The Big Heat (album)

The Big Heat
The Big Heat
Studio album by Stan Ridgway
Released	1986
Studio	Fiddler's Studio, J.C. Studios and The Lighthouse, Hollywood, CA
Genre	New wave, alternative rock, avant-pop
Length	42:15
Label	I.R.S.
Producer	Joe Chiccarelli, Mitchell Froom, Hugh Jones, Bill Noland, Stan Ridgway, Louis van den Berg
Stan Ridgway chronology

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	^[2]
The Village Voice	B^[3]

The Big Heat is the debut solo album by American musician Stan Ridgway (former Wall of Voodoo vocalist), released in 1986 by I.R.S. Records. Named after the 1953 film noir of the same name, the original release consisted of nine songs, including the No. 4 UK hit "Camouflage".^[4] In 1986, the album reached No. 131 on the Billboard 200. The album was re-released in 1993 with six additional tracks and again re-released in 2007.

Track listing[edit]

All tracks are written by Stan Ridgway, except where otherwise indicated

Side one
No.	Title	Length
1.	"The Big Heat"	4:26
2.	"Pick It Up (And Put It in Your Pocket)"	4:32
3.	"Can't Stop the Show"	3:45
4.	"Pile Driver"	4:44
5.	"Walkin' Home Alone"	4:31

Side two
No.	Title	Length
1.	"Drive, She Said"	4:11
2.	"Salesman"	5:23
3.	"Twisted"	3:37
4.	"Camouflage"	7:05

CD edition bonus track
No.	Title	Length
10.	"Rio Greyhound"	3:12

1993 remastered CD track listing
No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
11.	"Stormy Side of Town"		5:02
12.	"Foggy River"	Fred Rose	4:32
13.	"End of the Line"		5:51
14.	"Nadine"	Chuck Berry	3:26
15.	"Can't Stop the Show" (live)		3:53
16.	"Drive, She Said" (live)		4:39

Before the album's release, the track "Pick It Up (And Put It in Your Pocket)" was used in a 1985 episode of Miami Vice.

Accolades[edit]

Year	Publication	Country	Accolade	Rank
1986	Best	France	"Albums of the Year"	3	^[5]
1986	Q	United Kingdom	"Albums of the Year"	*	^[6]
1986	Sounds	United Kingdom	"Albums of the Year"	*	^[7]
1990	Mucchio Selvaggio	Italy	"The Best Albums of the 80s"	*	^[8]
1990	Velvet	Italy	"The 100 Best Albums of the 80s"	*	^[9]
1991	Rock & Folk	France	"The 250 Best Albums from 1966-1991"	3	^{[citation needed]}
1999	Panorama	Norway	"The 30 Best Albums of the Year 1970-98"	19	^{[citation needed]}
2002	Mucchio Selvaggio	Italy	"100 Best Albums by Decade"	1-20	^{[citation needed]}
"*" denotes an unordered list.

Chart positions[edit]

Album

Chart (1986)	Peak position
Australia (Kent Music Report)^[10]	61
Germany (Media Control Charts)^[11]	38
Netherlands (MegaCharts)^[12]	62
Norway (VG-lista)^[13]	11
Switzerland (Swiss Hitparade)^[14]	27
US Top Pop Albums (Billboard)^[15]	131

Singles

Year	Title	Peak Chart positions
Year	Title	AUS^[16]	AUT^[17]	BE^[18]	GER^[19]	IRE^[20]	NLD^[21]	SWI^[22]	UK^[23]	UK ^Indie^[24]
1985	"The Big Heat"	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	13
1985	"Drive She Said"	60	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
1986	"Camouflage"	76	17	7	8	2	11	11	4	—
1986	"The Big Heat (Remix)"	91	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
"—" denotes singles that were released but did not chart.

Personnel[edit]

Adapted from The Big Heat liner notes.^[25]

Stan Ridgway – lead vocals, guitar (A3, A5, B1, B2, B4), keyboards (A1, A4, B2-B4), harmonica (A1, B1), banjo (A2), bass guitar (B3), production (A3-A5), engineering (A3-A5)

Musicians

K. K. Barrett – drums (B1)
Chris Becerra – drums (B4)
Joe Berardi – drums (A5)
Hugo Burnham – percussion (A2)
Luis Cabaza – bass guitar (B2)
Mr. Christopher – violin (A1), cello (A1)
Mark Cohen – banjo (A4), mandolin (A4)
John Dentino – keyboards (A1)
Bruce Fowler – trombone (A5)
Richard Gibbs – instruments (B2)
Richard Greene – violin (A2)
Mark Lewis – backing vocals (B4)
Mark Morris – backing vocals (B4)
Bill Noland – keyboards (A1, B1, B2), piano (A2), production (B2)

Musicians (cont.)

Joe Ramirez – backing vocals (A4), drum programming (A4), guitar (B1)
Tom Rechoin – percussion (A2)
Steve Reid – percussion (B2)
Mark Terlizzi – bass guitar (A3)
Louis van den Berg – keyboards (A3-A5, B3, B4), producer (A3-A5), engineering (A3-A5)
Mike Watt – bass guitar (A3)
Pietra Wexstun – backing vocals (A3)
Eric Williams – guitar feedback
Bruce Zelesnik – drums (A1)

Production and additional personnel

Joe Chiccarelli – production (B2), engineering (B2), mixing (B2)
Mitchell Froom – production (A2), keyboards (A2)
Carl Grasso – art direction
Jim Hill – engineering (A2)
Hugh Jones – production (A1, B1), engineering (A1, B1), mixing (A1), keyboards (A1)
Scott Lindgren – photography, cover art
Andy Waterman – mixing (A2-A5, B1)

Release history[edit]

