Astronauts & Heretics
Astronauts & Heretics, released in 1992, was the fourth studio album by Thomas Dolby. It was Dolby's last studio album until 2011's A Map Of The Floating City.
| Astronauts & Heretics | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
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| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | November 3, 1992[1] | |||
| Genre | New wave | |||
| Length | 43:16 | |||
| Label | Virgin (UK) Giant (US) | |||
| Producer | Thomas Dolby | |||
| Thomas Dolby chronology | ||||
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| Singles from Astronauts & Heretics | ||||
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| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| Allmusic |   |
| Billboard | positive[3] |
| Entertainment Weekly | A-[4] |
Astronauts & Heretics contained the singles "I Love You Goodbye", "Close But No Cigar" and "Silk Pyjamas".
The album was reasonably popular in the UK and was Dolby's last album to be released on vinyl. According to Dolby, the album went largely unnoticed in the US due to poor distribution by Giant Records and the popularity of grunge at the time.
After asking Thomas Dolby for help with his studio equipment, Eddie Van Halen agreed to play guitar on two of Dolby's songs, "Eastern Bloc" and "Close but no Cigar" on Astronauts & Heretics including a Van Halen style solo on "Eastern Bloc".
Track listing
All tracks are written by Thomas Dolby, except where noted.
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "I Love You Goodbye" | 5:58 | |
| 2. | "Cruel" | 3:08 | |
| 3. | "Silk Pyjamas" | 3:38 | |
| 4. | "Live in a Suitcase" | 5:29 | |
| 5. | "Eastern Bloc" ("Europa and the Pirate Twins Part II")" | 5:19 | |
| 6. | "Close But No Cigar" | 4:27 | |
| 7. | "That's Why People Fall in Love" | 5:28 | |
| 8. | "Neon Sisters"" | Thomas Dolby, Matthew Seligman | 4:54 |
| 9. | "Beauty of a Dream" | 5:04 | |
| Total length: | 43:16 | ||
Personnel
- Thomas Dolby – keyboards, vocals
- Larry Treadwell, Jon E. Love, Tommy Gutman Sanchez, Jon Klein, Jerry Garcia, Bob Weir – guitar
- Eddie Van Halen – guitar on tracks 5, 6
- Terry Jackson, Matthew Seligman, Leland Sklar – bass
- David Owens, Budgie – drums
- Eddi Reader – vocals on "Cruel"
- Ofra Haza – vocals on "That's Why People Fall in Love"
References
- "Astronauts & Heretics". Discogs.com.
- Allmusic review
- Billboard, 11-14-1992, p.55
- Entertainment Weekly, 11-06-1992, p.67