The Best of Thunder: Their Finest Hour (And a Bit)

Last updated
The Best of Thunder: Their Finest Hour (And a Bit)
ThunderTheirFinestHour.png
Compilation album by Thunder
Released 25 September 1995 (1995-09-25)
Recorded 1989–1995
Genre
Length75:21
Label EMI
Producer
Thunder compilation album chronology
The Best of Thunder: Their Finest Hour (And a Bit)
(1995)
Burrn! Presents: The Best of Thunder
(1998)
Singles from The Best of Thunder: Their Finest Hour (And a Bit)
  1. "In a Broken Dream"
    Released: 11 September 1995 (1995-09-11)

The Best of Thunder: Their Finest Hour (And a Bit) is the first compilation album by English hard rock band Thunder. Released on 25 September 1995 by EMI Records, it features songs from the band's first three studio albums – Backstreet Symphony , Laughing on Judgement Day and Behind Closed Doors – as well as a re-recorded version of "Higher Ground", 1994 single "Gimme Shelter" and new tracks "In a Broken Dream" and "Once in a Lifetime".

A compilation album comprises tracks, which may be previously released or unreleased, usually from several separate recordings by either one or several performers. If by one artist, then generally the tracks were not originally intended for release together as a single work, but may be collected together as a greatest hits album or box set. If from several performers, there may be a theme, topic, time period, or genre which links the tracks, or they may have been intended for release as a single work—such as a tribute album. When the tracks are by the same recording artist, the album may be referred to as a retrospective album or an anthology.

Hard rock is a loosely defined subgenre of rock music that began in the mid-1960s, with the garage, psychedelic and blues rock movements. It is typified by a heavy use of aggressive vocals, distorted electric guitars, bass guitar, drums, and often accompanied with keyboards.

Thunder (band) English hard rock band

Thunder are an English hard rock band from London. Formed in 1989, the group was founded by former Terraplane members Danny Bowes, Luke Morley and Gary "Harry" James (drums), along with second guitarist and keyboardist Ben Matthews and bassist Mark "Snake" Luckhurst. Originally signed to EMI Records in the UK, the band released their debut album Backstreet Symphony in 1990, which reached number 21 on the UK Albums Chart and number 114 on the US Billboard 200. The 1992 follow-up Laughing on Judgement Day reached number 2, while both albums were certified gold by the British Phonographic Industry (BPI). All nine singles released from the two albums reached the UK Singles Chart top 40.

Contents

Upon its release, Their Finest Hour (And a Bit) reached number 22 on the UK Albums Chart, number 3 on the UK Rock & Metal Albums Chart and number 47 on the Scottish Albums Chart. The album was certified silver by the British Phonographic Industry (BPI), indicating sales of 60,000 units. "In a Broken Dream" reached number 26 on the UK Singles Chart and number 28 on the Scottish Singles Chart, and topped the UK Rock & Metal Singles Chart.

The Official Albums Chart is a list of albums ranked by physical and digital sales and audio streaming in the United Kingdom. It was published for the first time on 22 July 1956 and is compiled every week by the Official Charts Company (OCC) on Fridays. It is broadcast on BBC Radio 1 and published in Music Week magazine, and on the OCC website.

The UK Rock & Metal Singles Chart and UK Rock & Metal Albums Chart are record charts compiled in the United Kingdom by the Official Charts Company (OCC) to determine the 40 most popular singles and albums in the rock and heavy metal genres. The two charts are compiled by the OCC from digital downloads, physical record sales and audio streams in UK retail outlets. The charts have been published on the official OCC website since 1994 and also appear on BBC Radio 1's website.

The Scottish Singles Chart and Scottish Albums Chart are charts compiled by the Official Charts Company, based on physical and digital sales in Scotland. The Scottish Singles Chart and Scottish Albums Chart are national listings that indicate how sales towards the UK Singles Chart and UK Albums Chart are faring in Scotland. Currently, these charts are based only on paid-for sales so, with the growth of streaming, they only reflect a minority of the music consumption in Scotland which is counted towards the overall UK charts, just as the charts in the late 2000s did not reflect the majority of Scottish sales as they only counted physical sales.

