The Glamour (album)

Last updated

The Glamour
Comsat Angels - The Glamour cover.jpg
Studio album by
Released1995, reissued 2007
Recorded1994
StudioAxis Studio, Sheffield
Genre Post-punk
Length62:11 (1995)
89:36 (2007)
Label RPM Records (1995), Renascent (2007)
Producer The Comsat Angels
The Comsat Angels chronology
My Mind's Eye
(1992)
The Glamour
(1995)
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svg [1]
PopMatters Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svg [2]

The Glamour is the ninth and final album by the Comsat Angels, released in 1995 on RPM Records and on Caroline Records in the US. In 2007, Renascent reissued the album as a double CD with seven additional tracks.

Contents

This was the Comsat Angels' last studio album and the only one with a lineup of five band members. Bass player Kevin Bacon had left the band after the release of My Minds Eye and was replaced by Terry Todd. A second guitarist, Simon Anderson, was also added.

Comsats frontman Stephen Fellows regretted how rushed they were in producing this album, saying, "We were prevented by deadlines from finishing all the music we were recording." [3] He also said, in a 1997 interview, "Although I am very pleased with The Glamour as the last album it was kind of [Mik Glashier] piloted that one, he wanted to make a rock album". [4] In his view, the 2007 reissue, with its added tracks, improved the album. Fellows said, "This is much closer to how it should have been". [3]

Track listing (1995)

All tracks written by Fellows/Glaisher/Peake/Todd/Anderson.

  1. "Psychedelic Dungeon" – 3:57
  2. "The Glamour" – 3:15
  3. "Audrey in Denim" – 4:46
  4. "Oblivion" – 7:42
  5. "Web of Sound" – 3:52
  6. "Breaker" – 6:23
  7. "SS100X" – 3:41
  8. "Sailor" – 3:24
  9. "Demon Lover" – 3:15
  10. "Pacific Ocean Blues" – 4:22
  11. "Anjelica" – 4:11
  12. "Valley of the Nile" – 4:32
  13. "Spaced" – 8:51

Track listing (2007)

All tracks written by Fellows/Glaisher/Peake/Todd/Anderson.

Disc one

  1. "I Hear a New World" (Alternative Mix, Re-master) – 4:17
  2. "Goddess" (Re-master) – 3:32
  3. "Anjelica" (Different Vocals, Alternative Mix) – 4:11
  4. "Valley of the Nile" (Alternative Mix) – 4:32
  5. "Sailor" – 3:24
  6. "Pacific Ocean Blues" – 4:22
  7. "Oblivion" – 7:42
  8. "The Niala Game" – 4:27
  9. "Audrey in Denim" – 4:46
  10. "Demon Lover" – 3:15

Disc two

  1. "Psychedelic Dungeon" – 3:57
  2. "SS100X" (Different Vocals, Alternative Mix) – 3:41
  3. "The Glamour" – 3:15
  4. "Breaker" – 6:23
  5. "Evanescent" – 4:33
  6. "Hyperprism 1" – 4:14
  7. "Spaced" – 8:51
  8. "Web of Sound" – 3:52
  9. "A Song Called Dave" – 1:59
  10. "Slayer of the Real" (Demo) – 4:23

Personnel

Related Research Articles

<i>In Search of Space</i> 1971 studio album by Hawkwind

In Search of Space is the second studio album from Hawkwind, released in 1971. It reached No. 18 on the UK Albums Chart.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Sound (band)</span> English post-punk band

The Sound were an English post-punk band, formed in South London in 1979 and dissolved in 1988. They were fronted by Adrian Borland, and evolved from his previous band, the Outsiders.

<i>People Like Us</i> (The Mamas & the Papas album) 1971 studio album by The Mamas and the Papas

People Like Us is the fifth and final studio album released by the American folk rock vocal group The Mamas and the Papas. Released in November 1971, the album came to be because the former members of the group were still under contract with Dunhill Records. The group had originally been signed to the label when it was run by their original producer Lou Adler, but by 1971, Dunhill's distributor, ABC Records, had purchased the label and discovered a clause in the group's original contract. According to their contract, the group had to produce one more album, or else be in breach of contract and subject to possible fines up to 1 million dollars. The album is considered a disappointment by fans and critics with some notable exemptions such as “Snowqueen of Texas” and “Lady Genevieve”. Despite its reputation, it sold moderately well. It was produced by John Phillips. Michelle Phillips later wrote in the liner note of a Mamas & Papas CD compilation that the album "sounded like what it was, four people trying to avoid a lawsuit". This mostly had to do with the spark in the group's original content leaving as the group had parted ways and had pursued personal gains.

The Comsat Angels were an English post-punk band from Sheffield, England, initially active from 1978 to 1995. Their music has been described as "abstract pop songs with sparse instrumentation, many of which were bleak and filled with some form of heartache". They have been credited as being an influence on later post-punk revival bands such as Blacklist, Bell Hollow, Editors and Interpol.

<i>The Psychedelic Furs</i> (album) 1980 studio album by the Psychedelic Furs

The Psychedelic Furs is the debut studio album by the English rock band the Psychedelic Furs, released on 7 March 1980 by Columbia Records. It was reissued with bonus tracks in 2002 by Columbia/Legacy. In 2020, Rolling Stone included the band's debut studio album in their "80 Greatest albums of 1980" list, praising the musicians for sounding like "a grand art project".

