Gorgeous
Studio album by
808 State
Released1 February 1993[1]
Length56:29
Label
Producer808 State[2]
808 State chronology
Ex:el
(1991)		 Gorgeous
(1993)		 Forecast
(1993)
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[3]
Calgary HeraldB−[4]
The Encyclopedia of Popular Music[5]
Los Angeles Times[6]
MusicHound Rock: The Essential Album Guide[7]
NME7/10[8]
The Philadelphia Inquirer[9]
Select[10]

Gorgeous is the fourth studio album by the English electronic music group 808 State.[11][12] It was released on 1 February 1993 by ZTT Records in the UK and Tommy Boy Records in the US. In October 2008, the album was reissued on ZTT Records and an additional bonus disc, containing 14 remixed tracks, including an unreleased edit of the song "Bombadin".[13]

The album peaked at No. 17 on the UK Albums Chart[14] and No. 35 on the US Top Heatseekers albums chart.[15]

It is their first album to not feature founding member Martin Price, who left the group in October 1991 to perform solo production work, eventually forming his own label, Sun Text.[16]

Critical reception

Select gave the album a three out of five rating, stating that it is "never more nor less than 'interesting'" and concluding that "the weaknesses of over-familiarity are fully apparent" and "too often leaves you wanting more".[10] The Washington Post wrote that "the thumping beats of 'Colony' or the hip-hopped 'Timebomb' are lively enough, and 'Plan 9' does have moments that qualify as gorgeous, but the notable tracks all involve outsiders: Ian McCulloch helps the State create a New Order-ly song on 'Moses', Caroline Seaman's multi-tracked vocals define the Cocteau Twins-ish 'Europa' and 'One in Ten' is an unsurprising remix of the early UB40 single".[17] The Baltimore Sun stated: "Even though the 808-ers' taste in electronics doesn't quite conform to classical notions of aural beauty -- like many synth-heavy dance acts these days, they adore the buzz of sawtooth waves and the hiss of cheap drum machines -- there's something undeniably luscious about the soundscapes here".[18]

Track listing

  1. "Plan 9" – 4:02
  2. "Moses" (featuring Ian McCulloch) – 2:54
  3. "Contrique" – 3:40
  4. "10 X 10" (featuring Barrington Stewart and Rachel McFarlane) – 3:33
  5. "One in Ten" (Remix) – 2:40
  6. "Europa" (featuring Caroline Seaman) – 4:16
  7. "Orbit" – 4:01
  8. "Black Morpheus" – 4:04
  9. "Southern Cross" – 5:03
  10. "Nimbus" – 4:34
  11. "Colony" – 4:45
  12. "Timebomb" – 2:55
  13. "Stormin Norman" – 3:23
  14. "Sexy Dancer" – 3:00
  15. "Sexy Synthesizer" – 3:39

Deluxe edition

  1. "Freak" (Astroban Mix) – 6:43
  2. "Lemon" (Oberheim 4 Mix) – 4:47
  3. "La Luz" (Acid Mix) – 5:35
  4. "Icecream On Elm Street" (Sex Synth) – 3:43
  5. "Mondonet" – 4:52
  6. "Reaper Repo" (12" Mix) – 8:28
  7. "Bombadin" (Unreleased Edit) – 4:34
  8. "Marathon" (Original 2 Four Pub Mix) – 6:15
  9. "Insane Lover" (Analogue Mix) – 6:02
  10. "The Jackson Fraction" (Jaco Taco Mix) – 5:25
  11. "Timebomb" (Oldham Mix) – 3:53
  12. "10 X 10" (Vox) – 4:08
  13. "Plan 9" (Memory Moog Mix) – 4:21
  14. "Nbambi" (March Hare Mix) – 4:20

Charts

Chart performance for Gorgeous
Chart (1993) Peak
position
UK Albums (OCC)[19] 17

References

  1. ↑ "808 State - Discography". www.808state.com.
  2. ↑ "Album Reviews". Billboard. 105 (5): 63. 30 January 1993.
  3. ↑ "Gorgeous - 808 State | Songs, Reviews, Credits | AllMusic" – via www.allmusic.com.
  4. ↑ Muretich, James (14 March 1993). "Recent Releases". Calgary Herald.
  5. ↑ Larkin, Colin (2006). The Encyclopedia of Popular Music. Vol. 3. MUZE. pp. 235–236.
  6. ↑ "In Brief". Los Angeles Times. 11 April 1993.
  7. ↑ MusicHound Rock: The Essential Album Guide. Visible Ink Press. 1999. p. 379.
  8. ↑ Needs, Kris (30 January 1993). "Long Play". NME. p. 32. Retrieved 4 May 2023.
  9. ↑ Wood, Sam (9 February 1993). "808 STATE DEFIES THE ODDS AGAIN WITH A CONSISTENTLY FINE ALBUM". The Philadelphia Inquirer: D6.
  10. 1 2 Howe, Rupert (February 1993). "Reviews". Select: 69.
  11. ↑ "808 State | Biography & History". AllMusic.
  12. ↑ Cawley, Jimmy (15 April 1993). "808 STATE GORGEOUS Tommy Boy". The Boston Globe: 7.
  13. ↑ "808 State Gets Reissued, Remixed". 6 October 2008.
  14. ↑ "808 STATE | full Official Chart History | Official Charts Company". officialcharts.com.
  15. ↑ "808 State". Billboard.
  16. ↑ Strong, Martin C. (2000). The Great Rock Discography (5th ed.). Edinburgh: Mojo Books. pp. 311–312. ISBN 1-84195-017-3.
  17. ↑ "SYNTH-POP RETOOLED FOR THE '90S". The Washington Post. Retrieved 10 April 2021.
  18. ↑ Considine, J. D. "Beauty is in the ears of the beholder". baltimoresun.com.
  19. ↑ "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 5 May 2023.
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