Divinyls (album)
| Divinyls | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by Divinyls | ||||
| Released |
29 January 1991 (Australia) 21 April 1991 (Japan) | |||
| Recorded | Groove Masters Studio, Santa Monica, 1990; "Cafe Interlude" recorded at Mega Studios (Paris) | |||
| Genre | Pop rock | |||
| Length | 47:41 | |||
| Label | Virgin | |||
| Producer | Christina Amphlett, Mark McEntee, David Tickle | |||
| Divinyls chronology | ||||
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| Singles from Divinyls | ||||
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Divinyls (stylised as diVINYLS) is the fourth studio album by Australian band Divinyls, released on 29 January 1991 by Virgin Records. The album was the band's most successful,[1] peaking at number 5 in Australia and number 15 on the US Billboard 200. It also contains the band's biggest-selling single, "I Touch Myself", which reached number one in Australia, number 4 in the US and number 10 in the UK.
Background and recording
It was the only album recorded by the band with the Virgin Records label after a recording contract with Chrysalis Records in the UK was terminated.[2] Virgin told manager Andrew McManus they were keen to sign the band—by then comprising just singer Chrissy Amphlett and guitarist Mark McEntee—because they saw Amphlett as "the next Madonna".[2] Amphlett and McEntee moved to an apartment in Paris where they wrote "Love School", "Make Out Alright" and "Lay Your Body Down", before transferring to Los Angeles, where the remainder of the album was written, partly in collaboration with songwriters Billy Steinberg and Tom Kelly.[2]
The album was recorded at Jackson Browne's Groove Masters Studio in Santa Monica, with backing provided by bassist Randy Jackson, keyboardist Benmont Tench of Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers and drummer Charley Drayton, who later married Amphlett in 1999.
Promotion
Director Michael Bay filmed a video for "I Touch Myself" in a nunnery in Pasadena. The clip was nominated for an MTV award but in their home country was banned from television.[2]
Critical reception
| Professional ratings | |
|---|---|
| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |    |
| Rolling Stone | |
Jim Farber from Rolling Stone gave praise to the album's instrumentation and lyrical hooks for giving the band more grit and attention to listeners than the "murky production" found on Temperamental. He also highlighted Chrissy Amphlett's vocal performance as another step up from the previous album, calling it "the most sexually charged voice from a rock female" since Chrissie Hynde.[4] Alex Henderson of AllMusic found the record to be "respectable and generally appealing", praising its new wave-influenced tracks for having a sense of edge and melody to them. He added that the band's debut effort Desperate was a better starting point for new listeners but said that this contained more strengths to warrant more attention.[3]
Track listing
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Make Out Alright" | Christina Amphlett, Mark McEntee, Martyn Watson | 4:38 |
| 2. | "I Touch Myself" | Amphlett, McEntee, Tom Kelly, Billy Steinberg | 3:46 |
| 3. | "Lay Your Body Down" | Amphlett, McEntee | 4:51 |
| 4. | "Love School" | Amphlett, McEntee | 5:23 |
| 5. | "Bless My Soul (It's Rock-n-Roll)" | Amphlett, McEntee | 4:00 |
| 6. | "If Love Was a Gun" | Amphlett, McEntee | 5:36 |
| 7. | "Need a Lover" | Amphlett, McEntee | 4:50 |
| 8. | "Follow Through" | Amphlett, McEntee | 4:44 |
| 9. | "Café Interlude" | 0:41 | |
| 10. | "Bullet" | Amphlett, David Malloy, McEntee | 4:56 |
| 11. | "I'm On Your Side" | Kelly, Steinberg | 4:16 |
Personnel
- Chrissy Amphlett – vocals
- Mark McEntee – guitars, backing vocals
- Benmont Tench – keyboards, piano, organ
- Randy Jackson – bass
- Charley Drayton – drums, percussion, harmonica
- Brian McLeod – dumbek, tambourine
- Scott Crago – drums, percussion
- Van Dyke Parks – string arrangement ("Love School")
Production
- Produced By Chrissy Amphlett, Mark McEntee & David Tickle
- Recorded by David Tickle and Robert Salcedo, except "Cafe Interlude" (recorded by Jean LeRoc)
- Mixed by Rob Jacobs, Robert Salcedo and Brian Scheuble
- Mastered By Doug Sax
- Tracks 1, 3-8 and 10 published by EMI Songs Ltd. Track 2 published by Billy Steinberg Music/Denise Barry Music/EMI Songs Ltd. Track 11 published by Billy Steinberg Music/Denise Barry Music.
Charts
| Chart (1991) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Australian Albums (ARIA)[5] | 5 |
| Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan)[6] | 25 |
| UK Albums (OCC)[7] | 59 |
| US Billboard 200[8] | 15 |
References
- ↑ McFarlane, Ian (1999). Encyclopedia of Australian Rock and Pop. Allen & Unwin. ISBN 1-86448-768-2. Archived from the original on 8 September 2002. Retrieved 30 May 2008.
- 1 2 3 4 Amphlett, Chrissy; Larry Writer (2005). Pleasure and Pain: My Life. Sydney: Hodder Australia. p. 336. ISBN 0-7336-1959-2.
- 1 2 Henderson, Alex. "Divinyls - The Divinyls". AllMusic. Retrieved August 4, 2011.
- 1 2 Farber, Jim (March 7, 1991). "Divinyls : Divinyls". Rolling Stone. Wenner Media. Archived from the original on November 23, 2007. Retrieved August 4, 2011.
- ↑ "Australiancharts.com – Divinyls – Divinyls". Hung Medien.
- ↑ "Swedishcharts.com – Divinyls – Divinyls". Hung Medien.
- ↑ "Divinyls | Artist | Official Charts". UK Albums Chart.
- ↑ "Divinyls Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard.