Lick (album)

Last updated

Lick
TheLemonheads-Lick.jpg
Studio album by
ReleasedApril 1989 (original LP)
1992 (CD reissue with bonus tracks)
Recorded1988
Genre
Label Taang!
Producer Tom Hamilton, Terry Katzman
The Lemonheads chronology
Creator
(1988)
Lick
(1989)
Favourite Spanish Dishes
(1990)

Lick is the third album by The Lemonheads and the last to feature founding member Ben Deily. It was released in 1989 and was the group's last album before signing to major label Atlantic. A typo on the album itself erroneously states its release date as 1988. As with their first two albums, it was re-released as a CD in 1992, with two bonus tracks.

Contents

Album information

As would become something of a trademark, the Lemonheads' lineup featured some significant differences on Lick from both previous and later albums. Although the band had officially broken up after recording their second album, Creator , in 1988, they were offered a chance to play a European tour, so in early '89 the band reformed with Evan Dando on drums, Corey Loog Brennan and Ben Deily on guitars, and Jesse Peretz on bass. Deily and Dando, the Lemonheads' two singers, were still not getting along, and their personality clashes and technical difficulties in the studio meant that only five new original songs were recorded. To fill out Lick, several earlier unreleased tracks, B-sides, and covers were added to the album.

After completion, Deily left the band permanently, replaced on their subsequent European tour by Dando and Brennan on guitars and Mark Natola on drums. Peretz, one of the original Lemonheads along with Dando and Deily, stayed on to record their next album, Lovey , but left after the supporting tour in '91. Ever since, Dando has been the Lemonheads' sole permanent member amid frequent lineup changes.

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svg [1]
NME 8/10 [2]
Spin Alternative Record Guide 6/10 [3]

Track listing

All songs by Evan Dando unless otherwise stated.

  1. "Mallo Cup" – 2:12
  2. "Glad I Don't Know" – 1:21
  3. "7 Powers"* (Ben Deily) – 2:32
  4. "A Circle of One" – 2:49
  5. "Cazzo di Ferro" (Corey Loog Brennan, Dando) – 3:45
  6. "Anyway" (Deily) – 3:10
  7. "Luka" (Suzanne Vega cover) – 3:09
  8. "Come Back D.A." – 1:54
  9. "I Am a Rabbit" (Proud Scum cover) – 1:46
  10. "Sad Girl" – 1:48
  11. "Ever" (Deily) – 2:48
  12. "Strange" (Mel Tillis, Fred Burch) (Patsy Cline cover) – 2:57
  13. "Mad" – 1:41

Note: Only tracks 1, 3, 4, 6, and 8 were written and recorded specifically for Lick. Tracks 2 and 9 are new recordings of songs from the Lemonheads' 1986 EP, Laughing All the Way to the Cleaners, while 10 and 11 were recorded for Hate Your Friends and 7 was originally intended for Creator. Tracks 12 and 13, the "Luka" single's B-sides, are bonus tracks added for the album's 1992 CD reissue ("Mad" also happens to be the first song the Lemonheads ever recorded, an outtake from Laughing All the Way).

Personnel

The Lemonheads

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References

  1. 1 2 3 "Lick – The Lemonheads". AllMusic.
  2. Lamacq, Steve (24 June 1989). "The Lemonheads – Lick (World Service Records)". New Musical Express . London: IPC Limited. p. 34. ISSN   0028-6362 . Retrieved 27 May 2023 via Flickr.
  3. Sheffield, Rob (1995). "Lemonheads". In Weisbard, Eric; Marks, Craig (eds.). Spin Alternative Record Guide. Vintage Books. pp. 224–225. ISBN   0-679-75574-8.