Cloudcuckooland (album)

Cloudcuckooland is the debut album by British band the Lightning Seeds, released in 1990. "Pure" was the band's first hit in the United Kingdom, and their only top 40 entry in the United States.[1]

Cloudcuckooland
Studio album by The Lightning Seeds
Released	29 January 1990
Recorded	1989, England
Genre	Alternative rock, indie pop
Length	46:34
Label	Ghetto (GHETT 3)
Producer	Ian Broudie
The Lightning Seeds chronology
Cloudcuckooland (1990) Sense (1992)
Singles from Cloudcuckooland
"Pure" Released: 26 June 1989 "Joy" Released: 30 October 1989 "All I Want" Released: 30 April 1990

Liverpool scene peers Andy McCluskey and Ian McNabb – frontmen of OMD and the Icicle Works, respectively – appeared in guest roles.

Reception and legacy

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[2]

Dean Carlson of AllMusic awarded the album 4/5 stars, and wrote: "Even in these early days, with singles like "Pure" and "All I Want", you can hear why comparisons to a less burlesque Pet Shop Boys or a Matthew Sweet synth tribute band didn't have to be unpleasant criticisms."[2]

"All I Want" was covered by Susanna Hoffs, formerly of the Bangles, on her 1996 album Susanna Hoffs. It was a minor US hit and a UK hit at No. 33 for two weeks.

Track listing

The CD version of Cloudcuckooland included an extra track, "God Help Them", which was originally a B-side and not on the LP version. The US track listing differs from the UK version with "God Help Them" replaced by two other B-sides, "Fools" and "Frenzy", and it was released on the MCA label rather than the indie label Ghetto. The re-release of the US album includes a new recording of "All I Want".[3]

All songs written by Ian Broudie (except where stated).

1. "All I Want" – 2:50 (Broudie, Peter Coyle)
2. "Bound in a Nutshell" – 4:29
3. "Pure" – 3:45
4. "Sweet Dreams" – 4:25 (Broudie, Richard Jobson)
5. "The Nearly Man" – 3:06
6. "Joy" – 4:13
7. "Love Explosion" – 4:10
8. "Don't Let Go" – 3:54
9. "Control the Flame" – 3:22 (Broudie, Peter Coyle)
10. "The Price" – 4:20

The track "Sweet Dreams" was released in the US as a promo single on MCA Records which included a cover of Tim Hardin's "Hang Onto a Dream" and a version of "Flaming Sword" originally by Care, a former band of Broudie.[4]

Bonus tracks

UK CD bonus track

11. "God Help Them" – 3:44 (Broudie, Paul Simpson)

U.S. bonus tracks

11. "Fools" – 4:08
12. "Frenzy" – 3:56

Personnel

The Lightning Seeds Ian Broudie – various instruments, vocals, producer Production Cenzo Townshend – engineer Ian McFarlane – assistant engineer Paul Cobbold – additional engineer Pete Coleman – additional engineer Simon Rogers – additional programming Steve Brown – additional programming Greg Fulginiti – mastering

Additional musicians Henry Priestman – piano, organ Micky Kearns – saxophone Andy McCluskey – keyboards Ian McNabb – backing vocals Cate Shanks – backing vocals Other personnel Peter Ashworth – photography

Charts

Charts (1990)	Peak chart position
UK Albums Chart	50
U.S. Billboard 200	46

References

1. "Pure by The Lightning Seeds - Songfacts". www.songfacts.com.
2. Carlson, Dean. "The Lightning Seeds: Cloudcuckooland > Review". AllMusic. Retrieved 6 August 2010.
3. Cloudcuckooland track listing at www.lightning-seeds.co.uk
4. "The Lightning Seeds Sweet Dreams US Promo". Eil.com.