Tales of the City (album)

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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"
    Released: July 1988
  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. [1] [2] The band shared the Australian Record Industry Association (ARIA) Award for 'Best Debut Album' in 1988 with 1927's album ...ish . [3]

Rock music is a broad genre of popular music that originated as "rock and roll" in the United States in the early 1950s, and developed into a range of different styles in the 1960s and later, particularly in the United Kingdom and in the United States. It has its roots in 1940s and 1950s rock and roll, a style which drew heavily on the genres of blues, rhythm and blues, and from country music. Rock music also drew strongly on a number of other genres such as electric blues and folk, and incorporated influences from jazz, classical and other musical styles. Musically, rock has centered on the electric guitar, usually as part of a rock group with electric bass, drums, and one or more singers. Usually, rock is song-based music usually with a 4/4 time signature using a verse–chorus form, but the genre has become extremely diverse. Like pop music, lyrics often stress romantic love but also address a wide variety of other themes that are frequently social or political.

Rockmelons, often referred to as the Rockies, are 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 #3 on the ARIA albums chart in 1992, and was certified platinum in Australia.

True Tone Records was an Australian based record label. It was founded by Michael Crawley in the 1980s. The label was distributed by Polygram Records.

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 .

Track listing

All songs written by R. Medhurst, B. Jones, J. Jones, R. Smith except where noted, according to Australasian Performing Right Association (APRA). [4]

The Australasian Performing Right Association (APRA) is a not for profit copyright collective representing Australian and New Zealander composers, lyricists, and music publishers. The association's head offices are located in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, with branch offices in Auckland, Melbourne, Brisbane, Adelaide, and Perth. APRA is a member of the International Confederation of Societies of Authors and Composers (CISAC).

  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

Chart positions

Weekly chart positions

Chart (1988)Peak
position
Australian Albums (ARIA) [5] 14

Year-end charts

Chart (1988)Position
Australian Albums Chart [6] 31
Australian Artist Albums Chart14

Personnel

Credited to: [7]

Rockmelons

Wendy Joan Matthews is an Australian adult alternative pop singer originally from Canada 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".

Recording details

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References

  1. 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.
  2. Maree Hamblion. "Profile on Rockmelons". EMI Music Publishing Australia. Archived from the original on 2007-09-19. Retrieved 2007-09-27.
  3. "ARIA Awards". Australian Recording Industry Association. Retrieved 2007-09-27.
  4. "Australasian Performing Right Association". APRA . Retrieved 2009-02-12. Note: requires user to input song title e.g. NEW GROOVE
  5. "Australiancharts.com – The Rockmelons – Tales of the City". Hung Medien. Retrieved 25 April 2016.
  6. "End of Year Charts – ARIA Top 50 albums - 1988". ARIA Charts . Australian Recording Industry Association . Retrieved 5 June 2016.
  7. "Tales of the City album credits". Allmusic . Retrieved 2009-02-17.