Suburban Voodoo
Suburban Voodoo is the second solo studio album by English singer-songwriter Paul Carrack. In between his previous solo album (1980's Nightbird) and this release, Carrack had been a member of Squeeze, singing lead on their 1981 hit "Tempted".
| Suburban Voodoo | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | August 1982 | |||
| Studio | Rockfield Studios, Wales | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | 38:19 | |||
| Label | Epic | |||
| Producer | Nick Lowe | |||
| Paul Carrack chronology | ||||
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The band on this album, dubbed Noise To Go, was the result of arrangement between Nick Lowe and Carrack to provide backing on each other's albums. The same group of musicians, but with Lowe as lead vocalist, is heard on Lowe's albums Nick the Knife (1982) and The Abominable Showman (1983).
The album reached #78 on the Billboard 200, and includes Carrack's first chart hit as a solo artist, "I Need You", which peaked at #37 in the US in October 1982.[1]
Thirty years after the release of this LP, Carrack re-recorded the Suburban Voodoo album track "From Now On" (in a very different arrangement) for his 2012 album Good Feeling.
Reception
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [2] |
AllMusic's William Ruhlmann notes retrospectively that Suburban Voodoo "sounds very much like a (Nick) Lowe album with Carrack singing. That's all to the good, though, since Carrack's supple voice is well-suited to Lowe's updated '60s rock & roll style." Ruhlmann goes on to call Suburban Voodoo "an unusually tuneful album." [2]
Jim Green of Trouser Press also noted the Nick Lowe connection, writing that "Suburban Voodoo sounds like the souled-up flipside of Nick the Knife — if anything, it's better. Yet it succeeds because of Lowe's production and composing presence, which complements Carrack's excellent voice with the kind of pop smarts that bring out his best."[3]
Track listing
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Lesson in Love" | Paul Carrack | 2:58 |
| 2. | "Always Better with You" | Carrack | 3:30 |
| 3. | "I Need You" | Carrack, Nick Lowe, Martin Belmont | 2:47 |
| 4. | "I'm in Love" | Carlene Carter, Lowe | 3:16 |
| 5. | "Don't Give My Heart a Break" | Carter, Lowe, Carrack | 3:21 |
| 6. | "A Little Unkind" | Carrack | 3:03 |
| 7. | "Out of Touch" | Chris Difford, Glenn Tilbrook | 3:06 |
| 8. | "What a Way to Go" | Carrack, Lowe, Belmont, James Eller, Ceiling | 2:50 |
| 9. | "So Right, So Wrong" | Carrack, Lowe, Belmont, Eller, Ceiling | 3:29 |
| 10. | "From Now On" | Lowe | 3:20 |
| 11. | "Call Me Tonight" | Carrack, Alan Spenner | 3:05 |
| 12. | "I Found Love" | Neil Hubbard | 3:37 |
Personnel
Credits are adapted from the album's liner notes.[4]
- Paul Carrack – lead and backing vocals, pianos, organ
- Martin Belmont – guitars
- James Eller – bass
- Bobby Irwin – drums, backing vocals
- Nick Lowe – backing vocals
Production
- Producer – Nick Lowe
- Engineer – Paul Cobbold
- Mix Assistant – Chris Ludwinski
- Recorded at Rockfield Studios (Monmouth, Wales, UK).
- Mixed at Eel Pie Studios (London, UK).
- Photography – Brian Griffin
References
- Paul Carrack USA chart history, Billboard.com. Retrieved December 16, 2011.
- [Suburban Voodoo at AllMusic allmusic review]
- Green, Jim. "Paul Carrack's albums". Trouser Press. Retrieved 20 March 2018.
- Suburban Voodoo liner notes. Epic Records. 1982.
External links
- Suburban Voodoo at Discogs (list of releases)