This Is Big Audio Dynamite
This Is Big Audio Dynamite | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
| ||||
Studio album by Big Audio Dynamite | ||||
Released | October 1985 | |||
Genre | ||||
Length | 43:09 | |||
Label | Columbia | |||
Producer | Mick Jones | |||
Big Audio Dynamite chronology | ||||
| ||||
Singles from This is Big Audio Dynamite | ||||
|
Professional ratings | |
---|---|
Review scores | |
Source | Rating |
AllMusic | |
Mojo | |
PopMatters | |
Robert Christgau | B-[4] |
This Is Big Audio Dynamite is the debut studio album by English band Big Audio Dynamite, led by Mick Jones, the former lead guitarist and lead vocalist of the Clash. It was released in October 1985 by Columbia Records. The album peaked at No. 27 on the UK Albums Chart and No. 103 on the Billboard 200, and was certified gold by the BPI. Three singles were released from the album, all of which charted in the UK. "The Bottom Line" barely made the Top 100, peaking at No. 97, becoming their lowest charting single, whereas its follow-up single "E=MC²" became their only Top 20 hit, peaking at No. 11, becoming their best-selling single. The last single from the album, "Medicine Show", became their last single to chart within the Top 40, peaking at No. 29. The music video for "Medicine Show" featured two other former members of the Clash, Joe Strummer and Paul Simonon as police officers as well as John Lydon of the Sex Pistols and Public Image Ltd.
A remastered Legacy Edition was released in 2010 with a second disc composed of alternate mixes and versions. In 2016, independent vinyl reissue label Intervention Records reissued the album on 180-gram vinyl.[5]
Album cover
The album's cover depicts most of the band dressed in cowboy clothing as a four piece group, minus keyboardist Dan Donovan, who took the photo, and designed it.
Track listing
All tracks written by Mick Jones and Don Letts, except where noted.
Side one | |||
---|---|---|---|
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
1. | "Medicine Show" | 6:29 | |
2. | "Sony" | 4:30 | |
3. | "E=MC²" | 5:54 | |
4. | "The Bottom Line" | Mick Jones | 4:35 |
Side two | ||
---|---|---|
No. | Title | Length |
5. | "A Party" | 6:40 |
6. | "Sudden Impact!" | 5:03 |
7. | "Stone Thames" | 4:05 |
8. | "BAD" | 5:54 |
Total length: | 43:09 |
Legacy Edition bonus tracks | ||
---|---|---|
No. | Title | Length |
1. | "Medicine Show" (12-inch remix) | 7:10 |
2. | "Sony Dub" | 4:15 |
3. | "E=MC2" (12-inch remix) | 6:31 |
4. | "The Bottom Line" (12-inch remix, edit version) | 7:20 |
5. | "A Party Dub" | 7:01 |
6. | "Sudden Impact" (12-inch mix) | 6:07 |
7. | "Stone Thames" (12-inch mix) | 6:18 |
8. | "BAD" (vocoder version) | 6:28 |
9. | "Electric Vandal" | 3:22 |
10. | "Albert Einstein Meets the Human Beatbox" | 5:35 |
11. | "BAD" (US 12-inch remix) | 6:16 |
12. | "This Is Big Audio Dynamite" (7-inch non-LP B-side) | 3:44 |
Personnel
Big Audio Dynamite
- Mick Jones – lead and background vocals; guitars
- Don Letts – lead and background vocals; sound effects
- Dan Donovan – keyboards
- Leo Williams – bass; backing vocals
- Greg Roberts – drums; drum machine; backing vocals
Production
- Mick Jones – producer
- Paul "Groucho" Smykle – engineer; mixing
- Johnny Shinas – assistant engineer at Redan Rec
- Renny Hill – assistant engineer at Sarm West Studios
- Adam "Flea" Newman – technician "dynamite"
- Dan Donovan – sleeve artwork; photography
Samples used on the album
Medicine Show
Sampled liberally throughout this song are sound bites from four motion pictures, three of them Spaghetti Westerns. This list is based on order of appearance.
- "Get three coffins ready." (Clint Eastwood from A Fistful of Dollars)
- "Who the hell is that? One bastard goes in and another comes out....I'm innocent of everything!" (Eli Wallach from The Good, the Bad and the Ugly)
- "You makin' some kinda joke?" (A Fistful of Dollars)
- "I don't think it's nice, you laughin'." (Eastwood from A Fistful of Dollars)
- "Wanted in fourteen counties of this State, the condemned is found guilty of crimes of murder, armed robbery of citizens, state banks and post offices, the theft of sacred objects, arson in a state prison, perjury, bigamy, deserting his wife and children, inciting prostitution, kidnapping, extortion, receiving stolen goods, selling stolen goods, passing counterfeit money, and contrary to the laws of this State, the condemned is guilty of using marked cards...Therefore, according to the powers vested in us, we sentence the accused before us, Tuco Benedicto Pacifico Juan Maria Ramirez ('Known as The Rat') and any other aliases he might have, to hang by the neck until dead. May God have mercy on his soul. Proceed." (The Good, the Bad and the Ugly; "Known as The Rat" was uttered by Eastwood.)
- Ennio Morricone's main theme to The Good, The Bad and The Ugly.
- "Duck, you sucker!" (James Coburn from Duck, You Sucker!)
- "I don't have to show you any stinkin' badges!" (Alfonso Bedoya from The Treasure of the Sierra Madre)
- Laughter from The Treasure of the Sierra Madre.[6]
Sony
- Joe Strummer crowing from The Clash song "London Calling"
E=MC²
- Several samples from the cult film Performance directed by Donald Cammell & Nicolas Roeg. The music video mirrors the reference by using clips from several of Roeg's films, including Don't Look Now and The Man Who Fell to Earth.
References
- ↑ Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. Review: This is Big Audio Dynamite. Allmusic. Retrieved on 2010-04-09.
- ↑ Ian Harrison Mojo, June 2010.
- ↑ Fairall, Jer. Review: This is Big Audio Dynamite. PopMatters. Retrieved on 2010-06-11.
- ↑ Christgau, Robert. Robert Christgau: CG: big audio. robertchristgau.com. Retrieved on 2018-06-11.
- ↑ "This Is Big Audio Dynamite 180G LP – Intervention Records". www.interventionrecords.com. Retrieved 2018-05-16.
- ↑ This Is Big Audio Dynamite – esmark.net.
External links
- This Is Big Audio Dynamite at Discogs (list of releases)
- This Is Big Audio Dynamite at AllMusic