Emperor Tomato Ketchup (album)

Emperor Tomato Ketchup is the fourth studio album by English-French rock band Stereolab. It was released on 18 March 1996 in the United Kingdom by Duophonic Records and on 9 April 1996 in the United States by Elektra Records.[2][3]

Emperor Tomato Ketchup
Studio album by
Stereolab
Released18 March 1996 (1996-03-18)
Studio
Genre
Length57:15
Label
Producer
Stereolab chronology
Cybele's Reverie
(1996)		 Emperor Tomato Ketchup
(1996)		 Fluorescences
(1996)
Stereolab studio album chronology
Mars Audiac Quintet
(1994)		 Emperor Tomato Ketchup
(1996)		 Dots and Loops
(1997)
Singles from Emperor Tomato Ketchup
  1. "Cybele's Reverie"
    Released: 19 February 1996 (EP)
  2. "Metronomic Underground"
    Released: 2 December 1996

The album takes its name from the 1971 experimental film Tomato Kecchappu Kōtei (Emperor Tomato Ketchup) by Japanese author and director Shūji Terayama,[4] whilst the artwork is inspired by the sleeve of a 1964 recording of composer Béla Bartók's Concerto for Orchestra by the Bamberg Symphony conducted by Heinrich Hollreiser.[5][6]

Two singles were released from Emperor Tomato Ketchup: "Cybele's Reverie" and "Metronomic Underground". A video was released for "The Noise of Carpet".

Composition

Emperor Tomato Ketchup saw Stereolab experiment with building tracks around looped sounds instead of traditional riffs.[7] Critic Tom Moon wrote that on the album, loops are manipulated in a fashion similar to hip hop and electronica production, overlaid together into "richly textured collages".[1]

Reception
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[8]
Entertainment WeeklyB+[9]
Exclaim!10/10[10]
The Guardian[11]
Mojo[12]
NME8/10[13]
Pitchfork9.4/10[4]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide[14]
Uncut9/10[15]
The Village VoiceA−[16]

Emperor Tomato Ketchup was released to positive reception, becoming the band's most commercially and critically successful album to date.[17]

By August 1997, the album had sold over 46,000 units in the United States, according to Nielsen SoundScan.[18]

Legacy

Emperor Tomato Ketchup has appeared in numerous lists of the greatest albums. Spin named it the 46th best album of the 1990s.[19] It was ranked 51st on Pitchfork's list of the decade's best albums, with site writer Brent DiCrescenzo praising it as Stereolab's "most definitive and recommended statement" and recalling that it "sounded wholly futuristic and alien" at the time of its release.[20] Tom Moon included Emperor Tomato Ketchup in his book 1,000 Recordings to Hear Before You Die (2008),[1] and it was also included in the book 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die.[21]

Track listing

All tracks are written by Tim Gane and Lætitia Sadier, except where indicated.

No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Metronomic Underground" 7:55
2."Cybele's Reverie" 4:42
3."Percolator"
3:47
4."Les Yper-Sound" 4:05
5."Spark Plug" 2:29
6."OLV 26" 5:42
7."The Noise of Carpet" 3:05
8."Tomorrow Is Already Here" 4:56
9."Emperor Tomato Ketchup" 4:37
10."Monstre Sacre" 3:44
11."Motoroller Scalatron" 3:48
12."Slow Fast Hazel" 3:53
13."Anonymous Collective" 4:32
Total length:57:15

Personnel

Credits for Emperor Tomato Ketchup adapted from album liner notes.[22]

Charts
Chart (1996–2019) Peak
position
Scottish Albums (OCC)[23] 50
UK Albums (OCC)[24] 27
US Heatseekers Albums (Billboard)[25] 27
US Top Album Sales (Billboard)[26] 67

