Tiger Bay (album)

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Tiger Bay
Original album cover
Studio album by
Saint Etienne
Released28 February 1994 (1994-02-28)
RecordedSummer – Autumn 1993
Genre
Length46:16
LabelHeavenly – HVNLP8
ProducerSaint Etienne
Saint Etienne chronology
You Need a Mess of Help to Stand Alone
(1993) 		Tiger Bay
(1994) 		Too Young to Die – Singles 1990–1995
(1995)
Singles from Tiger Bay
  1. "Pale Movie"
    Released: February 1994
  2. "Like a Motorway"
    Released: 16 May 1994
  3. "Hug My Soul"
    Released: 19 September 1994
Reissue album art (1996)
featuring Giuditta del Vecchio (from the film Léolo)

Tiger Bay is the third studio album by English indie dance band Saint Etienne. It was released 28 February 1994 (1994-02-28) by Heavenly Records. In an interview with Record Collector, band member Bob Stanley stated that the title is a reference to the 1959 film Tiger Bay.[2]

The album is described by Bob Stanley as "an album of modern folk songs done in twentieth century styles like techno and dub".[3] "Like a Motorway", for example, blends Kraftwerk-style techno with the melody from the nineteenth century folk song "Silver Dagger". Some of the songs, such as "Marble Lions" and "Former Lover" forsake electronics for classical folk instrumentation and orchestral arrangements. One, "Western Wind", is a traditional English folk song.

Composition[edit]

The band wrote most of the songs in the Forest of Dean, in the hope that the countryside would inspire folk ideas. The original intention was for all the songs to be about death.[3]

Releases[edit]

Tiger Bay was released in the UK in February 1994. The original cover art is James Clarke Hook's "Welcome Bonny Boat", doctored to include the band members.[4]

The American edition of the album replaced the UK cover art with a photograph of the band smartly dressed at a table. It does not include the "Western Wind"/"Tankerville" suite. In place of the cut songs is the single "I Was Born On Christmas Day" and remixes by Daniel Abraham of "Hug My Soul" and "Like a Motorway".

The Japanese edition of the album was retitled as 哀しみ色のムーヴィー (Pale Movie), and included the bonus tracks "Who Do You Think You Are" and "Pale Movie (Lemonentry Mix)".

Tiger Bay was reissued in 1996 by Creation Records, in part because of Saint Etienne's absence from the music scene, but also because of their formal move to Creation Records. The reissue featured another new cover, this time showing Giuditta del Vecchio (from the film Léolo); the back shows a picture of the group. The inner sleeve was updated, and includes a short commentary on the album by journalist and friend of the group Simon Price, as well as a new selection of photographs with a summery theme. The album itself features a slightly shuffled track listing. "Marble Lions" is moved to appear after "Pale Movie". The second occurrence of "Western Wind" is removed completely; instead "Tankerville" fades into "Boy Scouts of America". "Former Lover" is also edited, although less noticeably, with only the opening guitar chords being removed. The reissue also features four extra tracks – "I Buy American Records", "Grovely Road", "Hate your Drug" and the single edit of "He's on the Phone".

In 2010 the album was re-released once more. The new deluxe version reinstates the original sleeve art and includes a booklet with an interview with Bob Stanley and additional bonus disc containing a number of demos and all of the b-sides.

Response[edit]

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[5]
Chicago Tribune[6]
Robert Christgau(dud)[7]
Entertainment WeeklyB+[8]
Mojo[9]
Pitchfork8.7/10[10]
Q[11]
Record Collector[12]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide[13]
Select4/5[14]
Smash Hits[15]
Vox8/10[16]

The British release of Tiger Bay was commercially successful and reached #8[17] on the UK Album Chart. Three singles were released, but none matched the popularity of those from their previous album. The first, "Pale Movie", peaked at No. 28.[17] "Like a Motorway" was more disappointing, missing the top forty completely and making only No. 47.[17] "Hug My Soul" was released as a two-disc set and managed better, peaking at No. 32.[17]

A reviewer for Music & Media praised Tiger Bay and said "Pale Movie" was "a hit in the waiting room".[18]

"Hug My Soul" was the only single that charted in the US and reached No. 40 on the Billboard Hot Dance Club Play chart.

