky Charm. Their top 40 singles are "Chained to the Wheel", "Harley + Rose" and "Snake Skin Shoes".

Rockmelons, often referred to as the Rockies, were an Australian pop/dance/R&B group formed in 1983 in Sydney. Primary members are Bryon Jones, his brother Jonathon Jones and Raymond Medhurst. They had two Australian top five hit singles in the early 1990s with "Ain't No Sunshine" and "That Word (L.O.V.E.)", both sung by Deni Hines. The associated album, Form 1 Planet, peaked at number 3 on the ARIA albums chart in 1992, and was certified platinum in Australia.

<i>Man of Colours</i> 1987 studio album by Icehouse

Man of Colours is the fifth studio album by Australian rock/synthpop band Icehouse, released locally on 21 September 1987 on Regular Records / Chrysalis Records.

<i>Form 1 Planet</i> 1992 studio album by Rockmelons

Form 1 Planet is the second studio album by Australian rock band Rockmelons. The album peaked at number 3 on the ARIA Charts and was certified platinum.

Richard Arnold Pleasance is an Australian rock musician and producer. He was a founding member of Boom Crash Opera on guitar, bass guitar, vocals and as a songwriter in 1985; they released three albums before Pleasance left in 1992. Their hit Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA) singles, "Great Wall" and "Onion Skin" were co-written by Pleasance, who also co-produced their second album, These Here Are Crazy Times. His debut solo release, Galleon received four nominations at the ARIA Music Awards for 1992. Pleasance composed the theme music for Australian television series, SeaChange (1998–2001), for 2006 feature film Kenny and more recently he composed the theme music for the prison drama series Wentworth. Pleasance is married to Michelle and, as from May 2009, he was living in Hepburn Springs, Victoria where he has a recording studio.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Boy & Bear</span> Australian indie folk band

Boy & Bear are an Australian indie folk band formed in 2009, consisting of David Hosking, Killian Gavin, Tim Hart, Jonathan Hart, and David Symes (bass). The band has released two EPs and five studio albums. The first two albums, Moonfire and Harlequin Dream, reached the top ten of the Australian albums chart. Their third album, Limit of Love, was released on 9 October 2015, in Australia, New Zealand, the United States, and Canada, and on 30 October in the UK and Europe. On 27 September 2019, after a four-year break, they released their long-awaited fourth studio album, Suck on Light. After yet another break between 2020 and 2022 due to the COVID pandemic, the band finally released their self-titled fifth studio album on 26 May 2023.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Simon Hussey</span> Musical artist

Simon Cyril Hussey is an Australian multi-instrumentalist, songwriter-arranger, record producer and audio engineer. In 1984 he formed Cats Under Pressure on keyboards with David Reyne on vocals and Mark Greig on guitar. On the Australian Crawl album Between a Rock and a Hard Place, Hussey co-wrote four tracks with the band's lead singer, James Reyne. In 1987 when James undertook his solo career, Hussey joined his backing band on keyboards, and co-wrote six tracks for James' debut self-titled album including top 10 hit singles, "Hammerhead" (October) and "Motor's Too Fast". In May 1988 Hussey was the producer, and provided keyboards and song writing, for Edge (November), the comeback album by Daryl Braithwaite (ex-Sherbet), which peaked at No. 1 on the ARIA Albums Chart for three weeks in mid-1989.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">That Word (L.O.V.E.)</span> 1992 single by Rockmelons

"That Word (L.O.V.E)" is a song by Australian pop group Rockmelons featuring Deni Hines. It was written by group member Bryon Jones, his brother Jonathan Jones, and Raymond Medhurst with Rashad Smith. It was released in April 1992 as the second single from their second studio album, Form 1 Planet. The single peaked at number 4 on the Australian charts and number 5 on the New Zealand charts, which are the group's highest position in each market.

<i>Serious Fun: Tales of the Rockmelons</i> 2015 box set by Rockmelons

Serious Fun: Tales of the Rockmelons (1985–2002) is a four-disc box set by Australian rock-pop band, Rockmelons, released in Australia in November 2015. The box set contains the band's three original studio albums, all remastered, restored and repackaged as well as a bonus disc rarities and remixes. The package contains extensive liner notes from esteemed journalist Toby Creswell.

References

  1. "Australian Music Report No 727 – 4 July 1988 > Singles: New Releases". Imgur.com (original document published by Australian Music Report). Retrieved 26 March 2019.
  2. Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970-1992 . St Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. ISBN   0-646-11917-6. Note: Used for Australian Singles and Albums charting from 1970 until ARIA created their own charts in mid-1988.
  3. Maree Hamblion. "Profile on Rockmelons". EMI Music Publishing Australia. Archived from the original on 19 September 2007. Retrieved 27 September 2007.
  4. "ARIA Awards". Australian Recording Industry Association. Retrieved 27 September 2007.
  5. David Nichols (29 June 1988). "Albums". Smash Hits, Australian edition.
  6. "Australasian Performing Right Association". APRA . Retrieved 12 February 2009. Note: requires user to input song title e.g. NEW GROOVE
  7. "Australiancharts.com – The Rockmelons – Tales of the City". Hung Medien. Retrieved 25 April 2016.
  8. "End of Year Charts – ARIA Top 50 albums – 1988". ARIA Charts . Australian Recording Industry Association . Retrieved 5 June 2016.