Background

On 11 September 1995, Thunder released a cover version of "In a Broken Dream", originally recorded by Python Lee Jackson with additional vocals from Rod Stewart, as a single. [1] The song debuted at number 26 on the UK Singles Chart, [2] number 28 on the Scottish Singles Chart, [3] and number 1 on the UK Rock & Metal Singles Chart. [4] Two weeks later, the band's first compilation album The Best of Thunder: Their Finest Hour (And a Bit) was released. [1] The album features a selection of tracks from Thunder's first three studio albums – including five from 1990's Backstreet Symphony , four from Laughing on Judgement Day and three from 1995's Behind Closed Doors – as well as "In a Broken Dream", a re-recorded version of "Higher Ground" dubbed "Higher Ground '95", a recording of The Rolling Stones song "Gimme Shelter" (originally released on a various artists single of the same name), and the previously unreleased "Once in a Lifetime". [5]

Cover version later version of a song already established with a different earlier performer

In popular music, a cover version, cover song, revival, or simply cover, is a new performance or recording by someone other than the original artist or composer of a previously recorded, commercially released song.

In a Broken Dream

"In a Broken Dream" is a song and single by Australian rock band Python Lee Jackson featuring vocals from Rod Stewart.

Python Lee Jackson

Python Lee Jackson were an Australian rock band active from 1965 to 1968, before a brief sojourn in the United Kingdom from late 1968 to mid-1969. The group had recorded a single, "In A Broken Dream", featuring Rod Stewart as guest vocalist in April 1969. The group reformed in 1972 and the single was re-released in August: it peaked at No. 3 on the UK Singles Chart and No. 56 on the United States Billboard Hot 100. The group disbanded again later that year. Their early vocalist, Mal McGee (1966–68) died on 17 May 2012.

A greatest hits album was originally suggested to Thunder by EMI Records, their record label at the time, which the band's vocalist Danny Bowes interpreted as a sign that they were "about to get dropped" by the company. [6] Recalling the situation in the group's 2016 biography Giving the Game Away: The Thunder Story, Bowes noted that "my first thought was 'That means we're off the label. They're trying to get the money in before they heave us out the door.'" [6] The band recorded the new tracks "In a Broken Dream", "Higher Ground '95" and "Once in a Lifetime" at Wool Hall Studios in Beckington, Somerset. [6]

A greatest hits album, sometimes called a "best of" album or a catalog album, is a compilation of songs by a particular artist or band. Most often the track list contains previously released recordings with a high degree of notability. However, to increase the appeal, especially to people who already own the original release, it is common to include remixes or alternate takes of popular songs; sometimes even new material will function as bonus tracks. At times, a greatest hits compilation is the original album release for songs that have themselves been released as a single and charted successfully.

EMI Records record label founded by the EMI company

EMI Records was a British record label founded by the music company of the same name in 1972 as its flagship label, and launched in January 1973 as the successor to its Columbia and Parlophone record labels. The label was later launched worldwide. It has a branch in India called "EMI Records India", run by director Mohit Suri.

Daniel John ‘Danny’ Bowes was born on 14 April 1960, in West Ham, Essex, England.

Release

The Best of Thunder: Their Finest Hour (And a Bit) was released in the UK and Europe by EMI Records on 25 September 1995. [1] The album debuted at number 22 on the UK Albums Chart, [2] number 3 on the UK Rock & Metal Albums Chart, [7] and number 47 on the Scottish Albums Chart. [8] It was also certified silver by the British Phonographic Industry, indicating sales in the UK of 60,000 units. [9] The album was issued in Japan by Toshiba EMI on 29 November 1995. [10] The album was also reissued in Japan in 2004, featuring the previously unreleased track "Sex Groove". [5] Reviewing the album for AllMusic, Doug Odell described Their Finest Hour (And a Bit) as "a well-rounded collection for diehard fans or a perfect introduction for new ones". [11] The compilation was promoted on its own short concert tour dubbed Their Finest Set (And a Bit), which visited five cities in England between 27 September and 2 October 1995. [12]

British Phonographic Industry organization

The BPI Limited, commonly known as the British Phonographic Industry or BPI, is the British recorded music industry's trade association.

