''Pet Rock'' is the second and final album by English band

the Sinceros The Sinceros were a New wave music, new wave and power pop band from London, England, who recorded two albums for Epic Records, ''The Sound of Sunbathing (The Sinceros album), The Sound of Sunbathing'' (1979) and ''Pet Rock (album), Pet Rock'' ...

. The album was released worldwide and achieved moderate commercial success. The album has been released on CD by Wounded Bird. Originally intended to be released under the title '' 2nd Debut'' in 1980, the album reached the test pressing stage but was recalled by

Epic Records Epic Records is an American record label owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America, the American division of Japanese conglomerate Sony is a Japanese multinational conglomerate (company), cong ...

and reworked into ''Pet Rock'' under the guidance of producer

Gus Dudgeon Angus Boyd "Gus" Dudgeon (30 September 1942 – 21 July 2002) was an English record producer, who oversaw many of Elton John's most acclaimed recordings, including his commercial breakthrough, " Your Song". Their collaboration led to seven US N ...

. Dudgeon is credited with the band and Paul Riley.

Critical reception

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 ...

'', comparing the album to the band's debut, wrote that it "removes any trace of oddness and fails to deliver the cleverness that would have redeemed it."

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...

deemed the album "potent power-pop, fueled by glistening guitar chords, hummable melodies, Todd Rundgren-ish vocals, and Gus Dudgeon's crystal clear production."

Track listing

All tracks composed by Mark Kjeldsen; except where noted. #"Disappearing" #"Memory Lane" #"Socially" #"Down Down" #"Barcelona" #"Falling In and Out of Love" #"Sleight of Hand" #"Nothing Changes" (Ron François) #"Girl I Realise" (Ron François) #"As the World Turns" (Ron François) #"Midsong"

Personnel

;The Sinceros *

Mark Kjeldsen Mark Kjeldsen (1953 in Kent, England – 1992) was a founder member of The Sinceros (1978–1981), who wrote most of the songs on their two albums, including their minor hit single " Take Me To Your Leader." He had been a member of the London R&B ...

- guitar, vocals *

Ron François Ron François (born April 1958) is a British musician, who first came to notice as the lead singer and bass player of the English R&B band The Strutters, which was involved in the London pub rock scene of the mid-1970s. In 1978, he recorded ...

- bass guitar, vocals *

Don Snow Don Snow (born 13 January 1957 in London) is a British vocalist and multi-instrumentalist, who plays the Hammond organ, piano, guitar, bass guitar, drums and saxophone. He is primarily known for his work with the new wave bands Squeeze, the Sin ...

- keyboards, vocals *

Bobby Irwin Bobby Irwin (23 March 1953 – 8 May 2015) was an English drummer, record producer and songwriter. He is known for working in close collaboration with Nick Lowe as co-songwriter and drummer and as a member of Lowe's band the Cowboy Outfit, as w ...

- drums with: * Huw Gower - guitar solo on "As the World Turns"

Production credits

(Tracks 1, 2, 4, 5, 9, 11) *Produced by

*Engineered by Graham Dickson *Assisted by Mark Chamberlain *Recorded at CBS Studios,

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

(Tracks 6, 8, 10) *Produced by

The Sinceros The Sinceros were a New wave music, new wave and power pop band from London, England, who recorded two albums for Epic Records, ''The Sound of Sunbathing (The Sinceros album), The Sound of Sunbathing'' (1979) and ''Pet Rock (album), Pet Rock'' ...

*Engineered by Aldo Bocca *Assisted by Nick Froome *Recorded at Eden Studios,

*Remixed by

(Tracks 3, 7) *Produced & engineered by Paul Riley for Riviera Global Productions Ltd. *Assisted by Rob Keyloch *Recorded at AM-Pro Studios,

*Remixed by

References

{{Authority control The Sinceros albums 1981 albums Epic Records albums Albums produced by Paul Riley (musician) Albums produced by Gus Dudgeon