Foxbase Alpha
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| Foxbase Alpha | |||||
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| Studio album by Saint Etienne | |||||
| Released | September 1991 | ||||
| Recorded | 1990, 1991 | ||||
| Genre | House Alternative rock Synthpop Ambient house Electronica |
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| Length | 58:29 48:27 (UK Version) |
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| Label | Heavenly - HVNLP1 | ||||
| Producer | Saint Etienne | ||||
| Professional reviews | |||||
| Saint Etienne chronology | |||||
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| Singles from Foxbase Alpha | |||||
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Foxbase Alpha (1991) is the debut album by British band Saint Etienne.
The album was recorded in a style which is close to the house music sound of the time, but songs like "Nothing Can Stop Us" and "Wilson" display the group's characteristic love of 60s pop and several samples. Longer songs like "Stoned to Say the Least" and "Like the Swallow" are reminiscent of ambient house akin to The Orb. Like its follow up So Tough, the songs in Foxbase Alpha are bridged by samples from films or by short songs. At the time of recording, Sarah Cracknell was not fully part of group, and as a result she does not sing on "Only Love Can Break Your Heart", which is sung by Moira Lambert.
Foxbase Alpha was shortlisted for the inaugural Mercury Music Prize.
Contents |
[edit] Singles
The album includes one of the group's best-known songs: a cover of Neil Young's "Only Love Can Break Your Heart". The cover is relatively faithful to the original but is arranged in 4/4 (as opposed to the original's waltz time), with a driving piano-bass-drum section. Andrew Weatherall later remixed the song to further emphasise the dub bassline: this remix was featured on both releases of the single and on the compilation Casino Classics. The follow-up single "Kiss and Make Up" is also a (comparatively obscure) cover version, having been written and originally released by The Field Mice. Ian Catt was the engineer/co-producer on both versions. "Carnt Sleep" contains bass lines lifted completely from "Wicked Cant Run This Dub" by Glen Brown & King Tubby, and "Nothing Can Stop Us", one of the group's most famous singles, features a very prominent sample of Dusty Springfield's track, "I Can't Wait to See My Baby's Face", from her 1967 album Where Am I Going?. "Nothing Can Stop Us" was later covered by Kylie Minogue.
[edit] Different versions
The UK release omits "People Get Real" and "Kiss and Make Up", both of which later appeared on the collection You Need a Mess of Help to Stand Alone. By the time of the U.S. release of the album the group had rerecorded "Kiss and Make Up" with Cracknell, and thus included it on the album.
[edit] Track listing
[edit] CD: Heavenly / HVNLP1CD (UK)
- "This is Radio Etienne" – 0:42
- "Only Love Can Break Your Heart" – 4:29
- "Wilson" – 1:59
- "Carnt Sleep" – 4:43
- "Girl VIII" – 3:46
- "Spring" – 3:43
- "She's the One" – 3:09
- "Stoned to Say the Least" – 7:42
- "Nothing Can Stop Us" – 4:21
- "Etienne Gonna Die" – 1:32
- "London Belongs to Me" – 3:57
- "Like the Swallow" – 7:41
- "Dilworth's Theme" – 0:38
[edit] CD: Warner / 9-26793-2 (US)
- "This is Radio Etienne" – 0:42
- "Only Love Can Break Your Heart" – 4:29
- "Wilson" – 1:59
- "Carnt Sleep" – 4:43
- "Girl VIII" – 3:46
- "Spring" – 3:43
- "She's the One" – 3:09
- "People Get Real" – 4:44
- "Stoned to Say the Least" – 7:42
- "Nothing Can Stop Us" – 4:21
- "Etienne Gonna Die" – 1:32
- "London Belongs to Me" – 3:57
- "Kiss and Make Up" – 5:14
- "Like the Swallow" – 7:41
- "Dilworth's Theme" – 0:38
[edit] Credits
- Sarah Cracknell - Vocals.
- Bob Stanley - Roland Jupiter, Korg M1, Tambourine.
- Pete Wiggs - Prophet 5, Emax sampler, Bongos.
- Ian Catt - Guitars, Keyboard Programming.
- Moira Lambert - Vocals on "Only Love Can Break Your Heart".
- Harvey Williams - Bass on "Only Love Can Break Your Heart".
- Pete Heller - Additional programming on "Kiss and Make Up".
[edit] Miscellanea
The young woman on the cover of Foxbase Alpha, Celina Nash, also turns up in Saint Etienne's 1993 album So Tough; she is the waitress that can be heard on "Chicken Soup". She is also in the video for the Pulp song "Babies".
The dialogue heard in the track "Etienne Gonna Die" is from the movie House of Games.
[edit] Singles
Only Love Can Break Your Heart (Neil Young cover) May 1990
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7"
12"
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Remix 12"
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Kiss and Make Up September 1990
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7"
12"
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Remix 12"
CD
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Nothing Can Stop Us (Double A-Side with Speedwell) May 1991
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7"/12"
Remix 12"
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CD
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Only Love Can Break Your Heart (Re-release) August 1991
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7"/12"/Cassette
CD
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CD (Warner Bros. 40196-2)
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