Gideon Gaye
| Gideon Gaye | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | 1994 | |||
| Recorded | Late 1993 – early 1994[1] | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | 54:48 | |||
| Label | Target | |||
| Producer |
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| The High Llamas chronology | ||||
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| Singles from Gideon Gaye | ||||
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Gideon Gaye is the second studio album by the Anglo-Irish avant-pop band the High Llamas, released in 1994 on the Brighton-based Target label.[1] Notable for anticipating the mid 1990s easy-listening revivalism,[4] the album's music was influenced by Brian Wilson, Steely Dan, Brazilian bossa nova and European film soundtracks,[5] and was recorded with a £4000 budget.[6] It was met with high praise by the British press.[7] Q dubbed the LP "the best Beach Boys album since 1968's Friends".[8][9] In the US, the album was indifferently promoted.[7]
Background[edit]
Upon release, bandleader Sean O'Hagan responded to Beach Boys comparisons: "There are aspects that are blatantly Brian-esque, because I've always been a huge Brian [Wilson] fan. He has been the biggest influence in my career to date. I was always shy [about] how much I liked him, but this time I decided to be blatant about it. But then I'm also a huge John Cale fan."[10] The album's sleeve art is a homage to Van Dyke Parks' 1967 album Song Cycle, which uses the same Torino Italic Flair typeface.[11]
Critical reception[edit]
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [12] |
| The Guardian |  [13] |
| Select | 4/5[14] |
Scott Schinder of Trouser Press reviewed: "The result is a homespun, heartfelt art-pop masterpiece, with airy arrangements and gorgeous melodies in richly detailed tunes — 'The Dutchman,' 'Checking In, Checking Out,' 'The Goat Looks On' and the fourteen-minute 'Track Goes By' — that liberally quote Brian Wilson's lost classic [Smile] without sacrificing O'Hagan's purposefully playful point of view."[3] Writer Tim Page called the album "suffused throughout with a gentle wistfulness that is never made quite explicit ... [the album] is also intriguing on a purely formal level. The album's centerpiece is 'The Goat Looks On,' yet the entire disc might be described as a study of the creation of a song called 'The Goat Looks On.'"[1]
Critic Richie Unterberger opined: "It's an impressive outing that sounds like little else in the alternative rock world of the mid-'90s. But it only establishes O'Hagan and his various pals as charming emulators, rather than true innovators.[12] CMJ New Music Monthly's Steve McGuirl wrote of the album: "A tad academic, perhaps; but to dismiss Gideon Gaye as merely retro cheapens a beautiful record and the music that inspired it."[15]
Track listing[edit]
All tracks are written by Sean O'Hagan
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Giddy Strings" | 0:27 |
| 2. | "The Dutchman" | 4:41 |
| 3. | "Giddy and Gay" | 4:55 |
| 4. | "Easy Rod" | 2:04 |
| 5. | "Checking in, Checking Out" | 5:45 |
| 6. | "The Goat Strings" | 2:06 |
| 7. | "Up in the Hills" | 4:57 |
| 8. | "The Goat Looks On" | 6:13 |
| 9. | "Taog Skool No" | 1:36 |
| 10. | "Little Collie" | 0:44 |
| 11. | "Track Goes By" | 14:13 |
| 12. | "Let's Have Another Look" | 0:50 |
| 13. | "The Goat (Instrumental)" (CD only) | 6:17 |
| Total length: | 54:48 | |
Personnel[edit]
The High Llamas
- Rob Allum – drums, percussion
- John Fell – bass
- Marcus Holdaway – cello, harpsichord, organ, piano, upright piano, string arrangements, vibe master, vibraphone, vocals, background vocals, Vox organ
- Sean O'Hagan – composer, glockenspiel, guitar, Moog bass, Moog synthesizer, organ, piano, upright piano, producer, string arrangements, vocals, background vocals, Vox organ
Additional staff
- Andre – layout design
- Charles Francis – engineer, producer
- Anthony Lyons – layout design
- Jocelyn Pook – viola
- Anne Wood – violin
Charts[edit]
| Chart (1995) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| UK Albums (OCC)[17] | 94 |
References[edit]
- ^ a b c Page, Tim (10 January 1999). "The High Llamas: A Different Breed". The Washington Post.
- ^ "Electronic Musician". Electronic Musician. Vol. 16. 2000.
- ^ a b Schinder, Scott (1997). "Hawaii". In Robbins, Ira A.; Sprague, David (eds.). The Trouser Press Guide to '90s Rock: The All-New Fifth Edition of The Trouser Press Record Guide. Simon & Schuster. p. 345. ISBN 978-0-684-81437-7.
- ^ Kamp, David; Daly, Steven (2005). The Rock Snob's Dictionary: An Essential Lexicon of Rockological Knowledge. Broadway Books. p. 52. ISBN 978-0-7679-1873-2.
- ^ Mason, Stewart. "Checking In, Checking Out – The High Llamas". AllMusic.
- ^ Buckley, Peter, ed. (2003). The Rough Guide to Rock. Rough Guides. p. 494. ISBN 978-1-85828-457-6.
- ^ a b Unterberger, Richie. "The High Llamas". AllMusic.
- ^ Harrington, Richard (20 February 2004). "High Llamas Keeping It Simple". The Washington Post.
- ^ Lester, Paul (June 1998). "The High Llamas: Hump Up the Volume". Uncut. No. 13.
- ^ Sexton, Paul (23 September 1995). "High Llamas Hope to Scale U.S. Market". Billboard. Vol. 107, no. 38. p. 22.
- ^ Henderson, Richard (2010). Van Dyke Parks' Song Cycle. Bloomsbury Publishing. p. 104. ISBN 978-1-4411-9619-4.
- ^ a b Unterberger, Richie. "Gideon Gaye – The High Llamas". AllMusic.
- ^ Sullivan, Caroline (7 July 1995). "The High Llamas: Gideon Gaye (Alpaca)". The Guardian.
- ^ Cavanagh, David (May 1994). "The High Llamas: Gideon Gaye". Select. No. 47. p. 87.
- ^ McGuirl, Steve (February 1996). "High Llamas: Gideon Gaye". CMJ New Music Monthly. No. 30. p. 13.
- ^ "Gideon Gaye – The High Llamas – Credits". AllMusic.
- ^ "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 7 November 2017.
External links[edit]
- Gideon Gaye at Discogs (list of releases)
