Mind Bomb
Studio album by
The The
Released11 July 1989
GenreAlternative rock, dance-rock, college rock
Length45:59
LabelEpic
ProducerWarne Livesey, Roli Mosimann, Matt Johnson[1]
The The chronology
Infected
(1986)		 Mind Bomb
(1989)		 Dusk
(1993)
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[2]
Chicago Tribune[3]
The Encyclopedia of Popular Music[4]
MusicHound Rock: The Essential Album Guide[1]
Rolling Stone[5]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide[6]

Mind Bomb is the third studio album by English post-punk band The The.[7][8] It was released by Some Bizzare/Epic on 11 July 1989 and recorded between October 1988 and May 1989. It is the band's first album to feature former The Smiths guitarist Johnny Marr.

The album peaked at No. 4 on the UK Albums Chart.[9]

Overview

Matt Johnson assembled a full band of The The, retaining his role as singer, primary songwriter, frontman and guitarist (and playing keyboards and other instruments in the studio), and bringing in guitarist Johnny Marr. Johnson had known Marr since the early 1980s, and had attempted to entice him into an earlier version of The The prior to Marr forming The Smiths. Completing the lineup was former Julian Cope band bass guitarist James Eller and session drummer David Palmer (while D.C. Collard provided live keyboards). Additional instrumentation on Mind Bomb was provided by sessioneers, most notably keyboard player Wix.

Instead of the darkly polished dance-pop styling of earlier albums Soul Mining and Infected, Mind Bomb opens up the music to reveal a slow, winding textured world of sound, thanks in no small measure to Marr. Lyrical subjects include politics, religion, and romance. The band would also play a world tour and record a follow-up, Dusk. After that, Johnson dissolved it and went about his business alone again. A remastered version of the album was released in 2002.

Critical reception

The Quietus called the album "slow, expansive, looming into inexorable life with a rage that smouldered rather than flamed."[10] The Encyclopedia of Popular Music called it "bombastic in tone and filled with lyrical diatribes and anti-religious rants allied to distinctly unmelodic songs."[4] The Los Angeles Times called it "an embarrassing exercise in breast-beating," writing that "this bloated record is doubly distressing considering that it’s the work of the same man who turned out one of the most mysterious and lovely pop tunes of the ‘80s, 'Uncertain Smile'."[11] In a retrospective review, Stylus Magazine wrote that "it’s easy to let the seemingly prescient relevance of the lyrics to Mind Bomb outweigh the actual music, which would be a shame because, with or without those words, it’s still a great record."[12]

Track listing

Tracks written by Matt Johnson, except where noted.

  1. "Good Morning, Beautiful" – 7:28
  2. "Armageddon Days Are Here (Again)" – 5:40
  3. "The Violence of Truth" – 5:40
  4. "Kingdom of Rain" – 5:51
  5. "The Beat(en) Generation" – 3:04
  6. "August & September" – 5:45
  7. "Gravitate to Me" – 8:09 (Johnson, Johnny Marr)
  8. "Beyond Love" – 4:22

Personnel

The band

Additional musicians

Artwork

Artwork and typography by Fiona Skinner. Photography Andrew MacPherson. Back cover image was created to reference photomontagist John Heartfield Der Sinn von Genf The Meaning of Geneva AIZ Cover, Berlin, Germany, 1932

Charts

Chart performance for Mind Bomb
Chart (1989) Peak
position
Australian Albums (ARIA)[13] 32
Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)[14] 39
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[15] 24
New Zealand Albums (RMNZ)[16] 3
Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan)[17] 30
UK Albums (OCC)[18] 4
US Billboard 200[19] 138

References

  1. 1 2 MusicHound Rock: The Essential Album Guide. Visible Ink Press. 1999. p. 1137.
  2. ↑ Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "Mind Bomb – The The". AllMusic. Retrieved 26 September 2017.
  3. ↑ Heim, Chris (10 August 1989). "The The: Mind Bomb (Epic)". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved 26 September 2017.
  4. 1 2 Larkin, Colin (2006). The Encyclopedia of Popular Music. Vol. 8. MUZE. p. 113.
  5. ↑ Mack, Bob (7 September 1989). "The The: Mind Bomb". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on 15 May 2009. Retrieved 26 September 2017.
  6. ↑ The Rolling Stone Album Guide. Random House. 1992. p. 700.
  7. ↑ "The The | Biography & History". AllMusic.
  8. ↑ Buckley, Peter (4 February 2003). The Rough Guide to Rock. Rough Guides. ISBN 9781843531050 – via Google Books.
  9. ↑ "mind bomb | full Official Chart History | Official Charts Company". www.officialcharts.com.
  10. ↑ "The Quietus | Features | Anniversary | Scorched Earth: The The's Mind Bomb Revisited". The Quietus.
  11. ↑ "THE THE "Mind Bomb." Epic: * 1/2 : *****Great Balls of Fire:**** Knockin' On Heaven's *** Good Vibrations ** Maybe Baby * Ain't That a Shame". Los Angeles Times. 6 August 1989.
  12. ↑ "The The - Mind Bomb - On Second Thought - Stylus Magazine". stylusmagazine.com.
  13. ↑ "Australiancharts.com – The The – Mind Bomb". Hung Medien. Retrieved 21 October 2022.
  14. ↑ "Dutchcharts.nl – The The – Mind Bomb" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 21 October 2022.
  15. ↑ "Offiziellecharts.de – The The – Mind Bomb" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved 21 October 2022.
  16. ↑ "Charts.nz – The The – Mind Bomb". Hung Medien. Retrieved 21 October 2022.
  17. ↑ "Swedishcharts.com – The The – Mind Bomb". Hung Medien. Retrieved 21 October 2022.
  18. ↑ "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 21 October 2022.
  19. ↑ "Billboard 200: Week of August 5, 1989". Billboard. Retrieved 21 October 2022.
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