Four-Calendar Café
Four-Calendar Café | ||||
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Studio album by Cocteau Twins | ||||
Released | November 1993 | |||
Recorded | 1993, September Sound, London | |||
Genre | Dream pop, alternative rock | |||
Length | 41:23 | |||
Label |
Fontana - 518 259-2 Capitol (US) | |||
Producer | Cocteau Twins | |||
Cocteau Twins chronology | ||||
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Professional ratings | |
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Review scores | |
Source | Rating |
Allmusic | link |
NME | (8/10)[1] |
Q | [2] |
Rolling Stone | (favourable)[3] |
Piero Scaruffi | 5/10[4] |
Spin | (favourable)[5] |
Four-Calendar Café is the seventh and penultimate album by three-piece Scottish band Cocteau Twins. It was originally released in 1993 on Fontana. The album distinguishes itself from the rest of the Twins' catalogue in two major areas: the sound is much more pop-oriented and less ambient than previous works, and Liz Fraser's lyrics are much more intelligible than usual.
The album takes its title from William Least Heat-Moon's book Blue Highways, in which the author considers the quality of a restaurant by how many calendars it has hanging on its wall.[6] NME named the album the 46th best record of 1993.[7]
Track listing
All songs written by Cocteau Twins.
- "Know Who You Are at Every Age" – 3:42
- "Evangeline" – 4:31
- "Bluebeard" – 3:56
- "Theft, and Wandering Around Lost" – 4:30
- "Oil of Angels" – 4:38
- "Squeeze-Wax" – 3:49
- "My Truth" – 4:34
- "Essence" – 3:02
- "Summerhead" – 3:39
- "Pur" – 5:02
Personnel
- Elizabeth Fraser - vocals
- Robin Guthrie - guitar
- Simon Raymonde - bass
- Additional personnel
- Lincoln Fong - additional engineering
Cover versions
The songs "Bluebeard" and "Know Who You Are at Every Age" were covered by Cantopop artist Faye Wong for her 1994 album Wu Si Lyun Seung or Random Thoughts. "Bluebeard" was renamed to become the album's title track, and "Know Who You Are at Every Age" became "Ji Gei Ji Bei" or "Know Yourself and Each Other". Her cover version of "Bluebeard" was featured in the film Chungking Express, in which Wong also starred.
Notes
- ↑ NME: 32. 16 October 1993.
- ↑ Q: 104. October 1993.
- ↑ Rolling Stone: 64. 10 March 1994.
- ↑ Scaruffi, Piero (1999). "Cocteau Twins". pieroscaruffi.com. Retrieved January 18, 2014.
- ↑ Spin: 120. December 1993.
- ↑ "History". Cocteau Twins. Retrieved 12 June 2013.
- ↑ "Albums and Tracks of the Year: 1993". NME. Retrieved 3 January 2013.
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