Sense (The Lightning Seeds album)

Sense is the second album by English musical group The Lightning Seeds, released in 1992.[6] It was produced chiefly by Ian Broudie and Simon Rogers.[7]

Sense
Studio album by The Lightning Seeds
Released	6 April 1992
Recorded	1991, Rob's Front Room, Liverpool
Genre	Alternative rock, indie pop
Length	42:17
Label	Virgin (CDV 2690)
Producer	Ian Broudie, Simon Rogers[1]
The Lightning Seeds chronology
Cloudcuckooland (1990) Sense (1992) Jollification (1994)
Singles from Sense
"The Life of Riley" Released: 2 March 1992 "Sense" Released: 18 May 1992

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[2]
The Encyclopedia of Popular Music	[3]
Entertainment Weekly	B+[4]
MusicHound Rock: The Essential Album Guide	[5]

Background

"The Life of Riley", released as a single in 1992, was written for Broudie's son Riley.[8]

The album's second single, "Sense", was co-written by Broudie and Specials singer and long time writing partner Terry Hall. The single includes a track written by Broudie and Paul Simpson from their time as Care, "Flaming Sword", as a B-side. Hall released a re-recorded version of "Sense" with himself on vocals in 1994.

In 2009, an instrumental version of "Sense" was used in BMW's Story of Joy advertisement. The instrumental version of "The Life of Riley" also appeared on BBC's Match of the Day, soundtracking football high points.[3]

Critical reception

Trouser Press called the album a "disgruntled production extravaganza" and "a strange achievement but not an unpleasant one".[1] The Washington Post wrote that "the pop-rock sound of the previous album, though not utterly transformed, has become softer, vaguer, more liquid".[9]

Track listing

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

1. "Sense" – 4:12 (Broudie, Terry Hall)
2. "The Life of Riley" – 4:05
3. "Blowing Bubbles" – 4:16
4. "A Cool Place" – 2:57
5. "Where Flowers Fade" – 5:03 (Broudie, Hall)
6. "A Small Slice of Heaven" – 3:50 (Broudie, Hall)
7. "Tingle Tangle" – 3:22
8. "Happy" – 4:33 (Broudie, Ian McNabb)
9. "Marooned" – 4:40
10. "Thinking Up, Looking Down" – 5:19

Personnel

The Lightning Seeds Ian Broudie - vocals, all instruments, producer Simon Rogers - all instruments, producer Production Cenzo Townshend - engineer Phil Ault - additional engineer Simon Dawson - additional engineer Bob Ludwig - mastering

Additional musicians Mark Feltham - harmonica Alan Dunn - accordion Clive Layton - Hammond organ Roddy Lorimer - trumpet Terry Hall - backing vocals Juliet Roberts - backing vocals Ian McNabb - backing vocals Other personnel Peter Ashworth - photography

Charts

The album reached #50 in the UK Albums Chart and singles "The Life of Riley" and "Sense" would chart at a modest #28 and #31 respectively.

Charts (1992)	Peak chart position
UK Albums Chart	53[10]
U.S. Billboard 200	154

Certifications

• United Kingdom (BPI): Silver (1 July 1997)

References

1. "Lightning Seeds". Trouser Press. Retrieved 2 November 2020.
2. Parisien, Roch. "The Lightning Seeds: Sense > Review". AllMusic. Retrieved 6 August 2010.
3. Larkin, Colin (2006). The Encyclopedia of Popular Music. Volume 5: MUZE. p. 235.CS1 maint: location (link)
4. "Sense". EW.com.
5. MusicHound Rock: The Essential Album Guide. Visible Ink Press. 1999. p. 673.
6. The Rough Guide to Rock. Rough Guides. 2 November 2003. ISBN 9781858284576 – via Google Books.
7. "The Lightning Seeds | Biography & History". AllMusic.
8. "Dave Simpson finds out where Ian Brodie has been all these years". the Guardian. 30 April 2009.
9. Jenkins, Mark (24 January 1992). "NEW PSYCHEDELICS UNDER THE INFLUENCE" – via www.washingtonpost.com.
10. "LIGHTNING SEEDS | full Official Chart History | Official Charts Company". www.officialcharts.com.