Strange Hobby

Strange Hobby
Studio album by Strange Hobby
Released 1996
Genre Psychedelic rock
rock
folk rock
Label Transmission
Arjen Anthony Lucassen chronology
Actual Fantasy
(1996)		 Strange Hobby
(1996)		 Into the Electric Castle
(1998)

Strange Hobby is the first and only album of Arjen Anthony Lucassen's musical side-project Strange Hobby. The album features covers of songs that have influenced his musical development, mainly from the 1960s.[1]

As he did in his solo album Pools of Sorrow, Waves of Joy, Lucassen makes all the vocals and all the instruments (except drums and synthesizer), and arranged all the songs himself. The album and the booklet contains no information about Lucassen and don't explain who was responsible for the recordings, to make the album even more "strange".[1]

Track listing

No. Title Writer(s) Original artist (date) Length
1. "Arnold Layne"   Syd Barrett Pink Floyd (1967) 2:59[2]
2. "Norwegian Wood"   John Lennon, Paul McCartney The Beatles (1965) 2:07
3. "Pictures of Matchstick Men"   Francis Rossi Status Quo (1968) 3:10
4. "I Am a Rock"   Paul Simon Paul Simon (1965) 2:35
5. "Boris the Spider"   John Entwistle The Who (1966) 2:10
6. "In the Room of Percussion"   Eddy Pumer Kaleidoscope (1967) 3:11
7. "Sunny Afternoon"   Ray Davies The Kinks (1966) 3:29
8. "See Emily Play"   Syd Barrett Pink Floyd (1967) 2:41
9. "For No One"     The Beatles (1966) 2:02
10. "I Want You"   Bob Dylan Bob Dylan (1966) 2:38
11. "Bus Stop"   Graham Gouldman The Hollies (1966) 3:05
12. "Flowers in the Rain"   Roy Wood The Move (1967) 2:11
13. "The Letter"   Wayne Carson Thompson The Box Tops (1967) 2:08
14. "Ride a White Swan"   Marc Bolan T. Rex (1970) 2:18
15. "Sloop John B"   Traditionnal West Indies song The Beach Boys (1966) 2:55
16. "Daydream Believer"   John Stewart The Monkees (1967) 2:42
17. "Catch the Wind"   Donovan Donovan (1965) 1:58
18. "Ice in the Sun"   Marty Wilde, Ronnie Scott Status Quo (1968) 2:26

Commercial reception

The album was a commercial loss, partially because Lucassen wasn't very well known yet (his success really started with Into the Electric Castle). Years later, Arjen stated "it may not be smart from a commercial point of view, but it was fun".[1]

References

  1. ^ a b c December 12, 2010 (2010-12-12). "Strange Hobby – Strange Hobby". ArjenLucassen.com. http://www.arjenlucassen.com/content/strange-hobby/. Retrieved 2011-09-01. 
  2. ^ "Ayreon - strange hobby - chroniques, informations (1996)". Amarokprog.net. http://www.amarokprog.net/albums_25720.html. Retrieved 2011-09-01. 
Solo
Studio albums
Ambeon
Studio albums
Singles
Ayreon
Studio albums
Extended plays
Compilation albums
Singles
Related articles
Guilt Machine
Studio albums
Star One
Studio albums
Live albums
Strange Hobby
Studio albums
Strange Hobby
Stream of Passion
Studio albums
Live albums
Singles
"Wherever You Are" • "Out in the Real World"
Related articles