Mars Needs Guitars!
| Mars Needs Guitars! | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by Hoodoo Gurus | ||||
| Released |
 May 1985 1985 7 July 1987 22 February 2005 | |||
| Genre | Rock | |||
| Length | 33:35 | |||
| Label |
Big Time Chrysalis Elektra EMI | |||
| Producer | Charles Fisher, Hoodoo Gurus | |||
| Hoodoo Gurus chronology | ||||
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| Singles from Mars Needs Guitars! | ||||
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| Professional ratings | |
|---|---|
| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| Allmusic |   link |
| Robert Christgau | B−[1] |
| Rolling Stone |  link |
Mars Needs Guitars! is Australian rock group Hoodoo Gurus' second album. The title is a reference to the 1967 science fiction film, Mars Needs Women. Singles from the album were "Bittersweet" (1985) (reached #10 on Melbourne record charts),[2] "Like Wow – Wipeout" (1985, #28[2]), "Death Defying" (1986) and "Poison Pen" (1986). Mars Needs Guitars! reached No. 140 on the American Billboard 200 albums chart in 1986.
The title track, "Mars Needs Guitars" (also the B-side of "Bittersweet" single), was written by all five Gurus[3] and lead vocals were by Brad Shepherd. All other tracks were written[3] and featured lead vocals by Dave Faulkner.[4] Hayride to Hell (1995) is a short film written and directed by former Gurus member Kimble Rendall.[5]
"When we commenced the sessions for Mars Needs Guitars! we had a brand new drummer, Mark Kingsmill who altered our lives forever with his distinctive explosive style." - Dave Faulkner.[6]The song "Bittersweet" was used in the video game MVP Baseball 2004.
The album was re-released by EMI on the 22 February 2005 with five bonus tracks, a fold out poster and liner tracks by Wally Kempton (Even/The Meanies). Three of the bonus tracks (13 to 15) were recorded live at Selina's, Sydney, in 1986.[4] In October 2010, it was listed in the book, 100 Best Australian Albums, with their previous album, Stoneage Romeos at No. 28.[7]
Track listing
Original release
All written tracks by Dave Faulkner unless otherwise indicated.[3]
- "Bittersweet" – 3:44
- "Poison Pen" – 4:09
- "In the Wild" – 3:07
- "Death Defying" – 3:21
- "Like Wow – Wipeout" – 3:09
- "Hayride to Hell" – 3:15
- "Show Some Emotion" – 2:56
- "Other Side of Paradise" – 3:31
- "Mars Needs Guitars" (James Baker, Clyde Bramley, Faulkner, Mark Kingsmill, Brad Shepherd)[3] – 2:52
- "She" – 3:28
2005 re-release
Songwriters same as above, with additional tracks by Faulkner unless indicated.
- "Bittersweet" – 3:44
- "Poison Pen" – 4:09
- "In the Wild" – 3:07
- "Death Defying" – 3:21
- "Like Wow – Wipeout" – 3:09
- "Hayride to Hell" – 3:15
- "Show Some Emotion" – 2:56
- "Other Side of Paradise" – 3:31
- "Mars Needs Guitars" – 2:52
- "She" – 3:28
- "Bring the Hoodoo Down" – 2:54
- "Turkey Dinner" – 4:14
- "Death Ship" (live) (Faulkner, Roddy Radalj, Alan Sharples)[3] – 2:42
- "In the Wild" (live) – 3:29
- "Teenage Head" (live) (Cyril Jordan, Roy Loney)[3] – 3:02
Personnel
Credited to:[4]
Hoodoo Gurus
- Clyde Bramley — bass, backing vocals
- Dave Faulkner — lead vocals (except track 9), guitar, keyboards
- Mark Kingsmill — drums, cymbals
- Brad Shepherd — lead guitar, backing vocals, lead vocals (track 9), harmonica (mouth harp)
Additional credits
- John Bee — engineer
- Richard Allan — illustrations
- Charles Fisher — producer (except track 11)
- Don Bartley — mastering (remastering)
- Hoodoo Gurus — producer (track 11)
References
- ↑ Christgau, Robert. "Mars Needs Guitars!". Robert Christgau.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Guest, Thomas J. (1991). Thirty Years of Hits. Collingwood, Melbourne: M. J. Maloney. ISBN 0-646-04633-0.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5 "Australasian Performing Right Association". APRA. Retrieved 30 November 2007.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 "Discogs entry on Mars Needs Guitars!". discogs.com. Retrieved 30 November 2007.
- ↑ "Internet Movie Database entry on Kimble Rendall". IMDb. Retrieved 10 January 2008.
- ↑ Faulkner, Dave (June 2000). "Pop and punishment". juliat. Archived from the original on 8 August 2007. Retrieved 27 January 2008.
- ↑ O'Donnell, John; Creswell, Toby; Mathieson, Craig (October 2010). 100 Best Australian Albums. Prahran, Vic: Hardie Grant Books. ISBN 978-1-74066-955-9.
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