In a 2009 interview, Bob Stanley said that in retrospect the band should have included some more obvious singles on Tiger Bay, to be commercial: "it definitely could have done with a couple more obvious songs". He also acknowledged that the original cover was a commercial mistake.[19]

Track listing[edit]

All tracks are written by Bob Stanley and Pete Wiggs, except where noted

Original UK release (Heavenly, HVNCD8)
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Urban Clearway" 3:58
2."Former Lover" 3:49
3."Hug My Soul"
4:15
4."Like a Motorway" 5:42
5."On the Shore" 4:06
6."Marble Lions"
  • Mick Bund
  • Cracknell
4:35
7."Pale Movie" 3:52
8."Cool Kids of Death" 5:49
9."Western Wind"Traditional1:33
10."Tankerville" 4:01
11."Western Wind"Traditional1:37
12."The Boy Scouts of America" 2:57
US release (Warner Bros., 9 45634-2)
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Urban Clearway" 3:58
2."Hug My Soul"
  • Batson
  • Cracknell
  • Male
4:15
3."Former Lover" 3:49
4."Like a Motorway" 5:42
5."On the Shore" 4:06
6."Marble Lions"
  • Bund
  • Cracknell
4:35
7."Pale Movie" 3:52
8."Cool Kids of Death" 5:49
9."I Was Born on Christmas Day"
3:11
10."The Boy Scouts of America" 2:57
11."Hug My Soul" (alternative version)
  • Batson
  • Cracknell
  • Male
4:23
12."Like a Motorway" (alternative version) 5:25
UK reissue (Heavenly/Creation, SCR 475962 9)
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Urban Clearway" 3:59
2."He's on the Phone"
4:06
3."Former Lover" 3:37
4."I Buy American Records" 2:48
5."Hug My Soul"
  • Batson
  • Cracknell
  • Male
4:15
6."Like a Motorway" 5:43
7."Grovely Road"
  • Catt
  • Cracknell
3:38
8."On the Shore" 4:06
9."Pale Movie" 3:53
10."Hate Your Drug" 3:45
11."Marble Lions"
  • Bund
  • Cracknell
4:35
12."Cool Kids of Death" 5:46
13."Western Wind"Traditional1:32
14."Tankerville" 3:52
15."The Boy Scouts of America" 3:10

2010 deluxe edition[edit]

Disc 1 (Heavenly, HVNLP8CDDE / UMC, 2735896)
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Urban Clearway" 3:58
2."Former Lover" 3:49
3."Hug My Soul"
  • Batson
  • Cracknell
  • Male
4:15
4."Like a Motorway" 5:42
5."On the Shore" 4:06
6."Marble Lions"
  • Bund
  • Cracknell
4:35
7."Pale Movie" 3:52
8."Cool Kids of Death" 5:49
9."Western Wind / Tankerville" 7:12
10."The Boy Scouts of America" 2:59
Disc 2
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Urban Clearway" (demo) 5:32
2."Black Horse Latitude"
  • Cracknell
  • Stanley
  • Wiggs
4:23
3."I Buy American Records" 2:52
4."Hate Your Drug" 3:50
5."You Know I'll Miss You When I'm Gone"
  • Bund
  • Cracknell
2:59
6."Sushi Rider"
  • Bund
  • Cracknell
2:58
7."Hug My Soul" (demo)
  • Batson
  • Cracknell
  • Male
4:27
8."The Wedding of Stacy Dorning"
  • Cracknell
  • Stanley
  • Wiggs
2:49
9."Deborah's French Feast" 2:18
10."Western Wind" (demo)Traditional3:58
11."Pale Movie" (demo) 4:29
12."La Poupee Qui Fait Non (No No No)"
3:59
13."Highgate Road Incident" 2:10
14."My Christmas Prayer"Billy Fury3:27
15."I Was Born on Christmas Day"
3:12

Personnel[edit]

Original credits (1994)[edit]

Alternate credits for American release[edit]

  • Tim Burgess - guest vocals ("I Was Born On Christmas Day")
  • 'Jim Bob' Wheatley - engineer ("I Was Born On Christmas Day")
  • Mark 'Spike' Stent - mixing ("I Was Born On Christmas Day")
  • Daniel Abraham - additional production and mix (for White Falcon Productions), additional programming ("Hug My Soul (Alternate Version)", "Like a Motorway (Alternate Version)")
  • Merve Depeyer - keyboards, programming ("Hug My Soul (Alternate Version)", "Like a Motorway (Alternate Version)")
  • Juan Garcia - overdub engineering ("Hug My Soul (Alternate Version)", "Like a Motorway (Alternate Version)")
  • Recorded at Scream Studios, NYC, mixed at Right Track Recording, NYC. ("Hug My Soul (Alternate Version)", "Like a Motorway (Alternate Version)")

Additional credits for 1996 British re-release[edit]

B-sides[edit]

From "Pale Movie"

  • "Highgate Road Incident"
  • "Pale Movie (Stentorian Dub)"
  • "Pale Movie (Secret Knowledge Trouser Assassin Mix)"
  • "Pale Movie (Lemonentry Mix)" (Remixed by Rick Smith from Underworld)

