Cloudcuckooland (album)

Cloudcuckooland
Album cover for Cloudcuckooland (1990)
Studio album by
the Lightning Seeds
Released29 January 1990
GenreAlternative rock, indie pop
Length46:34
LabelGhetto (GHETT 3)
MCA (US/Canada)
ProducerIan Broudie
The Lightning Seeds chronology
Cloudcuckooland
(1990) 		Sense
(1992)
Singles from Cloudcuckooland
  1. "Pure"
    Released: 5 June 1989[1]
  2. "Joy"
    Released: 9 October 1989[2]
  3. "All I Want"
    Released: 30 April 1990

Cloudcuckooland is the debut album by British band the Lightning Seeds, released in 1990. "Pure" was the band's first hit in the United Kingdom, and their only top 40 entry in the United States.

Liverpool scene peers Andy McCluskey and Ian McNabb – frontmen of OMD and the Icicle Works, respectively – appeared in guest roles.

Reception and legacy

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[3]
Chicago Tribune[4]

The Chicago Tribune noted that "this could stand a little more bite, and the mechanized percussion is hardly an attribute, but it's a credit to Broudie's craftsmanship that this record's low-key charm is only enhanced with repeated listens."[4]

Dean Carlson of AllMusic wrote: "Even in these early days, with singles like "Pure" and "All I Want", you can hear why comparisons to a less burlesque Pet Shop Boys or a Matthew Sweet synth tribute band didn't have to be unpleasant criticisms."[3]

"All I Want" was covered by Susanna Hoffs, formerly of the Bangles, on her 1996 album Susanna Hoffs. It was a minor US hit and a UK hit at No. 33 for two weeks.

Track listing

The CD version of Cloudcuckooland included the extra track "God Help Them", originally a B-side and not on the LP version. The U.S. track listing differs from the UK version with "God Help Them" replaced by the B-sides "Fools" and "Frenzy", and it was released on the MCA label rather than the indie label Ghetto. The re-release of the U.S. album includes a new recording of "All I Want".[5]

All songs written by Ian Broudie (except where stated).

  1. "All I Want" – 2:50 (Broudie, Peter Coyle)
  2. "Bound in a Nutshell" – 4:29
  3. "Pure" – 3:45
  4. "Sweet Dreams" – 4:25 (Broudie, Richard Jobson)
  5. "The Nearly Man" – 3:06
  6. "Joy" – 4:13
  7. "Love Explosion" – 4:10
  8. "Don't Let Go" – 3:54
  9. "Control the Flame" – 3:22 (Broudie, Peter Coyle)
  10. "The Price" – 4:20

The track "Sweet Dreams" was released in the U.S. as a promo single on MCA Records, which included a cover of Tim Hardin's "Hang onto a Dream" and a version of "Flaming Sword", originally by Care, a former band of Broudie.[6]

Bonus tracks

UK CD bonus track
  2. "God Help Them" – 3:44 (Broudie, Paul Simpson)
U.S. bonus tracks
  2. "Fools" – 4:08
  3. "Frenzy" – 3:56

Personnel

Charts

Chart (1990) Peak
position
Australian Albums (ARIA)[7] 143
UK Albums Chart 50
US Billboard 200 46

References

  1. ^ "New Singles". Music Week. 3 June 1989. p. 30.
  2. ^ "New Singles". Music Week. 7 October 1989. p. 55.
  3. ^ a b Carlson, Dean. "The Lightning Seeds: Cloudcuckooland > Review". AllMusic. Retrieved 6 August 2010.
  4. ^ a b Kot, Greg (2 August 1990). "The Lightning Seeds Cloudcuckooland". Tempo. Chicago Tribune. p. 7.
  5. ^ Cloudcuckooland track listing at www.lightning-seeds.co.uk
  6. ^ "The Lightning Seeds Sweet Dreams US Promo". Eil.com.
  7. ^ "Bubbling Down Under Week Commencing 18 March 1991". Retrieved 20 March 2022.