Region	Date	Label	Format	Catalog
Spain	1986	Epic	CD, CS, LP	40-2687
United Kingdom		I.R.S.	CD, LP	1008
United States			CD, LP	5637
United States	1993		CD	X2 0777 7 13125 26
United Kingdom	2012	Water	CD	Water252

References[edit]

^ Grimstad, Paul. "What is Avant-Pop?". The Brooklyn Rail.
^ McDonald, Steven. "The Big Heat – Stan Ridgway". AllMusic. Retrieved December 7, 2009.
^ Christgau, Robert (July 1, 1986). "Christgau's Consumer Guide". The Village Voice. Retrieved December 7, 2009.
^ Stan Ridgway: Camouflage OfficialCharts.com Accessed September 2, 2007.
^ "Best - Albums of the Year". Best. Retrieved 2009-12-03.
^ "Q - Albums of the Year". Q. Retrieved 2009-12-03.
^ "Sounds - Albums of the Year". Rocklist.net. Retrieved 2009-12-03.
^ "Mucchio Selvaggio - The Best Albums of the 80s". Mucchio Selvaggio. Retrieved 2009-12-03.
^ "Velvet - The 100 Best Albums of the 80s". Velvet. Retrieved 2009-12-03.
^ Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 (illustrated ed.). St Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. p. 252. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
^ "Stan Ridgway - The Big Heat". offiziellecharts.de. Retrieved August 9, 2016.
^ "Stan Ridgway - The Big Heat". dutchcharts.nl. Retrieved June 29, 2015.
^ "Stan Ridgeway - The Big Heat". NorwegianCharts.com. Retrieved 2009-12-02.
^ "Stan Ridgeway - The Big Heat". HitParade.ch. Retrieved 2009-12-02.
^ "Billboard.com - Artist Chart History - Stan Ridgway". Nielsen Company, Billboard. Retrieved 2008-06-03.
^ "Stan Ridgway". australian-charts.com. Archived from the original on September 21, 2016. Retrieved August 8, 2016.
^ "Stan Ridgway". austriancharts.at. Retrieved August 8, 2016.
^ "Stan Ridgway". ultratop.be. Retrieved August 8, 2016.
^ "Stan Ridgway". offiziellecharts.de. Retrieved August 9, 2016.
^ "Stan Ridgway Discography". irishcharts.ie. Retrieved 2009-12-02.
^ "Stan Ridgway". dutchcharts.nl. Retrieved August 8, 2016.
^ "Stan Ridgway". hitParade.ch. Retrieved August 8, 2016.
^ "Stan Ridgway Discography". officialcharts.com. Retrieved August 8, 2016.
^ Lazell, Barry (1997). Indie Hits 1980-1989. Cherry Red Books. Archived from the original on June 5, 2011. Retrieved June 29, 2015.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
^ The Big Heat (sleeve). Stan Ridgway. Hollywood, California: I.R.S. Records. 1985.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)

External links[edit]

The Big Heat at Discogs (list of releases)

[1] Grimstad, Paul. "What is Avant-Pop?". The Brooklyn Rail.

[allmusic-2] McDonald, Steven. "The Big Heat – Stan Ridgway". AllMusic. Retrieved December 7, 2009.

[3] Christgau, Robert (July 1, 1986). "Christgau's Consumer Guide". The Village Voice. Retrieved December 7, 2009.

[4] Stan Ridgway: Camouflage OfficialCharts.com Accessed September 2, 2007.

[5] "Best - Albums of the Year". Best. Retrieved 2009-12-03.

[6] "Q - Albums of the Year". Q. Retrieved 2009-12-03.

[7] "Sounds - Albums of the Year". Rocklist.net. Retrieved 2009-12-03.

[8] "Mucchio Selvaggio - The Best Albums of the 80s". Mucchio Selvaggio. Retrieved 2009-12-03.

[9] "Velvet - The 100 Best Albums of the 80s". Velvet. Retrieved 2009-12-03.

[aus-10] Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 (illustrated ed.). St Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. p. 252. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.

[11] "Stan Ridgway - The Big Heat". offiziellecharts.de. Retrieved August 9, 2016.

[12] "Stan Ridgway - The Big Heat". dutchcharts.nl. Retrieved June 29, 2015.

[13] "Stan Ridgeway - The Big Heat". NorwegianCharts.com. Retrieved 2009-12-02.

[14] "Stan Ridgeway - The Big Heat". HitParade.ch. Retrieved 2009-12-02.

[15] "Billboard.com - Artist Chart History - Stan Ridgway". Nielsen Company, Billboard. Retrieved 2008-06-03.

[australiancharts-16] "Stan Ridgway". australian-charts.com. Archived from the original on September 21, 2016. Retrieved August 8, 2016.

[austriancharts-17] "Stan Ridgway". austriancharts.at. Retrieved August 8, 2016.

[belgiumchart-18] "Stan Ridgway". ultratop.be. Retrieved August 8, 2016.

[germanchart-19] "Stan Ridgway". offiziellecharts.de. Retrieved August 9, 2016.

[ire-20] "Stan Ridgway Discography". irishcharts.ie. Retrieved 2009-12-02.

[neth-21] "Stan Ridgway". dutchcharts.nl. Retrieved August 8, 2016.

[swis-22] "Stan Ridgway". hitParade.ch. Retrieved August 8, 2016.

[ukchart-23] "Stan Ridgway Discography". officialcharts.com. Retrieved August 8, 2016.

[ukindiechart-24] Lazell, Barry (1997). Indie Hits 1980-1989. Cherry Red Books. Archived from the original on June 5, 2011. Retrieved June 29, 2015.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)

[linearnotes-25] The Big Heat (sleeve). Stan Ridgway. Hollywood, California: I.R.S. Records. 1985.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)

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