"Jennifer She Said" is a song by British band

Lloyd Cole and the Commotions Lloyd Cole and the Commotions were a British rock and pop band that formed in Glasgow, Scotland in 1982. Between 1984 and 1989, the band scored four Top 20 albums and five Top 40 singles in the UK; it also had success in several other countri ...

, released in 1987 as the second single from their third and final studio album ''

Mainstream Mainstream may refer to: Film * ''Mainstream'' (film), a 2020 American film Literature * ''Mainstream'' (fanzine), a science fiction fanzine * Mainstream Publishing, a Scottish publisher * ''Mainstream'', a 1943 book by Hamilton Basso * ...

'' (1987). The song was written by the band and produced by

Ian Stanley Ian Christopher Stanley (born 28 February 1957) is a British musician, songwriter and record producer. He was a member of Tears for Fears for most of the 1980s, and played a key role in the making of their multi-platinum-selling second studio a ...

. It peaked at number 31 in the UK Singles Chart and remained in the top 75 for five weeks.

Background

Speaking of the song's lyrics, Cole told ''

Smash Hits ''Smash Hits'' was a British music magazine aimed at young adults, originally published by EMAP. It ran from 1978 to 2006, and, after initially appearing monthly, was issued fortnightly during most of that time. The name survived as a brand ...

'' in 1988,

Critical reception

Upon its release as a single, Bob Stanley of ''

NME ''New Musical Express'' (''NME'') is a British music, film, gaming and culture website, bimonthly magazine, and brand. Founded as a newspaper in 1952, with the publication being referred to as a "Rock music, rock inkie", the ''NME'' would be ...

'' praised "Jennifer She Said" as "a charming vignette to tattoos and marriage" that "yields all those deft lyrical twists which seemed to have deserted Cole after the self-parody of ''Easy Pieces'' and the forgettable ' My Bag'". He considered it the band's "best single in yonks" and noted it could have been "one of the finer moments" from the band's 1984 debut album ''

Rattlesnakes Rattlesnakes are venomous snakes that form the genera '' Crotalus'' and ''Sistrurus'' of the subfamily Crotalinae (the pit vipers). All rattlesnakes are vipers. Rattlesnakes are predators that live in a wide array of habitats, hunting small an ...

''. He added, "Most impressive is the way in which the production includes nothing but a small string section for frills. Delightful." Jerry Smith of ''

Music Week ''Music Week'' is a trade publication for the UK record industry distributed via a website and a monthly print magazine. It is published by Future. History Founded in 1959 as ''Record Retailer'', it relaunched on 18 March 1972 as ''Music We ...

'' described it as a "superb track" and added that, in light of the preceding single's failure to reach the top 40, "If talent like this can't result in hits, then God help us!" Kate Davies of '' Number One'' awarded three out of five stars and commented, "One of the best things they've had out for yonks. Lloyd's got the sort of voice that soon gets under your skin once you've got used to its compelling breathiness." Marcus Hodge of the ''

Cambridge Evening News The ''Cambridge News'' (formerly the ''Cambridge Evening News'') is a British daily newspaper. Published each weekday and on Saturdays, it is distributed from its Milton base. In the period December 2010 – June 2011 it had an average daily c ...

'' praised it as the "strongest song" from ''Mainstream'' and added, "Lloyd at his best, being both literary and tuneful. Hope it's a hit." In a 2012 feature on the song, Jim Griffin, writing for ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...

'', described it as his favourite Lloyd Cole song and noted the "jangly guitars", "croaked delivery" and lyrics "about the fickle nature of early romance".

Track listing

7–inch single (UK, Europe and Australasia) #"Jennifer She Said" – 3:03 #"Perfect Blue" – 4:13 12–inch single (UK, Europe and Australasia) #"Jennifer She Said" – 3:03 #"Perfect Blue" – 4:13 #"

Mystery Train "Mystery Train" is a song written and recorded by American blues musician Junior Parker in 1953. Originally performed in the style of a Memphis blues or rhythm and blues tune, it was inspired by earlier songs and later became a popular rockabil ...

" (Recorded live at 'The World' USA 1986) – 2:48 #" I Don't Believe You" (Recorded live at 'The World' USA 1986) – 3:04 CD single (UK and Europe) #"Jennifer She Said" – 3:03 #"Perfect Blue" – 4:13 #" My Bag" (Dancing Remix) – 6:38

Personnel

Lloyd Cole and the Commotions *

Lloyd Cole Lloyd Cole (born 31 January 1961) is an English singer, songwriter and musician. He was lead vocalist of Lloyd Cole and the Commotions from 1984 to 1989 and subsequently worked solo. Early life Cole was born in Buxton, Derbyshire, England. He ...

– vocals, guitar * Neil Clark – guitar * Blair Cowan – keyboards *

Lawrence Donegan Lawrence Donegan (born 13 July 1961) is a Scottish journalist and former musician.Lawrence Donegan ...

– bass *

Stephen Irvine Stephen Irvine (born 1959) is a Scottish musician, formerly a member of Lloyd Cole and the Commotions. Following the breakup of that band, he continued to work in the music industry and as a session musician worked with Del Amitri, Étienne Dah ...

– drums Additional musicians * Nicky Holland – string arrangements ("Jennifer She Said") Production *

– producer ("Jennifer She Said", "My Bag") * Femi Jiya – recording ("Jennifer She Said") * Bruce Lampcov – mixing ("Jennifer She Said") *

Paul Hardiman Paul Hardiman is a British record producer. He worked with Lloyd Cole and the Commotions (on their debut ''Rattlesnakes'') and Lloyd Cole's solo career. His other production credits include Chris de Burgh's most commercially successful albums '' I ...

– producer ("Perfect Blue") *

François Kevorkian François Kevorkian (; born 10 January 1954), also known by the stage name François K, is a French DJ, producer, remixer and label owner of Armenian descent and based in the United States of America, who started his career DJing in clubs such ...

– remixer ("My Bag") Other * Alastair Thain – photography * Michael Nash Associates – sleeve

Charts

References

{{authority control 1987 songs 1987 singles 1988 singles Lloyd Cole songs Songs written by Neil Clark (musician) Songs written by Lloyd Cole Song recordings produced by Ian Stanley Polydor Records singles