Sweetness And Light

About

Sweetness and Light is the second extended play by the English alternative rock band Lush. It was released on 15 October 1990 on 4AD. Featuring a less abrasive sound than the band's earlier release, the title track was also released as Lush's first single and included the B-side "Breeze". Tim Friese-Greene produced Sweetness and Light over a six-week period at the Greenhouse and Wessex Sound Studios in London. The recording sessions took considerably longer than Lush's previous sessions with Robin Guthrie and John Fryer, but resulted in a more atmospheric dream pop sound. Sweetness and Light received mixed reviews upon release, but led to Lush's first major headlining national tour and placed in the national chart. The single was particularly successful in the United State, where it placed at No. 4 on the Billboard Modern Rock Tracks chart and received heavy rotation on radio. In 1989, Lush released their debut mini album Scar to warm review, and followed up the album with the Mad Love EP in February 1990. Mad Love brought a large amount of attention to the band from both the alternative and mainstream British pre, with vocalist-guitarist Miki Berenyi and guitarist Emma Anderson becoming the subject of several gossip columns in national weeklie. Lush also began performing to larger audience, performing at the Glastonbury Festival of Contemporary Performing Arts and opening as support for the Cure at the Crystal Palace Bowl in London, England in summer 1990. Lush began searching for a producer for their next set of material, and Talk Talk producer Friese-Greene was recommended. The band were unfamiliar with his work—though Anderson and Berenyi purchased copies of Talk Talk albums just prior to the initial recording sessions—while Friese-Greene was already a fan of Lush. Sweetness and Light was recorded at the Greenhouse, a mid-range studio in London, in August 1990 with Friese-Greene and engineer Ed Buller. The sessions were unusually long for Lush; overall production was done over a six-week period, with mixing completed at Wessex Sound Studio. Greene's approach was considered as "enthusiastic" by Berenyi, and Anderson regarded his techniques as significantly different than Mad Love producer Guthrie and Scar producer Fryer. According to Anderson, Friese-Greene changed the original drum tracks to "Sweetness and Light", as well making several edits to the song's overall structure. Upon its release, Sweetness and Light entered in the UK Singles Chart, peaking at No. 47 in its first week of release. The title song was a considerable independent success in the US, receiving heavy radio airplay and peaking at No. 4 on the Billboard Modern Rock Tracks chart as a result. Lush were signed to Reprise Records on a licensing and distribution deal in the US a week after the release of Sweetness and Light, and the EP was reissued as part of Gala in November 1990. A remastered version of the title track was included on Ciao! Best of Lush, a compilation album released in March 2001, and the song was made available as downloadable content for the Rock Band video game series in July 2009. Personnel Lush Chris Acland – drums Emma Anderson – guitar, backing vocals Miki Berenyi – vocal, guitar Steve Rippon – bass Additional musicians Phil Overhead – percussion Technical personnel Tim Friese-Greene – production Ed Buller – engineering Design personnel Vaughan Oliver – art direction, design .

via Last.fm

The Clerk says

Start your shelf to read the full take →