The Big Heat (album)

Last updated
The Big Heat
Stan Ridgway The Big Heat.jpg
Studio album by
Stan Ridgway
Released1986
StudioFiddler's Studio, J.C. Studios and The Lighthouse, Hollywood, CA
Genre New wave, alternative rock, avant-pop [1]
Length42:15
Label I.R.S.
Producer Joe Chiccarelli, Mitchell Froom, Hugh Jones, Bill Noland, Stan Ridgway, Louis van den Berg
Stan Ridgway chronology
The Big Heat
(1986)		 Mosquitos
(1989)
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svg [2]
The Village Voice B [3]

The Big Heat is the debut solo album by American musician Stan Ridgway (former Wall of Voodoo vocalist), released in 1986 by I.R.S. Records. Named after the 1953 film noir of the same name, the original release consisted of nine songs, including the No. 4 UK hit "Camouflage". [4] In 1986, the album reached No. 131 on the Billboard 200. The album was re-released in 1993 with six additional tracks and again re-released in 2007.

Contents

Reception

Spin said, "A man of few words, he makes every line count for something — either an image that evokes a scene or a line of dialogue that evokes a character. His decision to build and record in his own studio has paid off with a well-balanced sound that has lots of space for odd acoustic instruments to dart in and out of his synth-based arrangements." [5]

Track listing

All tracks are written by Stan Ridgway, except where otherwise indicated

Side one
No.TitleLength
1."The Big Heat"4:26
2."Pick It Up (And Put It in Your Pocket)"4:32
3."Can't Stop the Show"3:45
4."Pile Driver"4:44
5."Walkin' Home Alone"4:31
Side two
No.TitleLength
1."Drive, She Said"4:11
2."Salesman"5:23
3."Twisted"3:37
4."Camouflage"7:05
CD edition bonus track
No.TitleLength
10."Rio Greyhound"3:12
1993 remastered CD track listing
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
11."Stormy Side of Town" 5:02
12."Foggy River" Fred Rose 4:32
13."End of the Line" 5:51
14."Nadine" Chuck Berry 3:26
15."Can't Stop the Show" (live) 3:53
16."Drive, She Said" (live) 4:39

Accolades

YearPublicationCountryAccoladeRank
1986Best France "Albums of the Year"3 [6]
1986 Q United Kingdom "Albums of the Year"* [7]
1986 Sounds United Kingdom"Albums of the Year"* [8]
1990Mucchio Selvaggio Italy "The Best Albums of the 80s"* [9]
1990VelvetItaly"The 100 Best Albums of the 80s"* [10]
1991 Rock & Folk France"The 250 Best Albums from 1966-1991"3[ citation needed ]
1999Panorama Norway "The 30 Best Albums of the Year 1970-98"19[ citation needed ]
2002Mucchio SelvaggioItaly"100 Best Albums by Decade"1-20[ citation needed ]
"*" denotes an unordered list.

Chart positions

Personnel

Adapted from The Big Heat liner notes. [26]

Release history

RegionDateLabelFormatCatalog
Spain1986 Epic CD, CS, LP 40-2687
United KingdomI.R.S.CD, LP1008
United StatesCD, LP5637
1993CDX2 0777 7 13125 26
United Kingdom2012WaterCDWater252

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References

  1. ↑ Grimstad, Paul. "What is Avant-Pop?". The Brooklyn Rail .
  2. ↑ McDonald, Steven. "The Big Heat – Stan Ridgway". AllMusic . Retrieved December 7, 2009.
  3. ↑ Christgau, Robert (July 1, 1986). "Christgau's Consumer Guide". The Village Voice . Retrieved December 7, 2009.
  4. ↑ Stan Ridgway: Camouflage OfficialCharts.com Accessed September 2, 2007.
  5. ↑ Mark Fleischmann (May 1986). "Spins". Spin . No. 13. p. 34.
  6. ↑ "Best - Albums of the Year". Best. Retrieved 2009-12-03.
  7. ↑ "Q - Albums of the Year". Q . Retrieved 2009-12-03.
  8. ↑ "Sounds - Albums of the Year". Rocklist.net. Retrieved 2009-12-03.
  9. ↑ "Mucchio Selvaggio - The Best Albums of the 80s". Mucchio Selvaggio. Retrieved 2009-12-03.
  10. ↑ "Velvet - The 100 Best Albums of the 80s". Velvet. Retrieved 2009-12-03.
  11. ↑ Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 (illustrated ed.). St Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. p. 252. ISBN   0-646-11917-6.
  12. ↑ "Stan Ridgway - The Big Heat". offiziellecharts.de. Retrieved August 9, 2016.
  13. ↑ "Stan Ridgway - The Big Heat". dutchcharts.nl. Retrieved June 29, 2015.
  14. ↑ "Stan Ridgeway - The Big Heat". NorwegianCharts.com. Retrieved 2009-12-02.
  15. ↑ "Stan Ridgeway - The Big Heat". HitParade.ch. Retrieved 2009-12-02.
  16. ↑ "Billboard.com - Artist Chart History - Stan Ridgway". Nielsen Company, Billboard . Retrieved 2008-06-03.
  17. ↑ "Stan Ridgway". australian-charts.com. Archived from the original on September 21, 2016. Retrieved August 8, 2016.
  18. ↑ "Stan Ridgway". austriancharts.at. Retrieved August 8, 2016.
  19. ↑ "Stan Ridgway". ultratop.be. Retrieved August 8, 2016.
  20. ↑ "Stan Ridgway". offiziellecharts.de. Retrieved August 9, 2016.
  21. ↑ "Stan Ridgway Discography". irishcharts.ie. Retrieved 2009-12-02.
  22. ↑ "Stan Ridgway". dutchcharts.nl. Retrieved August 8, 2016.
  23. ↑ "Stan Ridgway". hitParade.ch. Retrieved August 8, 2016.
  24. ↑ "Stan Ridgway Discography". officialcharts.com. Retrieved August 8, 2016.
  25. ↑ Lazell, Barry (1997). Indie Hits 1980-1989. Cherry Red Books. Archived from the original on June 5, 2011. Retrieved June 29, 2015.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  26. ↑ The Big Heat (sleeve). Stan Ridgway. Hollywood, California: I.R.S. Records. 1985.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
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