The Wake (IQ album)

The Wake
Studio album by IQ
Released 1985
Recorded March 1985 to April 1985
Genre Neo-progressive rock
Label Samurai, SPV
Producer Tim Esau and Mike Holmes
IQ chronology

Tales from the Lush Attic
(1983)		 The Wake
(1985)		 Nomzamo
(1987)
Professional ratings
Review scores
Source Rating
Allmusic [1]

The Wake is the third studio album by the British neo-progressive rock band IQ and was released in 1985. It entered the UK album chart on 22 June 1985, one week before Marillion's Misplaced Childhood album. Reviewed in Kerrang! magazine, both albums were equally praised. It is the only album by IQ to enter the UK album chart, spending one week at 72.[2]

An associated single release, "Barbell is In", was a "white reggae" song along the lines of Led Zeppelin's "D'yer Mak'er". The band were reportedly amused when the single reached no. 7 in the British heavy metal chart.

The cover art is by lead singer Peter Nicholls. Most of the characters in the image are original, but the central character is based on Rae Dawn Chong wearing clay face (and body) paint as Ika in the film Quest for Fire (1981). However, according to Nicholls, many of the band's fans misinterpreted this as a self-portrait, since he wore extensive stage makeup at the time.

In what is thought to be the earliest photograph ever taken of the band Radiohead, a poster of The Wake is clearly shown on the wall behind Thom Yorke. The photograph was taken at Abingdon School.[3]

Track listing

  1. "Outer Limits" – 8:15
  2. "The Wake" – 4:12
  3. "The Magic Roundabout" – 8:18
  4. "Corners" – 6:20
  5. "Widow's Peak" – 9:12
  6. "The Thousand Days" – 5:12
  7. "Headlong" – 7:25

Bonus tracks:

  1. "Dans le Parc du Château Noir" – 7:37
  2. "The Thousand Days" (demo) – 3:55
  3. "The Magic Roundabout" (demo) – 6:27

Personnel

Production

Charts

Album

Year Chart Position
1985 UK Album Chart 72[2]

References

  1. ↑ http://www.allmusic.com/album/r41152
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 David Roberts British Hit Singles and Albums, Guinness World Records Limited
  3. ↑ "This Is What Radiohead Looked Like In The ’80s". Buzzfeed. 24 March 2013. Retrieved 22 June 2013.