''Sell Me a God'' is the 1989 debut album by the British

alternative rock Alternative rock (also known as alternative music, alt-rock or simply alternative) is a category of rock music that evolved from the independent music underground of the 1970s. Alternative rock acts achieved mainstream success in the 1990s w ...

band

Eat Eating (also known as consuming) is the ingestion of food. In biology, this is typically done to provide a heterotrophic organism with energy and nutrients and to allow for growth. Animals and other heterotrophs must eat in order to survive – ...

. Prior to the album's release, the band members had all been homeless, with a few of them

squatting Squatting is the action of occupying an abandoned or unoccupied area of land or a building (usually residential) that the squatter does not own, rent or otherwise have lawful permission to use. The United Nations estimated in 2003 that there wer ...

London King's Cross railway station King's Cross railway station, also known as London King's Cross, is a passenger railway terminus in the London Borough of Camden, on the edge of Central London. It is in the London station group, one of the List of busiest railway stations in ...

Production

The music on ''Sell Me a God'' encompasses a variety of styles, including

blues Blues is a music genre and musical form that originated among African Americans in the Deep South of the United States around the 1860s. Blues has incorporated spiritual (music), spirituals, work songs, field hollers, Ring shout, shouts, cha ...

hip-hop Hip-hop or hip hop (originally disco rap) is a popular music genre that emerged in the early 1970s from the African-American community of New York City. The style is characterized by its synthesis of a wide range of musical techniques. Hi ...

, and

funk Funk is a music genre that originated in African-American communities in the mid-1960s when musicians created a rhythmic, danceable new form of music through a mixture of various music genres that were popular among African-Americans in the ...

Release and reception

The album reached No. 10 on the

UK Indie Chart The UK Independent Singles Chart and UK Independent Albums Chart are charts of the best-selling independent singles and albums, respectively, in the United Kingdom. Originally published in January 1980, and widely known as the indie chart, the ...

. The album failed to gain much popularity outside of the UK. David Toop, writing for ''

The Times ''The Times'' is a British Newspaper#Daily, daily Newspaper#National, national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its modern name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its si ...

'' described it as an "impressive" debut. The ''

Orlando Sentinel The ''Orlando Sentinel'' is the primary newspaper of Orlando, Florida, and the Central Florida region, in the United States. It was founded in 1876 and is currently owned by Tribune Publishing Company. The ''Orlando Sentinel'' is owned by pare ...

'' praised "the altered-state guitars and the biting irony lurking in the lyrics." Doug Brod, writing for ''

Trouser Press ''Trouser Press'' was a rock and roll magazine started in New York in 1974 as a mimeographed fanzine by editor/publisher Ira Robbins, fellow fan of the Who, Dave Schulps, and Karen Rose under the name "Trans-Oceanic Trouser Press" (a reference ...

'', described the album as a "most impressive debut", writing that the diverse influences on the album "created an instantly familiar record that ultimately sounds like no one else". According to Ira Robbins, also from ''Trouser Press'', it was "grossly underappreciated". ''Sell Me a God'' was released on CD, MC and vinyl, with the CD and MC release adding three bonus tracks, including a cover of " Summer in the City" by

the Lovin' Spoonful The Lovin' Spoonful is a Canadian-American folk-rock band formed in Greenwich Village, New York City, in 1964. The band were among the most popular groups in the United States for a short period in the mid-1960s and their music and image influ ...

Track listing

All tracks composed by Eat # "Tombstone" – 2:53 # "Electric City" – 4:02 # "Fatman" – 4:50 # "Stories" – 2:42 # "Walking Man" – 3:51 # "Skin" – 4:43 # "Red Moon" – 5:49 (bonus track on CD and MC release) # "Insect Head" – 5:24 # "Body Bag" – 5:04 # "Things I Need" – 4:14 # "Judgement Train" – 4:12 # "Gyrate" – 6:06 (bonus track on CD and MC release) # " Summer in the City" – 3:30 (bonus track on CD and MC release) # "Mr & Mrs Smack" – 5:03

Personnel

* Tim Sewell – bass guitar, synthesizer, backing vocals *

Pete Howard Peter Howard is an English rock drummer. He was a member of the Clash from 1983 until 1986. Career The Clash (1983–86) Howard joined the Clash in spring 1983. Drummer Topper Headon had been fired the previous year – shortly before the ...

– drums, percussion * Max Noble – guitar, percussion * Paul Noble – guitar, percussion, backing vocals * Ange Dolittle – vocals, harmonica

References

External links

The Aural Dustbin review
{{Authority control 1989 debut albums Eat (band) albums Fiction Records albums