''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 ''
The Italian Job
''The Italian Job'' is a 1969 British comedy Caper story, caper film written by Troy Kennedy Martin, produced by Michael Deeley, directed by Peter Collinson (film director), Peter Collinson, and starring Michael Caine. The film's plot centres ...
''. 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
Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory
''Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory'' is a 1971 American musical film, musical fantasy film directed by Mel Stuart from a screenplay by Roald Dahl, based on his 1964 novel ''Charlie and the Chocolate Factory''. It stars Gene Wilder as chocol ...
).
"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
HBO
Home Box Office (HBO) is an American pay television service, which is the flagship property of namesake parent-subsidiary Home Box Office, Inc., itself a unit owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. The overall Home Box Office business unit is based a ...
stand-up comedy
Stand-up comedy is a performance directed to a live audience, where the performer stands on a stage (theatre), stage and delivers humour, humorous and satire, satirical monologues sometimes incorporating physical comedy, physical acts. These ...
special ''David Spade: Take the Hit''; was used in the film ''
Fanboys''; is a playable song in the video game ''
Guitar Hero 5
''Guitar Hero 5'' is a 2009 rhythm game developed by Neversoft and published by Activision. It is the fifth main installment and the ninth overall installment in the Guitar Hero, ''Guitar Hero'' series. The game was released internationally in ...
'' as a re-recording, as the original recording featured in ''
Rock Band 3
''Rock Band 3'' is a 2010 rhythm game developed by Harmonix. The game was initially published and distributed by MTV Games and Electronic Arts, respectively, on October 26, 2010. Mad Catz took over both roles and re-released the title on Novembe ...
''; served as the theme song for the TV show ''
Hindsight
Hindsight bias, also known as the knew-it-all-along phenomenon or creeping determinism, is the common tendency for people to perceive past events as having been more predictable than they were.
After an event has occurred, people often believe ...
''; 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 ...
,
Hammond organ
The Hammond organ is an electric organ invented by Laurens Hammond and John M. Hanert, first manufactured in 1935. Multiple models have been produced, most of which use sliding #Drawbars, drawbars to vary sounds. Until 1975, sound was created ...
, piano,
Magnus
Magnus, meaning "Great" in Latin, was used as cognomen of Gnaeus Pompeius Magnus in the first century BC. The best-known use of the name during the Roman Empire is for the fourth-century Western Roman Emperor Magnus Maximus. The name gained wid ...
chord organ
Chord organ is a kind of home organ that has a single short keyboard and a set of chord buttons, enabling the musician to play a melody or lead with one hand and accompanying chords with the other, like the accordion with a set of chord butto ...
*Antony Langdon – guitar,
Roland Juno-106
The Roland Juno-106 is a synthesizer released by Roland Corporation in February 1984.
Features
The Juno-106 is a polyphonic synthesizer with six voices. It is an analog synthesizer but with digitally controlled oscillators and chorus effects. ...
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