Love (Aztec Camera album)

Love is the third studio album by Scottish pop group Aztec Camera, released in November 1987 on Sire.[7] While it was released under the Aztec Camera name, Roddy Frame was the only remaining permanent member of the group and he recorded the album alongside a group of session musicians.[8] Departing from the indie and folk-rock approach of earlier records, Love incorporated R&B influences, seemingly to break the American market. It failed to do so but did achieve commercial success in the UK, reaching No. 10 on the albums chart, following the success of its third single "Somewhere in My Heart", which reached No. 3 on the UK Singles Chart. As a result, it became the band's most commercially successful album.[9]

Love
Studio album by
Aztec Camera
Released9 November 1987[1]
RecordedApril–August 1987
Genre
Length38:37
LabelWEA, Sire
Producer
Aztec Camera chronology
Knife
(1984)		 Love
(1987)		 Stray
(1990)
Singles from Love
  1. "Deep & Wide & Tall"
    Released: October 1987
  2. "How Men Are"
    Released: January 1988
  3. "Somewhere in My Heart"
    Released: April 1988
  4. "Working in a Goldmine"
    Released: July 1988

Background

The Backwards and Forwards (1985) live EP was released, reaching number 181 on the Billboard 200 in the United States. After this, the band went through a line-up shift, retaining frontman Roddy Frame and drummer David Ruffy, and adding guitarist Steve Jordan, bassist Marcus Miller and keyboardist David Frank of the System.[10]

Reception
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[9]
Alternative Rock5/10[10]
Christgau's Record GuideA−[11]
New Musical Express9/10[12]
Record Mirror[13]

Author Dave Thompson wrote in his book Alternative Rock (2000) that the album was a "backward step into pop cliché, an attempt to make a record which would work on American radio."[10]

Upon release, the initially peaked at number 49 on the UK Albums Chart. After the success of its singles, it rose to number 10.[10]

Track listing

All songs written by Roddy Frame.[14]

Side one
No.TitleProducerLength
1."Deep & Wide & Tall"Russ Titelman4:02
2."How Men Are"
3:38
3."Everybody Is a Number One"Titelman3:25
4."More Than a Law"Frame4:39
5."Somewhere in My Heart"Michael Jonzun4:00
Side two
No.TitleProducerLength
6."Working in a Goldmine"
5:36
7."One and One"
  • Mounsey
  • Frame
4:10
8."Paradise"
  • LiPuma
  • Frank
4:29
9."Killermont Street"
  • Mounsey
  • Frame
3:16

Personnel

Personnel per booklet.[14]

Singles
  • "How Men Are" (UK No. 25)
  • "Somewhere in My Heart" (UK No. 3)
  • "Working in a Goldmine" (UK No. 31)
  • "Deep & Wide & Tall" (UK No. 55)

References

Citations

  1. Dalton ed. 1987, p. 42
  2. Hurley, Oliver (25 August 2021). "Top 15 Sophisti-Pop Albums". Classic Pop. Retrieved 25 August 2021.
  3. Mason, Stewart. "Stray - Aztec Camera". AllMusic. Retrieved 22 July 2020.
  4. Ruhlmann, William. "Love - Aztec Camera". AllMusic. Retrieved 22 July 2020.
  5. Arcand, Rob (3 September 2021). "Aztec Camera: Backwards and Forwards (The WEA Recordings 1984-1995) Album Review". Pitchfork. Retrieved 12 June 2022.
  6. Robbins, Ira; Schoemer, Karen; Young, Jon. "Aztec Camera". Trouser Press. Retrieved 22 July 2020.
  7. "Love - Aztec Camera | Releases". AllMusic. Retrieved 13 November 2019.
  8. "Aztec Camera | Biography & History". AllMusic. Retrieved 13 November 2019.
  9. Ruhlmann, William. "Love - Aztec Camera | Songs, Reviews, Credits". AllMusic. Retrieved 13 November 2019.
  10. Thompson 2000, p. 165
  11. Christgau, Robert (1990). "A". Christgau's Record Guide: The '80s. Pantheon Books. ISBN 0-679-73015-X. Retrieved 16 August 2020 – via robertchristgau.com.
  12. Taylor 1987, p. 33
  13. Dickson 1987, p. 14
  14. Aztec Camera (1987). Love (booklet). WEA. 242202-2.

Sources

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