Don't Get Weird on Me Babe
Don't Get Weird on Me Babe is the second solo album by the English musician Lloyd Cole, released in 1991.[2][3] The title comes from a Raymond Carver expression.[4] Unlike the original release, the American version of the album leads with the "rock" half and ends with the orchestral songs.[5]
Don't Get Weird on Me Babe | ||||
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Studio album by | ||||
Released | 1991 | |||
Genre | Alternative rock | |||
Label | Polydor Records[1] | |||
Producer | Lloyd Cole, Fred Maher, Paul Hardiman | |||
Lloyd Cole chronology | ||||
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The album peaked at No. 40 on Billboard's Heatseekers Albums chart.[6] It peaked at No. 21 on the UK Albums Chart.[7] Cole promoted the album by touring with Robert Forster and Grant McLennan.[8]
Production
The album was produced by Cole, Fred Maher, and Paul Hardiman.[9] The string parts were arranged by Paul Buckmaster.[2] Robert Quine, Matthew Sweet, and Maher joined Cole on the "rock" half of the album.[10]
Critical reception
Review scores | |
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Source | Rating |
AllMusic | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
The Encyclopedia of Popular Music | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
Entertainment Weekly | B[11] |
St. Petersburg Times | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
Entertainment Weekly, noting the string arrangements on six of the songs, wrote that "Cole’s no dilettante, and Don’t Get Weird is a strong record ... But Cole should perhaps concentrate on delivering real rock & roll goods over a full album."[11] Trouser Press called Don't Get Weird on Me Babe "a great record," writing that "Cole’s uncomplicated romantic angst [is] made fleshy and devastating by the surrounding lushness of woodwinds, strings, percussion, piano and female backing vocals."[12]
Stereo Review deemed it "one of the most genuinely nervy and idiosyncratic major-label rock albums of the year."[13] Rolling Stone declared: "Lloyd Cole has made a late-Sixties pop album. Think drums with brushes, Hammond B-3 organ, a big string section; think Neil Diamond, Glen Campbell and Sinead [O'Connor]'s pal Frank."[14] The St. Petersburg Times called the album "a masterpiece" and "a breathtaking record full of inspired writing, smooth melodies and eloquent instrumentation."[5]
AllMusic wrote that the album was initially "considered a self-indulgent oddity ... In retrospect, however, it's clearly one of Lloyd Cole's finest works."[4]
Tracklist
- Butterfly
- There for Her
- Margo's Waltz
- Half of Everything
- Man Enough
- What He Doesn't Know
- Tell Your Sister
- Weeping Wine
- To the Lions
- Pay for It
- The One You Never Had
- She's a Girl and I'm a Man
References
- Larkin, Colin (27 May 2011). "The Encyclopedia of Popular Music". Omnibus Press – via Google Books.
- "Lloyd Cole Biography, Songs, & Albums". AllMusic.
- Buckley, Peter (4 December 2003). "The Rough Guide to Rock". Rough Guides – via Google Books.
- "Don't Get Weird on Me Babe - Lloyd Cole | Songs, Reviews, Credits | AllMusic" – via www.allmusic.com.
- Hall, Dave (22 November 1991). "A `WEIRD' TO THE WISE". St. Petersburg Times. Weekend. p. 21.
- "Lloyd Cole". Billboard.
- "LLOYD COLE | full Official Chart History | Official Charts Company". www.officialcharts.com.
- Wyman, Bill (12 December 1991). "Lloyd Cole". Chicago Reader.
- "Album Reviews -- Don't Get Weird on Me Babe by Lloyd Cole". Billboard. 103 (42): 76. 19 October 1991.
- Rotondi, James (March 1992). "Don't Get Weird on Me Babe by Lloyd Cole". Guitar Player. 26 (3): 135–136.
- "Don't Get Weird on Me, Babe". EW.com.
- "Lloyd Cole and the Commotions". Trouser Press. Retrieved 4 December 2021.
- Simels, Steve (January 1992). "Lloyd Cole Gets a Little Weird -- Don't Get Weird on Me, Babe by Lloyd Cole". Stereo Review. 57 (1): 72.
- Drozdowski, Ted (6 February 1992). "Recordings -- Don't Get Weird on Me, Babe by Lloyd Cole". Rolling Stone (623): 83.