''Resident Alien'' is the debut studio album by the English rock band

Spacehog Spacehog is an English-American alternative rock band, formed in 1994 in New York City by four British men who were living in the city (lead vocalist and bassist Royston Langdon, rhythm guitarist Anthony Langdon, drummer Jonny Cragg and lead g ...

. Released by

Sire Records Sire Records (formerly Sire Records Company) is an American record label owned by Warner Music Group and distributed by Warner Records. History Beginnings The label was founded in 1966 as Sire Productions by Seymour Stein and Richard Gotteh ...

and

Elektra Records Elektra Records (or Elektra Entertainment) is an American record label owned by Warner Music Group, founded in 1950 by Jac Holzman and Paul Rickolt. It played an important role in the development of contemporary folk and rock music between the ...

on 24 October 1995, the album was certified gold on 29 July 1996 and included the hit single " In the Meantime", which reached the top of the

Mainstream Rock Tracks Mainstream Rock is a music chart published by '' Billboard'' magazine that ranks the most-played songs on mainstream rock radio stations in the United States. It is an administrative category that combines the " active rock" and " heritage rock" ...

chart in the US, and remained there for four weeks. Most of ''Resident Alien''s basic tracks were recorded live in a barn in

Woodstock, New York Woodstock is a Administrative divisions of New York#Town, town in Ulster County, New York, United States, in the northern part of the county, northwest of Kingston, New York, Kingston. It lies within the borders of the Catskill Park. The popula ...

. It was intended to give the album the immediacy of live room recording. Although Jonny Cragg makes his singing debut in "Skylark" on the band's second LP, '' The Chinese Album'', it is his voice that introduces "Space Is the Place" on ''Resident Alien''. The spoken line in the middle of "Never Coming Down (Part II)", "Everybody in the world is bent", comes from the 1969 movie ''

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''. The movie also features jail inmates clapping out the rhythm used in this song. In a tribute to the film '' Candyman'', the chorus to "Candyman" repeats the titular name four times (also referencing the

Sammy Davis Jr. Samuel George Davis Jr. (December 8, 1925 – May 16, 1990) was an American singer, actor, comedian, dancer, and musician. At age two, Davis began his career in Vaudeville with his father Sammy Davis Sr. and the Will Mastin Trio, which t ...

standard Standard may refer to: Symbols * Colours, standards and guidons, kinds of military signs * Standard (emblem), a type of a large symbol or emblem used for identification Norms, conventions or requirements * Standard (metrology), an object ...

, originally appearing in the 1971 film

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). "Only a Few" and "In the Meantime" were used in the 1996 film ''Libor Karas World Tour, The Bouncing Czech''. "In the Meantime" was also used as the theme song for

David Spade David Wayne Spade (born July 22, 1964) is an American stand-up comedian, actor and podcaster. His comedic style, in both his stand-up material and acting roles, relies heavily on sarcasm and self-deprecation. For his roles on television, Spade h ...

's 1998 one-hour

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special ''David Spade: Take the Hit''; was used in the film '' Fanboys''; is a playable song in the video game ''

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'' as a re-recording, as the original recording featured in ''

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''; served as the theme song for the TV show ''

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''; and was featured in the film '' Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3''. "Never Coming Down (Part II)" was featured in the 1996 movie '' D3: The Mighty Ducks''.

Critical reception

'' The Gazette'' wrote: "While the band sets the crunch of 'Cruel to Be Kind' (not Nick Lowe) against the bubble of 'The Last Dictator', singer Royston Langdon does Bowie as Bay City Roller."

Track listing

* The song "To Be a Millionaire... Was It Likely?" ends at 2:10. After 11 minutes of silence (2:10 – 13:10), begins "Untitled".

Personnel

Credits adapted from the liner notes of ''Resident Alien''. ;Spacehog *Royston Langdon – vocals, bass guitar,

Moog synthesizer The Moog synthesizer ( ) is a modular synthesizer invented by the American engineer Robert Moog in 1964. Moog's company, R. A. Moog Co., produced numerous models from 1965 to 1981, and again from 2014. It was the first commercial synthesizer ...

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, piano,

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*Antony Langdon – guitar,

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synthesizer, Moog synthesizer, Hammond organ, vocals *Jonny Cragg – drums, percussion, backing vocals *Richard Steel – lead guitar ;Production *Todd Toddney Vos – assistant engineer *Carl Plaster – drum technician *

Bryce Goggin Bryce Goggin is an American record producer and sound engineer. His career began in the early 1990s, working at Baby Monster Studios. He first received note for mixing the album '' Crooked Rain, Crooked Rain'' by Pavement. He has since worked wit ...

– mixing *Sue Dryer – assistant mixing *Dave Voight – assistant mixing * Scott Hull – mastering ;Imagery *Mary Iggy Frey – Hog logo design

Charts

Certifications

References

{{Authority control 1995 debut albums Elektra Records albums Spacehog albums