The Raincoats (album)

The Raincoats
Studio album by The Raincoats
Released 3 November 1979
Recorded 1979 at Berry St. Studio, London
Genre Post-punk
Length 34:27
Label Rough Trade
Producer Geoff Travis, Mayo Thompson, The Raincoats
The Raincoats chronology
The Raincoats
(1979)
Odyshape
(1981)

The Raincoats is the debut studio album by English rock band The Raincoats. It was released in 1979 on Rough Trade Records. The album is perhaps best known for its off-kilter cover of "Lola" by The Kinks. The album's seventh track, "The Void", was notably covered by Hole in 1994.

In May 2010 the band performed the album in its entirety in London.

Background

The cover painting is by Pang Hsiao-Li.

Release

The Raincoats was re-released by Rough Trade in 1994, with liner notes by Kurt Cobain. The album was again re-released on 9 November 2009 on vinyl with a free mp3 download and an extra track, "Fairytale in the Supermarket", as well as a special edition bonus CD, including live footage from 1977 and 1979 and a video of "Fairytale in the Supermarket" on We ThRee, the band's own label in the UK and on the Kill Rock Stars label in the USA.

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[1]
Drowned in Sound9/10[2]
Robert ChristgauB+[3]
Smash Hits7/10[4]

AllMusic praised the album, writing, "this music, even at its most dissonant, is stunning and captivating."[1] Kurt Cobain listed it in his top fifty albums of all time.[5][6]

Track listing

All songs written by The Raincoats, except where noted.

Side A
  1. "No Side to Fall In" – 1:47
  2. "Adventures Close to Home" – 1:54
  3. "Off Duty Trip" – 3:14
  4. "Black and White" – 2:29
  5. "Lola" (Ray Davies) – 4:03
Side B
  1. "The Void" – 3:51
  2. "Life on the Line" – 4:22 (lyrics by Ross Crighton and The Raincoats)
  3. "You're a Million" – 3:53
  4. "In Love" – 3:05
  5. "No Looking" – 3:05 (lyrics translated and adapted by The Raincoats from a poem by Jacques Prévert)

"Fairytale in the Supermarket", The Raincoats' first single, is included on all reissues of the album as an opening track since 1993.

Personnel

References

  1. 1 2 Dougan, John. "The Raincoats - The Raincoats: Songs, Reviews, Credits, Awards: AllMusic". AllMusic. Retrieved 3 August 2012.
  2. Power, Chris (13 November 2009). "The Raincoats - The Raincoats / Releases / Releases // Drowned In Sound". Drowned in Sound. Retrieved 3 August 2012.
  3. Christgau, Robert. "Robert Christgau: CG: The Raincoats". Retrieved 13 June 2013.
  4. Starr, Red. "Albums". Smash Hits (January 24 – February 6 1980): 21.
  5. "Top 50 by Nirvana [MIXTAPE]". Retrieved 8 May 2013.
  6. Cross, Gaar, Gendron, Martens, Yarm (2013). Nirvana: The Complete Illustrated History. p. 68. ISBN 978-0-7603-4521-4.
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