A Can of Bees

A Can of Bees
Studio album by
The Soft Boys
Released24 April 1979
RecordedAugust–November 1978
StudioSpaceward Studios, Cambridge
GenrePost-punk
Length40:46
LabelTwo Crabs
CLAW 1001 (original UK release)
ProducerSpaceward
The Soft Boys chronology
A Can of Bees
(1979) 		Underwater Moonlight
(1980)
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
Allmusic[1]
Alternative Rock5/10[2]
The Encyclopedia of Popular Music[3]
The Great Rock Discography7/10[4]
Indiana Daily StudentB[5]
MusicHound Rock3/5[6]
The New Rolling Stone Album Guide[7]
Pitchfork7.5/10[8]
Popmatters8/10[9]

A Can of Bees is the 1979 debut album by English rock band The Soft Boys. The album was reissued in 1984 with a different track listing on the second side.[10] Both versions of Side 2 appear on the CD reissue first put out by Two Crabs in 1990, subsequently reissued by Rykodisc in 1992, and Yep Roc in 2010.[11]

Track listing

All tracks are written by Robyn Hitchcock, except where noted

No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Give It to the Soft Boys" 1:57
2."The Pig Worker" 4:30
3."Human Music" 4:30
4."Leppo and the Jooves" 5:27
5."The Rat's Prayer" 3:19
6."Do the Chisel" 3:03
7."Sandra's Having Her Brain Out" 3:47
8."The Return of the Sacred Crab" 2:54
9."Cold Turkey"John Lennon4:17
10."School Dinner Blues" (Live) 2:26
11."Wading Through a Ventilator" (Live) 4:08

1984 reissue track listing

No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Give It to the Soft Boys" 1:57
2."The Pigworker" 4:29
3."Human Music" 4:31
4."Leppo & The Jooves" 5:29
5."The Rats Prayer" 3:19
6."Do the Chisel" 3:03
7."Sandra's Having Her Brain Out" 3:39
8."Fatman's Son" 2:38
9."(I Want to Be An) Anglepoise Lamp" (Live) 2:51
10."Ugly Nora" (Live) 3:05
11."Cold Turkey"John Lennon4:16

1992 CD reissue track listing

No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Give It to the Soft Boys" 1:57
2."The Pig Worker" 4:30
3."Human Music" 4:30
4."Leppo and the Jooves" 5:27
5."The Rat's Prayer" 3:19
6."Do the Chisel" 3:03
7."Sandra's Having Her Brain Out" 3:47
8."The Return of the Sacred Crab" 2:54
9."Cold Turkey"John Lennon4:17
10."School Dinner Blues" (Live) 2:26
11."Wading Through a Ventilator" (Live) 4:08
12."Leppo & The Jooves" 5:29
13."Sandra's Having Her Brain Out" 3:39
14."School Dinner Blues" 2:14
15."Fatman's Son" 2:38
16."(I Want to Be An) Anglepoise Lamp" (Live) 2:51
17."Ugly Nora" (Live) 3:05

[12]

Personnel

Technical
  • Mike Kemp – engineer

References

  1. ^ https://www.allmusic.com/album/r76684
  2. ^ Thompson, Dave (11 February 2000). "Alternative rock". San Francisco : Miller Freeman Books ; Berkeley, CA : Distributed to the book trade in the U.S. and Canada by Publishers Group West ; Milwaukee, WI : Distributed to the music trade in the U.S. and Canada by Hal Leonard Publishing – via Internet Archive.
  3. ^ Larkin, Colin (11 February 1998). "The encyclopedia of popular music". London : Macmillan – via Internet Archive.
  4. ^ Strong, M. C. (Martin Charles) (11 February 2004). "The great rock discography". New York : Canongate U.S. – via Internet Archive.
  5. ^ "The Soft Boys "A Can of Bees" and "Underwater Moonlight" Album Reviews". Indiana Daily Student.
  6. ^ "MusicHound rock : the essential album guide". Detroit : Visible Ink Press. 11 February 1996 – via Internet Archive.
  7. ^ Brackett, Nathan; Hoard, Christian (Christian David) (11 February 2004). "The new Rolling Stone album guide". New York : Simon & Schuster – via Internet Archive.
  8. ^ "The Soft Boys: A Can of Bees / Underwater Moonlight". Pitchfork.
  9. ^ "The Soft Boys: A Can of Bees / Underwater Moonlight, PopMatters". 14 November 2010.
  10. ^ "Soft Boys, The - A Can Of Bees (Vinyl, LP, Album) at Discogs". Discogs.com. Retrieved 9 February 2012.
  11. ^ Christopher, James. "A Can of Bees - The Soft Boys". AllMusic. Retrieved 9 February 2012.
  12. ^ "Can of Bees: Soft Boys: Music". Amazon.com. Retrieved 9 February 2012.

The Soft Boys album 'A Can of Bees' was released in 1980 by Aura Records (AUL 709).