''Positively Phranc'' is an album by the American musician Phranc, released in 1991. Phranc promoted the album by touring with

Morrissey Steven Patrick Morrissey (; born 22 May 1959), known professionally as Morrissey, is an English singer and songwriter. He came to prominence as the frontman and lyricist of rock band the Smiths, who were active from 1982 to 1987. Since then ...

. Phranc was dropped by

Island Records Island Records is a multinational record label owned by Universal Music Group. It was founded in 1959 by Chris Blackwell, Graeme Goodall, and Leslie Kong in Jamaica, and was eventually sold to PolyGram in 1989. Island and A&M Records, anoth ...

after the album's release.

Production

"Gertrude Stein" is Phranc's cover version of

Jonathan Richman Jonathan Michael Richman (born May 16, 1951) is an American singer, songwriter and guitarist. In 1970, he founded the Modern Lovers, an influential proto-punk band. Since the mid-1970s, Richman has worked either solo or with low-key acoustic a ...

's " Pablo Picasso";

D.J. Bonebrake Donald J. Bonebrake (born December 8, 1955) is an American musician who first emerged as the drummer of the punk rock band the Eyes (also featuring Charlotte Caffey of the Go-Go's). He is best known as an original member of and drummer for punk ...

played drums on the song. "Tipton" is a tribute to transgender jazz musician

Billy Tipton Billy Tipton (December 29, 1914 – January 21, 1989) was an American jazz musician, bandleader, and talent broker. Tipton lived and identified as a man for most of his adult life; after his death, friends and family were surprised to learn that ...

. "

Surfer Girl ''Surfer Girl'' is the third album by the American rock band the Beach Boys, released September 16, 1963 on Capitol Records. The album reached number 7 in the US during a chart stay of 56 weeks. This was the first album by the group for which B ...

", a duet with

Syd Straw Syd Straw (born 1958) is an American rock singer and songwriter. The daughter of actor Jack Straw (''The Pajama Game''), she began her career singing backup for Pat Benatar, then took her distinct voice to the indie/alternative scene and joined ...

, is a cover of the Beach Boys song. "Outta Here" is about the deaths of friends due to AIDS. Dave Alvin played guitar on "Hitchcock".

Two Nice Girls Two Nice Girls were a self-styled "dyke rock" band from Austin, Texas, featuring singer-songwriter Gretchen Phillips. They were together from 1985 to 1992, releasing three albums on Rough Trade Records. History The group formed in 1985, origi ...

sang on "I'm Not Romantic".

Critical reception

The Gazette The Gazette (stylized as the GazettE), formerly known as , is a Japanese visual kei Rock music, rock band, formed in Kanagawa Prefecture, Kanagawa in early 2002.''Shoxx'' Vol 106 June 2007 pg 40-45 The band is currently signed to Sony Music Recor ...

'' wrote that "Phranc proves that all anyone really needs is six strings and a point of view." The '' Chicago Tribune'' opined that ''Positively Phranc'' "is miles ahead of her first two albums, offering wit, a sense of balance, musical diversity and polished artistry that simply wasn't there before." '' Trouser Press'' noted that the album "intermittently brings tasteful electric accompaniment into the picture while narrowing the lyrical focus to mostly concentrate on romance." '' Entertainment Weekly'' lamented that "Phranc pens ironic little ditties, high on giggles but low on the insights that should come out of a lesbian's daily life in the straight world."

Robert Christgau Robert Thomas Christgau ( ; born April 18, 1942) is an American music journalist and essayist. Among the most well-known and influential music critics, he began his career in the late 1960s as one of the earliest professional rock critics and ...

considered "'64 Ford" to be the album's best track.

Track listing

All tracks composed by Phranc; except where indicated # "I Like You" # "I'm Not Romantic" # "'64 Ford" # "Hitchcock" # "Tipton" # "Dress Code" # "Why?" # " Gertrude Stein" (

) # "

" (

Brian Wilson Brian Douglas Wilson (born June 20, 1942) is an American musician, singer, songwriter, and record producer who co-founded the Beach Boys. Often called a genius for his novel approaches to pop composition, extraordinary musical aptitude, and m ...

) # "Outta Here"

Personnel

* Phranc - Producer, vocals, guitar * Warren Bruleigh - Producer

Release details

References

External links

Advocate review
{{Authority control Phranc albums 1991 albums Island Records albums