From "Like a Motorway"

  • "You Know I'll Miss You When You're Gone"
  • "Sushi Rider"
  • "Like a Motorway (Chekhov Warp Dub)" (Remixed by The Chemical Brothers)
  • "Like A Motorway (The David Holmes Mix)"
  • "Like A Motorway (Skin Up You're Already Dead Mix)" (Remixed by Autechre)

From "Hug My Soul"

  • "I Buy American Records"
  • "Hate Your Drug"
  • "La Poupee Qui Fait Non (No, No, No, No, No)"
  • "Hug My Soul (Twelve Inch Mix)"
  • "Hug My Soul (Motiv 8 Blackpool Mix)"
  • "Hug My Soul (Sure Is Pure Kodacolour House Mix)"
  • "Hug My Soul (Juan Kinky Hernandez Nu Bootz Groove)"
  • "Hug My Soul (Secret Knowledge Limbo Mix)"

Charts[edit]

Chart performance for Tiger Bay
Chart (1994) Peak
position
European Albums (Music & Media)[20] 30
Scottish Albums (OCC)[21] 17
Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan)[22] 31
UK Albums (OCC)[23] 8
UK Independent Albums (OCC)[24] 1

References[edit]

  1. ^ Lassner, Bryan (1998). "Saint Etienne". In Graff, Gary; Durchholz, Daniel (eds.). MusicHound Rock: The Essential Album Guide. Detroit: Visible Ink Press. pp. 971–972.
  2. ^ "[ETIENNE HEAVEN] Saint Etienne discography: Tiger Bay".
  3. ^ a b Bob Stanley, interview with Melody Maker. Qtd. in "Like a Motorway". Saint Etienne Heaven Archived 21 February 2013 at archive.today. 29 June 2002.
  4. ^ "Hebden Bridge, 14–15 July". 16 August 2012.
  5. ^ Thompson, Dave. "Tiger Bay – Saint Etienne". AllMusic. Retrieved 24 August 2012.
  6. ^ Webber, Brad (22 September 1994). "Saint Etienne: Tiger Bay (Warner)". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved 11 November 2020.
  7. ^ Christgau, Robert. "Robert Christgau: CG: Saint Etienne". robertchristgau.com. Retrieved 7 January 2023.
  8. ^ Romero, Michele (15 July 1994). "Tiger Bay". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved 9 June 2017.
  9. ^ Bulley, Jenny (July 2019). "Saint Etienne: Tiger Bay". Mojo. No. 308. p. 107.
  10. ^ Hogan, Marc (4 June 2010). "Saint Etienne: Tiger Bay / Finisterre". Pitchfork. Retrieved 5 June 2010.
  11. ^ Segal, Victoria (Summer 2019). "Saint Etienne: Tiger Bay". Q. No. 400. p. 119.
  12. ^ Quantick, David (May 2019). "Saint Etienne: Tiger Bay: 25th Anniversary Edition". Record Collector. No. 492. p. 104.
  13. ^ Berger, Arion (2004). "Saint Etienne". In Brackett, Nathan; Hoard, Christian (eds.). The New Rolling Stone Album Guide (4th ed.). Simon & Schuster. pp. 713–14. ISBN 0-7432-0169-8.
  14. ^ Maconie, Stuart (April 1994). "Saint Etienne: Tiger Bay". Select. No. 46. p. 90. Retrieved 29 October 2016.
  15. ^ Cross, Tony (19 January 1994). "New Albums". Smash Hits. p. 53. Retrieved 29 December 2022.
  16. ^ Pattenden, Mike (April 1994). "What's new, pussycat?". Vox. No. 43. p. 76.
  17. ^ a b c d "The Official Charts Company – Saint Etienne". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 19 November 2009.
  18. ^ "New Releases: Albums" (PDF). Music & Media. 19 March 1994. p. 9. Retrieved 19 May 2021.
  19. ^ Scott Plagenhoef, Interviews: Saint Etienne, Pitchfork, 5 February 2009.
  20. ^ "European Top 100 Albums" (PDF). Music & Media. Vol. 11, no. 12. 19 March 1994. p. 18. OCLC 29800226 – via World Radio History.
  21. ^ "Official Scottish Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 9 February 2022.
  22. ^ "Swedishcharts.com – Saint Etienne – Tiger Bay". Hung Medien. Retrieved 9 February 2022.
  23. ^ "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 9 February 2022.
  24. ^ "Independent Albums" (PDF). Music Week. 19 March 1994. p. 16. ISSN 0265-1548 – via World Radio History.

External links[edit]

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