Speed Ballads

Speed Ballads is the second album by the band Republica. Released in 1998, the album was the follow-up to Republica's self-titled debut album.

Speed Ballads
Studio album by Republica
Released	November 1998
Recorded	Republica, Westside, Metropolis, Strongroom, Whitfield Street, The Barge & Heirophony, London
Label	Deconstruction BMG
Producer	Ian Stanley Andy Gray Clive Langer Alan Winstanley Ian Broudie
Republica chronology
Republica (1996) Speed Ballads (1998)

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic	[1]
NME	[2]

Release

Speed Ballads reached #37 on the UK Album Charts.[3] The album never received release in the United States.[4]

Singles

The album spawned only one single, "From Rush Hour With Love." It achieved modest success, peaking at number 20 on the UK Singles chart, but spending only three weeks on the chart.[3] The follow-up single, "Try Anything,"[1] received only limited release, due to the bankruptcy and closure of Deconstruction Records, the group's label.[5]

Critical reception

The album was met with mixed reviews from contemporary music critics. AllMusic's Jason Damas felt that the album "exhibits some remarkable growth" over its predecessor, calling the album "far more diverse" and highlighting "Try Everything," "From Rush Hour with Love," and "Fading of the Man" as choice cuts.[1]

Track listing

All tracks are written by Saffron, Tim Dorney and Johnny Male, additional songwriters are noted below.

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"From Rush Hour with Love"		3:25
2.	"Fading of the Man"		4:34
3.	"Try Everything"	Guy Batson	4:02
4.	"Luxury Cage"	Andy Todd	5:03
5.	"Faster Faster"		3:20
6.	"Nothing's Feeling New"	Jeremy Williams	3:51
7.	"Millennium"	Todd	3:14
8.	"Pretty Girl Hate"		3:47
9.	"Kung Fu Movies"	Pete Smith	4:00
10.	"Pub Pusher"		4:22

B-Sides

There are known to be five B-sides from the Speed Ballads era.

1. "World Ends in the Morning" (from the "From Rush Hour with Love" CD single)
2. "Clone My Soul" (from the "From Rush Hour with Love" CD single)
3. "House Special" (from the "From Rush Hour with Love" 7" Vinyl single)
4. "Ready to Go" [Live from Cardiff] (From the "Try Everything" CD promo single)
5. "Drop Dead Gorgeous" [Live from Cardiff] (From the "Try Everything" CD promo single)

Personnel

Republica

• Saffron - vocals
• Tim Dorney - keyboards, programming, mixing
• Jonny Male - guitars, backing vocals

with:

• Pete Riley - drums

Technical

• Ian Stanley - producer
• Andy Gray - producer, mixing
• Clive Langer - producer, mixing
• Alan Winstanley - producer, mixing
• Ian Broudie - producer
• Bob Kraushaar - mixing
• Gary Langan - mixing
• Ross Cullum - mixing
• Cenzo Townshend - mixing
• Brian Pugsley - additional engineering
• Jon Astley - mastering
• Mike Diver - photography, manipulation
• Big Active Ltd. - design

References

1. Allmusic review
2. "Review: Republica – Speed Ballads". NME. 29 August 1998. Retrieved 20 November 2012.
3. "Republica chart history". Official Charts. Official Charts Company. Retrieved 25 April 2017.
4. Bush, John. "Republica bio". AllMusic. RhythmOne. Retrieved 25 April 2017.
5. ""Try Anything" at Discogs". Discogs. Retrieved 25 April 2017.

External links

• Speed Ballads at YouTube (streamed copy where licensed)