<i>Waiting for a Miracle</i> (album) 1980 studio album by The Comsat Angels

Waiting for a Miracle is the debut album by the Comsat Angels, released on 5 September 1980 on Polydor Records.

<i>Sleep No More</i> (The Comsat Angels album) 1981 studio album by The Comsat Angels

Sleep No More is the Comsat Angels' second album, released 21 August 1981 on Polydor Records. It is widely regarded as a masterpiece that had a major influence on bands such as U2 and later groups such as Editors and Interpol. The album has been reissued on CD three times, in 1995 by RPM Records, in 2006 by Renascent and in 2015 by Edsel Records, with different track listings. Sleep No More produced no singles, but it had the highest UK chart ranking for any Comsats album, peaking at No. 51.

<i>Fiction</i> (The Comsat Angels album) 1982 studio album by The Comsat Angels

Fiction is the Comsat Angels' third album, released in August 1982 on Polydor Records. The album has been reissued on CD three times: in 1995 by RPM Records, in 2006 by Renascent and in 2015 by Edsel Records, with different track listings. The album peaked at No. 94 in the UK charts in September 1982.

<i>Land</i> (The Comsat Angels album) 1983 studio album by The Comsat Angels

Land is the Comsat Angels' fourth album, released in September 1983 on Jive Records. The album was reissued on CD in 2001 with five B-sides as bonus tracks for Jive's "Connoisseur Collection".

<i>7 Day Weekend</i> (album) 1985 studio album by The Comsat Angels

7 Day Weekend is the Comsat Angels' fifth album, released in 1985 on Jive Records. The album was reissued on CD with bonus tracks in 2001 for Jive's "Connoisseur Collection".

<i>Chasing Shadows</i> (The Comsat Angels album) 1986 studio album by The Comsat Angels

Chasing Shadows is the Comsat Angels' sixth album, released in 1986 on Island Records.

<i>Fire on the Moon</i> (Dream Command album) 1990 studio album by Dream Command

Fire on the Moon is the Comsat Angels' seventh album, released in 1990 on Island Records. It was issued under the alias Dream Command, and in limited quantities in the United States and the Netherlands only. A promo-only single of "Celestine" was released in similarly small quantities.

<i>The House of Love</i> (1988 album) 1988 studio album by The House of Love

The House of Love is the eponymous debut album by the British alternative rock band the House of Love. Released on 16 May 1988 by Creation Records, the album was a critical success. It appeared in many 1988 critics' lists in NME, Melody Maker and Sounds.

Stephen Fellows is an English singer, songwriter and musician. From 1978 to 1995, he was frontman for the band The Comsat Angels. He also managed the band Gomez and helped guide the band the Little Glitches.

<i>My Minds Eye</i> (album) 1992 studio album by The Comsat Angels

My Mind's Eye is the eighth album by the Comsat Angels, released in 1992 on RPM Records, and in 1993 on Caroline Records in the United States. It was rereleased by Thunderbird Records in 2001, and remastered with additional tracks by Renascent in February 2007.

<i>Time Considered as a Helix of Semi-Precious Stones – The BBC Sessions 1979–1984</i> 1992 compilation album by The Comsat Angels

Time Considered as a Helix of Semi-Precious Stones – The BBC Sessions 1979-1984, a compilation album by the Comsat Angels, was released in 1992 by BBC Music and reissued by Renascent in 2006. The name of the album was taken from the award-winning science fiction short story of the same name by Samuel R. Delany.

<i>To Before</i> 2007 compilation album by The Comsat Angels

To Before is a double album of Comsat Angels demos and outtakes, released on CD by Renascent in 2007. The selected tracks covered the years 1978 to 1993 and were salvaged from old cassette tapes, DATs and bootlegs. The first disc documented some of the earliest years of the band and included the entire "Red Planet" three-track single, the Comsat Angels' first record. The second disc contains demo versions of songs from later albums, plus three finished tracks from the album Fire on the Moon.

<i>Short Back n Sides</i> 1981 studio album by Ian Hunter

Short Back 'n' Sides is the fifth studio album by Ian Hunter. He collaborated with Mick Jones, fellow Clash member Topper Headon, as well as Todd Rundgren and Ellen Foley.

<i>D</i> (White Denim album) 2011 studio album by White Denim

D is the fourth full-length studio album by the Texan band White Denim, released by Downtown Records on May 24, 2011 to wide critical acclaim.

<i>Oblivion, POV & Some Trivia</i> 1996 compilation album by Utopia

Oblivion, POV & Some Trivia is a Rhino Records compilation album by Utopia. It includes all of the tracks from the original Utopia albums Oblivion and P.O.V., and the song "Man of Action," which was originally the b-side to the U.K. single "Mated" and a bonus track on the cassette and CD versions of P.O.V.. It also includes the non-regular-album tracks, "Fix Your Gaze" and "Monument" from the compilation album Trivia.

References

  1. Allmusic review
  2. Popmatters review
  3. 1 2 Liner notes from Renascent reissue of The Glamour
  4. Step Off, interviews, Stephen Fellows interviewed by Tony Kinson 13/3/97