Oedipus Schmoedipus is an album by the English musician Barry Adamson, released in 1996.[3][4] Like Adamson's previous albums, Oedipus Schmoedipus was conceived as a soundtrack to an imaginary film.[5] The album peaked at No. 51 on the UK Albums Chart.[6]
The album was produced by Adamson.[8]Nick Cave cowrote and contributed vocals to "The Sweetest Embrace", while Jarvis Cocker cowrote and sang on "Set the Controls for the Heart of the Pelvis".[9][10]Billy Mackenzie sang on "Achieved in the Valley of Dolls".[11]
NME called the album "too cool to be cringingly kitsch, too deep to be flaky."[14]Pitchfork stated that, "with 13 tracks that sound like they could take form and commit acts of homicide on their own, the former Bad Seed's creation is undeniably ... alive."[15]
The Guardian determined that "Adamson's psychogeographical soundtracks snag your head and won't let go: he's made a (bad) dream of a music that simulates mainstream accessibility but is drenched with the maker's own terrors, memories, fixations."[16]Rolling Stone thought that "Adamson can brilliantly—and without words—suggest entire movie scenes with dizzying combinations of dance beats, jazz phrases, finger-snapping big-band arrangements, luscious strings and even references to '60s French pop."[17]
AllMusic wrote that "Adamson's skill in layering and devising unusual sound textures still qualifies him as one of experimental rock's more imaginative composers and producers."[12]Dave Thompson referred to the album as a "supreme slab of disturbance-with-a-(bit of a)-beat."[18]
Track listing
All tracks composed by Barry Adamson, except where noted.