References
  1. Moon, Tom (2008). "Life in a Blender: Emperor Tomato Ketchup – Stereolab". 1,000 Recordings to Hear Before You Die. Workman Publishing. pp. 739–40. ISBN 0-7611-3963-X. Retrieved 1 June 2020.
  2. "Emperor Tomato Ketchup by Stereolab". United Kingdom: Apple Music. Retrieved 1 June 2020.
  3. Wolk, Douglas (April 1996). "Stereolab: Emperor Tomato Ketchup (Elektra)". CMJ New Music Monthly. No. 32. p. 13. Retrieved 1 June 2020.
  4. Dorris, Jesse (18 July 2019). "Stereolab: Emperor Tomato Ketchup". Pitchfork. Retrieved 18 July 2019.
  5. Foster, John (31 July 2019). "The evolution of Stereolab's analogue-inspired record sleeves". The Vinyl Factory. Retrieved 1 June 2020.
  6. Heinrich Hollreiser, Bamberg Symphony Orchestra (1964). Béla Bartók – Concerto for Orchestra (Vinyl LP). Fidelio. TLS 6024.
  7. Beaumont-Thomas, Ben (4 September 2019). "Stereolab: 'There was craziness in getting lost and dizzy'". The Guardian. Retrieved 1 June 2020.
  8. Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "Emperor Tomato Ketchup – Stereolab". AllMusic. Retrieved 31 May 2016.
  9. Wiederhorn, Jon (12 April 1996). "Emperor Tomato Ketchup". Entertainment Weekly. Archived from the original on 22 December 2016. Retrieved 31 May 2016.
  10. Hudson, Alex (12 September 2019). "Stereolab: Emperor Tomato Ketchup (Expanded and Remastered)". Exclaim!. Retrieved 8 March 2020.
  11. Romney, Jonathan (22 March 1996). "Stereolab: Emperor Tomato Ketchup (Duophonic)". The Guardian.
  12. Segal, Victoria (December 2019). "Stereolab: Emperor Tomato Ketchup". Mojo. No. 313. p. 105.
  13. "Stereolab: Emperor Tomato Ketchup". NME. 16 March 1996. p. 49.
  14. Sarig, Roni (2004). "Stereolab". In Brackett, Nathan; Hoard, Christian (eds.). The New Rolling Stone Album Guide (4th ed.). Simon & Schuster. pp. 779–81. ISBN 0-7432-0169-8.
  15. Pattison, Louis (October 2019). "Stereolab: Emperor Tomato Ketchup / Dots and Loops / Cobra and Phases Group Play Voltage in the Milky Night". Uncut. No. 269. p. 50.
  16. Christgau, Robert (23 July 1996). "Consumer Guide". The Village Voice. Retrieved 31 May 2016.
  17. Arp, Louis (14 January 2005). "Stereolab – Emperor Tomato Ketchup". Sputnikmusic. Retrieved 9 April 2016.
  18. Reece, Doug (23 August 1997). "Elektra Connects Stereolab's 'Dots' With Larger Base". Billboard. Vol. 109 no. 34. pp. 16–17. Retrieved 3 September 2018.
  19. Wolk, Douglas (September 1999). "The 90 Greatest Albums of the '90s — 46. Stereolab: Emperor Tomato Ketchup". Spin. Vol. 15 no. 9. p. 142. Retrieved 1 June 2020.
  20. "Top 100 Albums of the 1990s". Pitchfork. 17 November 2003. p. 5. Retrieved 21 October 2012.
  21. Dimery, Robert, ed. (2010). 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die: Revised and Updated Edition. Universe Publishing. ISBN 0-7893-2074-6.
  22. Emperor Tomato Ketchup (liner notes). Stereolab. Duophonic Records. 1996. D-UHF-D11.CS1 maint: others (link)
  23. "Official Scottish Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 18 July 2018.
  24. "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 8 November 2017.
  25. "Stereolab Chart History (Heatseekers Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved 3 September 2018.
  26. "Stereolab Chart History (Top Album Sales)". Billboard. Retrieved 1 June 2020.
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