Laughter (The Mighty Lemon Drops album)

Laughter
Studio album by The Mighty Lemon Drops
Released September 1989
Recorded Real World, Bath, England
Genre Alternative rock, college rock, indie rock
Length 50:40
Label Chrysalis, Sire
Producer Mark Wallis, Tim Palmer, Simon Vinestock, The Mighty Lemon Drops
The Mighty Lemon Drops chronology
World Without End
(1988)		 Laughter
(1989)		 Sound... Goodbye to Your Standards
(1991)

Laughter is the third studio album by English rock group The Mighty Lemon Drops. Released on Chrysalis/Sire in 1989, the album was the band's first to feature David Newton as the primary songwriter, as co-writer and bassist Tony Linehan quit early during the recording sessions. The album contains the hit U.S. modern rock singles "Into the Heart of Love" and "Where Do We Go From Heaven".

Background and recording

The Mighty Lemon Drops, feeling wrongly pigeonholed from their previous works as a "doom and gloom" band, decided in early 1989 to name their new album Laughter to reflect the group's shift in musical direction and to distance themselves from other bands with whom they had often been compared.[1][2] Guitarist and songwriter David Newton explained, "There's definitely more lightness as opposed to all the dark stuff we've done. We wanted to lose all that. People are really amazed when they hear us. The press would lead you to believe that the only reason we exist is because of Echo and the Bunnymen. I don't even like them."[1]

During the sessions for Laughter, bassist and co-writer Tony Linehan left the band after recording two tracks for the album, "All That I Can Do" and "Second Time Around". In a 2012 interview, Newton said of Linehan's departure: "We had spent the best part of four years with each other most days, and that will magnify any differences personality-wise or musically you might have. It was a stupid situation really and Tony now considers it a mistake on his part to leave, but we were also still quite young and things like this happen."[3] Linehan was replaced by Marcus Williams, who had played with Julian Cope.[1] Singer Paul Marsh credited Williams for bringing a fresh approach to the band which helped result in the poppier direction evident on Laughter, which features a horn section, layered guitars, and a live sound.[1][4]

Reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
Allmusic[5]

Released in September 1989, Laughter produced two singles that reached the top 10 of the U.S. Modern Rock Tracks chart: "Into the Heart of Love" (number five) and "Where Do We Go From Heaven" (number eight). The album peaked at number 195 on the Billboard 200 in March 1990.[6]

Dave Schulps and Ira Robbins of Trouser Press called Laughter "an altogether great album which remains by far the band's best" and compared it to the "psychedelically tinged pop joy of Stone Roses' debut, released in the same year".[7] Robin Reinhardt of Spin said Laughter combines the "raw energy of Happy Head with the fuller, tighter sounds of World Without End".[8] Reviews from the British press were generally less positive, however, leading the band to concentrate its promotion efforts in the U.S., including a 70-date concert tour with labelmates The Ocean Blue and John Wesley Harding.[4]

Track listing

All tracks written by David Newton, except where noted. 

No. Title Length
1. "At Midnight"   4:29
2. "Into the Heart of Love"   2:56
3. "Where Do We Go from Heaven"   5:41
4. "The Heartbreak Thing"   6:18
5. "One in a Million"   4:37
6. "Written in Fiction"   3:35
7. "The Real World"   5:53
8. "All That I Can Do" (Tony Linehan, Newton) 4:32
9. "Second Time Around" (Linehan, Newton) 3:53
10. "Beautiful Shame"   3:31

Personnel

The Mighty Lemon Drops[9]
  • Paul Marsh – vocals
  • David Newton – guitars, backing vocals
  • Marcus Williams – bass guitar, backing vocals on tracks 1–7, 10, 11
  • Keith Rowley – drums
  • Tony Linehan – bass guitar on tracks 8, 9
Additional[9]

Charts

Chart (1990) Peak
position
US Billboard 200[10] 195

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 Reinhardt, Robin (January 1990). "Rock Candy". Spin. SPIN Media LLC. 5 (10): 18. ISSN 0886-3032.
  2. ↑ Christensen, Thor (5 February 1990). "'Laughter' Tour offers a dreary shade of rock". Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. p. 5B. Retrieved 1 March 2016.
  3. ↑ Crigler, Pete (2013). Majorlabelland And Assorted Oddities. Bloomington, In. p. 4. ISBN 978-1491706015.
  4. 1 2 Aparicio, Nestor (16 March 1990). "Mighty Lemon Drops Laugh at English ways". Boca Raton News (via The Baltimore Sun). p. 17W. Retrieved 1 March 2016.
  5. ↑ "Laughter - Overview". Allmusic (Rovi Corporation). Retrieved 1 March 2016.
  6. ↑ Whitburn, Joel (2008). Joel Whitburn Presents Rock Tracks (1981-2008). Menomonee Falls, Wis.: Record Research. p. 164. ISBN 978-0898201741.
  7. ↑ Schulps, Dave; Robbins, Ira. "The Mighty Lemon Drops". Trouser Press. Retrieved 1 March 2016.
  8. ↑ Reinhardt, Robin (December 1989). "Heavy Rotation". Spin. SPIN Media LLC. 5 (9): 14. ISSN 0886-3032.
  9. 1 2 "Laughter » Credits". Discogs. Retrieved 1 March 2016.
  10. ↑ "The Mighty Lemon Drops – Chart history" Billboard 200 for The Mighty Lemon Drops. Retrieved 1 March 2016.
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