The Flat Earth

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The Flat Earth
Studio album by
Thomas Dolby
Released10 February 1984 (1984-02-10)
Recorded1982–1983
Genre
Length37:22
Label
ProducerThomas Dolby
Thomas Dolby chronology
The Golden Age of Wireless
(1982) 		The Flat Earth
(1984) 		Aliens Ate My Buick
(1988)
Singles from The Flat Earth
  1. "Hyperactive!"
    Released: January 9, 1984 (1984-01-09)
  2. "I Scare Myself"
    Released: March 23, 1984 (1984-03-23)
  3. "Dissidents"
    Released: June 15, 1984 (1984-06-15)

The Flat Earth is the second studio album by the English new wave and synth-pop musician Thomas Dolby, released on 10 February 1984 by EMI and Capitol Records.

A remastered "Collector's Edition" of The Flat Earth was released on 13 July 2009, featuring bonus tracks and new sleeve notes.

Release[edit]

The Flat Earth peaked at No. 14 on the UK Albums Chart. The first single from the album was "Hyperactive!", which peaked at No. 17 in the UK Singles Chart, making it Dolby's highest-charting single in his home country. Second and third singles, "I Scare Myself" and "Dissidents", peaked at Nos. 46 and 90, respectively. The album charted at No. 35 on the US Billboard Hot 100. In Canada it reached number 21 in the weekly charts and was number 71 in the year-end chart.[1][2]

Critical reception[edit]

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[3]
Rolling Stone[4]
The Village VoiceC+[5]

Music journalist Robert Christgau gave the album a C+, and stated that "Dolby is a bright and honest fellow by no means in thrall to his synthesizers. "She Blinded Me With Science" proved he knows his way around a good beat, and the lyric sheet bespeaks a level of literacy rarely achieved by songwriters. But as with so many artists fascinated by synthesizers (and more than a few beguiled by their own literacy), his passion for texture subsumes what small knack he has for cruder, more linear devices. If there's an objective correlative for boring, that's it."[5]

In a retrospective review for AllMusic, critic Glenn Swan wrote that "Exceptionally mature for a sophomore effort, The Flat Earth has held up considerably well since its 1984 release. This staying power belongs to a fantastic ensemble of supporting players as much as to Thomas Dolby's songwriting and crisp production."[3]

Track listing[edit]

All songs written by Thomas Dolby, except where otherwise indicated.

Original LP[edit]

Side A

  1. "Dissidents" (Thomas Dolby, Kevin Armstrong, Matthew Seligman) – 4:56
  2. "The Flat Earth" – 6:41
  3. "Screen Kiss" – 5:33

Side B

  2. "White City" – 5:19
  3. "Mulu the Rain Forest" – 5:00
  4. "I Scare Myself" (Dan Hicks) – 5:40
  5. "Hyperactive!" – 4:13

2009 Collector's Edition CD bonus tracks[edit]

  2. "Get Out of My Mix (Dolby's Cube)" – 4:44
  3. "Puppet Theatre" (Dolby, Seligman) – 4:14
  4. "Dissidents (The Search for Truth Part 1)" (Dolby, Armstrong, Seligman) – 7:17
  5. "Field Work (London Mix)" (with Ryuichi Sakamoto) (Dolby, Sakamoto) – 4:05
  6. "Don't Turn Away" (from the film Howard the Duck) (Dolby, Allee Willis) – 5:03
  7. "The Devil Is an Englishman" (from the film Gothic) (Dolby, Stephen Volk) – 3:30
  8. "I Scare Myself" (live on tour, 1984) (Hicks) – 6:17
  9. "Marseille" (live on tour, 1984) (Dolby, Adele Bertei) – 4:41

Bonus audio downloads from thomasdolby.com[edit]

  • "Audio Lecture/White City" – 8:11
  • "Dissidents" (live) (Dolby, Armstrong, Seligman) – 4:46
  • "I Scare Myself" (live) (Hicks) – 5:36
  • "New Toy" (live) – 4:22
  • "Puppet Theatre" (alternate version) (Dolby, Seligman) – 4:19

Personnel[edit]

Musicians

  • Thomas Dolby – keyboards, piano, programming, sampling, effects, vocals
  • Matthew Seligman – bass guitar
  • Kevin Armstrong – guitar, backing vocals, trumpet, "The Analyst"
  • Clif Brigden – percussion, computer drums
  • Adele Bertei – backing vocals (tracks 1, 2, 7)
  • Lesley Fairbairn – backing vocals (tracks 2, 3, 6, 14, 15)
  • Bruce Woolley – backing vocals (track 5)
  • Matthew Salt – tins, thunder sheet (track 7)
  • Peter Thoms – trombone (tracks 6, 7)
  • Justin Hildreth – drums (tracks 7, 14, 15)
  • Robyn Hitchcock – "Keith" (track 4)
  • Louise Ulfstedt – "The Analyst" (track 7)
  • Stevie Wonder – harmonica (track 12)
  • Chucho Merchán – guitar (tracks 14, 15)
  • Debra Barsha – keyboards, backing vocals (tracks 14, 15)
  • Lyndon Connah – keyboards, backing vocals (tracks 14, 15)

Technical

  • Dan Lacksman – engineer
  • Mike Shipley – mixing (tracks 1–6)
  • Alan Douglas – mixing (track 7)
  • Thomas Dolby – producer; mixing (tracks 8–15); album design
  • Ryuichi Sakamoto – producer (track 11)
  • Wally Traugott – mastering
  • Richard Haughton – photography
  • Assorted iMAGes – graphics, album design

Charts[edit]

Chart Peak
position
Canada Top Albums/CDs (RPM)[6] 21
Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)[7] 18
New Zealand Albums (RMNZ)[8] 28
Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan)[9] 50
UK Albums (OCC)[10] 14
US Billboard 200[11] 35

Certifications[edit]

Certifications for The Flat Earth
Region Certification Certified units/sales
Canada (Music Canada)[12] Gold 50,000^
United Kingdom (BPI)[13] Silver 60,000^

^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

References[edit]

  1. ^ "RPM Top 100 Albums - April 7, 1984" (PDF).
  2. ^ "RPM Top 100 Albums of 1984 - January 5, 1985" (PDF).
  3. ^ a b Swan, Glenn. "The Flat Earth – Thomas Dolby". AllMusic. Retrieved 2 November 2015.
  4. ^ Holden, Stephen (29 March 1984). "Thomas Dolby: The Flat Earth". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on 11 February 2007. Retrieved 2 November 2015.
  5. ^ a b Christgau, Robert (24 July 1984). "Christgau's Consumer Guide". The Village Voice. Retrieved 14 April 2018.
  6. ^ "Top RPM Albums: Issue 4339". RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved 29 March 2024.
  7. ^ "Dutchcharts.nl – Thomas Dolby – The Flat Earth" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 29 March 2024.
  8. ^ "Charts.nz – Thomas Dolby – The Flat Earth". Hung Medien. Retrieved 29 March 2024.
  9. ^ "Swedishcharts.com – Thomas Dolby – The Flat Earth". Hung Medien. Retrieved 29 March 2024.
  10. ^ "Thomas Dolby | Artist | Official Charts". UK Albums Chart. Retrieved 30 March 2024.
  11. ^ "Thomas Dolby Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved 29 March 2024.
  12. ^ "Canadian album certifications – Thomas Dolby – The Flat Earth". Music Canada. Retrieved 23 October 2023.
  13. ^ "British album certifications – Thomas Dolby – The Flat Earth". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 23 October 2023.

External links[edit]

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