The Big Heat is the debut solo album by American musician Stan Ridgway (former Wall of Voodoo vocalist), released in 1986 by I.R.S. Records. Named after the 1953 film noir of the same name, the original release consisted of nine songs, including the No. 4 UK hit "Camouflage".Stan Ridgway: Camouflage OfficialCharts.com Accessed September 2, 2007. In 1986, the album reached No. 131 on the Billboard 200. The album was re-released in 1993 with six additional tracks and again re-released in 2007.
Recording Ridgway said of the album, "I wanted to bring a lot of influences to the surface. In Voodoo, we would take the influences and hide them. I wanted to move along and be able to do a jazz song. My heroes are people like Miles Davis who go through different musical stages and don't get stagnant." He opted to solicit the assistance of outside producers, including Joe Chiccarelli and Mitchell Froom. Discussing his decision, Ridgway expressed his belief that self-producing would have presented some difficulties, although he ultimately believed that he could have provided more creative input on the production choices.
Reception Billboard wrote that the album combines "modern electronic instrumentation with a sly array of offbeat timbres, from banjo to trombone, that set Ridgway's vision apart." Spin said, "A man of few words, he makes every line count for something — either an image that evokes a scene or a line of dialogue that evokes a character. His decision to build and record in his own studio has paid off with a well-balanced sound that has lots of space for odd acoustic instruments to dart in and out of his synth-based arrangements."
Trouser Press said, "It's no coincidence that the lyrics are printed on the inner sleeve in prose format; the singer is a pulp novelist at heart. The Big Heat is a rare record — one that will have you as interested in the lyrical action as its substantial musical attributes."
Track listing
Before the album's release, the track "Pick It Up (And Put It in Your Pocket)" was used in a 1985 episode of Miami Vice.
Personnel Adapted from The Big Heat liner notes.
Stan Ridgway – lead vocals, guitar (A3, A5, B1, B2, B4), keyboards (A1, A4, B2-B4), harmonica (A1, B1), banjo (A2), bass guitar (B3), production (A3-A5), engineering (A3-A5) Musicians K. K. Barrett – drums (B1) Chris Becerra – drums (B4) Joe Berardi – drums (A5) Hugo Burnham – percussion (A2) Luis Cabaza – bass guitar (B2) Mr. Christopher – violin (A1), cello (A1) Mark Cohen – banjo (A4), mandolin (A4) John Dentino – keyboards (A1) Bruce Fowler – trombone (A5) Richard Gibbs – instruments (B2) Richard Greene – violin (A2) Mark Lewis – backing vocals (B4) Mark Morris – backing vocals (B4) Bill Noland – keyboards (A1, B1, B2), piano (A2), production (B2)
Musicians (cont.) Joe Ramirez – backing vocals (A4), drum programming (A4), guitar (B1) Tom Rechoin – percussion (A2) Steve Reid – percussion (B2) Mark Terlizzi – bass guitar (A3) Louis van den Berg – keyboards (A3-A5, B3, B4), producer (A3-A5), engineering (A3-A5) Mike Watt – bass guitar (A3) Pietra Wexstun – backing vocals (A3) Eric Williams – guitar feedback Bruce Zelesnik – drums (A1) Production and additional personnel Joe Chiccarelli – production (B2), engineering (B2), mixing (B2) Mitchell Froom – production (A2), keyboards (A2) Carl Grasso – art direction Jim Hill – engineering (A2) Hugh Jones – production (A1, B1), engineering (A1, B1), mixing (A1), keyboards (A1) Scott Lindgren – photography, cover art Andy Waterman – mixing (A2-A5, B1)
Chart positions Album Chart (1986)PeakpositionAustralia (Kent Music Report) 61Germany (Media Control Charts) 38Netherlands (MegaCharts) 62Norway (VG-lista) 11Switzerland (Swiss Hitparade) 27US Top Pop Albums (Billboard) 131
Accolades YearPublicationCountryAccoladeRank1986 Best France "Albums of the Year" 3 1986 Q United Kingdom "Albums of the Year" * 1986 Sounds United Kingdom "Albums of the Year" * 1990 Mucchio Selvaggio Italy "The Best Albums of the 80s" * 1990 Velvet Italy "The 100 Best Albums of the 80s" * 1991 Rock & Folk France "The 250 Best Albums from 1966-1991" 3 1999 Panorama Norway "The 30 Best Albums of the Year 1970-98" 19 2002 Mucchio Selvaggio Italy "100 Best Albums by Decade" 1-20 "*" denotes an unordered list.
Release history Region Date Label Format Catalog Spain 1986 Epic CD, CS, LP 40-2687 United Kingdom I.R.S. CD, LP 1008 United States CD, LP 5637 1993 CD X2 0777 7 13125 26 United Kingdom 2012 Water CD Water252
References
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