EMI Music Japan Inc. was one of Japan's leading music companies. It became a wholly owned subsidiary of British music company EMI Group Ltd. in June 30, 2007 after Toshiba sold off its previous 45% stake. Its CEO and president was Kazuhiko Koike. When EMI Music Japan was trading as Toshiba-EMI, it was involved with the production of anime. On April 1, 2013, the company became defunct, following its absorption into Universal Music Japan as a sublabel under the name EMI Records Japan.

AllMusic online music database

AllMusic is an online music database. It catalogs more than 3 million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musical artists and bands. It launched in 1991, predating the World Wide Web.

Track listing

No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Dirty Love" Luke Morley 5:25
2."River of Pain"Morley3:37
3."Love Walked In"Morley6:22
4."Everybody Wants Her"4:29
5."In a Broken Dream"David Bentley5:46
6."Higher Ground '95"Morley4:24
7."Backstreet Symphony"Morley4:30
8."A Better Man"Morley3:40
9."Gimme Shelter"5:25
10."Like a Satellite"Morley4:52
11."Low Life in High Places"Morley4:09
12."Stand Up"
  • Morley
  • James
4:00
13."Once in a Lifetime"Morley4:45
14."Gimme Some Lovin'"3:49
15."Castles in the Sand"Morley4:36
16."She's So Fine"
5:32
Total length:75:21

Notes

<i>Backstreet Symphony</i> album by Thunder

Backstreet Symphony is the debut studio album by English hard rock band Thunder. Recorded in 1989 at Great Linford Manor Studios in Milton Keynes, it was produced by former Duran Duran and The Power Station guitarist Andy Taylor, then mixed by Mike Fraser at AIR Studios in London. The album was initially released on 5 March 1990 by EMI Records in the UK and Capitol Records in the US, and was later re-released the following year in the US by Geffen Records.

<i>Behind Closed Doors</i> (Thunder album) album by Thunder

Behind Closed Doors is the third studio album by English hard rock band Thunder. Recorded between May and August 1994 at various studios, primarily Southern Tracks in Atlanta, Georgia, it was produced the band's lead guitarist Luke Morley and Mike Fraser, the latter of whom also mixed the album at the Record Plant in Los Angeles, California. The album was released on 23 January 1995 by EMI Records in Europe and Japan, and was not released in the United States.

<i>Laughing on Judgement Day</i> album by Thunder

Laughing on Judgement Day is the second studio album by English hard rock band Thunder. Recorded between February and June 1992 at Outside Studios in Checkendon, it was produced the band's lead guitarist Luke Morley and Andy Taylor, then mixed by David Bascombe at AIR Studios in London. The album was released on 24 August 1992 by EMI Records in Europe and Japan, and by Geffen Records in the United States.

Personnel

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References

  1. 1 2 3 "History". Thunder . Retrieved 10 June 2017.
  2. 1 2 "Thunder Full Official Chart History". Official Charts Company . Retrieved 10 June 2017.
  3. "Official Scottish Singles Sales Chart Top 100: 17 September 1995 - 23 September 1995". Official Charts Company . Retrieved 10 June 2017.
  4. "Official Rock & Metal Singles Chart Top 40: 17 September 1995 - 23 September 1995". Official Charts Company . Retrieved 10 June 2017.
  5. 1 2 "Their Finest Hour (And a Bit)". Thunder . Retrieved 10 June 2017.
  6. 1 2 3 McIver 2016 , p. 214
  7. "Official Rock & Metal Albums Chart Top 40: 01 October 1995 - 07 October 1995". Official Charts Company . Retrieved 10 June 2017.
  8. "Official Scottish Albums Chart Top 100: 01 October 1995 - 07 October 1995". Official Charts Company . Retrieved 10 June 2017.
  9. "Certified Awards". British Phonographic Industry . Retrieved 10 June 2017. Note: User must manually define search parameter as "Thunder" and click the 'Search' button in order to yield results.
  10. "Best Album (Their Finest Hour (...And a Bit))" (in Japanese). Ikuko "Ken-san" Yamamoto. Retrieved 10 June 2017.
  11. Odell, Doug. "Best of Thunder: Their Finest Hour (And a Bit) - Thunder: Songs, Reviews, Credits". AllMusic . All Media Network . Retrieved 10 June 2017.
  12. "Behind Closed Doors Tour". Thunder . Retrieved 10 June 2017.

Bibliography