Megatop Phoenix
Studio album by
Big Audio Dynamite
Released4 September 1989 (1989-09-04)[1]
StudioKonk Studios (Hornsey, London)
Genre
Length59:05
LabelCBS
Producer
Big Audio Dynamite chronology
Tighten Up, Vol. 88
(1988)		 Megatop Phoenix
(1989)		 Kool-Aid
(1990)
Singles from Megatop Phoenix
  1. "James Brown" b/w "If I Were John Carpenter"
    Released: 1989
  2. "Contact" b/w "In Full Effect"
    Released: October 1989
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[2]
Christgau's Record GuideC+[3]

Megatop Phoenix is the fourth and final studio album by the original line-up of English band Big Audio Dynamite, released on 4 September 1989 by CBS Records. Mick Jones and Bill Price produced the album. It was recorded at the Kinks' Konk Studios in Hornsey, London, who were considered an inspiration in the album's liner notes.

Megatop Phoenix was the last album to be released under the name of Big Audio Dynamite for six years (until 1995's F-Punk). A year after this album's release Mick Jones formed Big Audio Dynamite II with totally different members. The phoenix in the title is a reference to a near-death experience of Jones, who had developed chickenpox and pneumonia, and spent several months in hospital prior to recording this album.[4][5]

The album reached #26 on the UK album chart and #85 on the Billboard 200 albums in the USA.

Track listing

Side one
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Start"Big Audio Dynamite0:14
2."Rewind"Big Audio Dynamite4:35
3."All Mink & No Manners"Big Audio Dynamite0:41
4."Union, Jack"Jones, Letts, Williams6:04
5."Contact"Jones, Donovan4:42
6."Dragon Town"Jones, Letts, Roberts, Williams4:46
7."Baby, Don't Apologise"Jones, Letts4:51
8."Is Yours Working Yet?"Big Audio Dynamite1:03
9."Around the Girl in 80 Ways"Jones, Letts3:30
Side two
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
10."James Brown"Jones, Letts5:08
11."Everybody Needs a Holiday"Jones, Letts5:33
12."Mick's a Hippie Burning"Big Audio Dynamite2:31
13."House Arrest"Jones, Letts, Roberts, Donovan3:59
14."The Green Lady"Jones, Letts, Roberts3:43
15."London Bridge"Jones, Letts, Roberts3:50
16."Stalag 123"Jones, Letts, Roberts3:11
17."End"Big Audio Dynamite0:34
Total length:59:05

Samples

The album makes copious use of sampling from various musical and other sources. Many of the tracks listed are created mainly from samples. Some of the samples are identified with their source below.

According to the NME review of 2/9/1989 there are also samples of Arthur Scargill and BAD interviews.

Personnel

Big Audio Dynamite
Technical
  • Adam "Flea" Newman – sound effects
  • Bill Price – producer, engineer, mixing
  • George Holt – assistant engineer, mixing assistant
  • Andy Strange – compilation assistant

References

  1. ↑ "Bad back". Record Mirror. 2 September 1989. p. 5. Retrieved 18 October 2022 – via Flickr.
  2. ↑ Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. Review: Megatop Phoenix. Allmusic. Retrieved on 9 April 2010.
  3. ↑ Christgau, Robert (1990). "B". Christgau's Record Guide: The '80s. Pantheon Books. ISBN 0-679-73015-X. Retrieved 17 August 2020 – via robertchristgau.com.
  4. ↑ Robbins, Ira Robbins; Jem Aswad; Michael Azerrad. "TrouserPress.com :: Big Audio Dynamite" (PHP). TrouserPress.com. Retrieved 17 December 2007. The disappointing Tighten Up Vol. 88 reaches no such peaks and now sounds like a fairly brazen attempt to get hip commercial airplay. The fault is seldom with Jones' songwriting but more with the slick sheen laid over the leaner, less aggressive beats. The LP yielded "Just Play Music" and "Other 99," but a pall was thrown on the release as Jones fell deathly ill shortly after its appearance; having contracted pneumonia, he was hospitalized for months.
  5. ↑ "Punk Legends Form Rock Band Carbon/Silicon". National Public Radio: Music. Retrieved 29 January 2008.
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