''Rub It Better'' is the third studio album by English new wave band

General Public In public relations and communication science, publics are groups of individual people, and the public (a.k.a. the general public) is the totality of such groupings. This is a different concept to the sociological concept of the ''Öffentlichkei ...

, released on 4 April 1995 by

Epic Records Epic Records is an American record label owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America Sony Corporation of America (SONAM, also known as SCA), is the American arm of the Japanese conglomerate Sony Group ...

. The band had not recorded together in almost 10 years.

Production

The album was produced by

Jerry Harrison Jeremiah Griffin Harrison (born February 21, 1949) is an American songwriter, musician, producer, and entrepreneur. He began his professional music career as a member of the cult band the Modern Lovers before becoming keyboardist and guitarist ...

, former keyboardist and guitarist for

Talking Heads Talking Heads were an American rock band formed in 1975 in New York City and active until 1991.Talkin ...

. The group chose to return to the ska and reggae sound of the Beat.

Critical reception

The ''

Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the Un ...

'' called the album "a tuneful collection that deftly combines an assortment of reggae, rock and dance-pop colors--the trademark of the Beat and the first edition of General Public." ''

The Kingston Whig-Standard ''The Kingston Whig-Standard'' is a newspaper in Kingston, Ontario, Canada. It is published five days a week, from Tuesday to Saturday. It publishes a mix of community, national and international news and is currently owned by Postmedia. It has ...

'' wrote that "the closest comparison is to B.A.D. (Big Audio Dynamite), whose leader, Mick Jones, was an honorary member of General Public for its first album and appears here again."

Track listing

# "It Must Be Tough" – 5:34 (

Dave Wakeling David Wakeling (born 19 February 1956) is an English singer, songwriter and musician, best known for his work with the band the Beat (known in North America as the English Beat) and General Public. Career Wakeling began his professional career ...

, Michael Railton, Roger Charlery) # "Rainy Days" – 4:06 (Charlery, Railton,

Horace Panter Horace Panter (born Stephen Graham Panter, 30 August 1953) also known as Sir Horace Gentleman, is the bassist for the British 2 Tone ska band The Specials. Early life Panter was born in Croydon, Surrey and spent most of his formative years in ...

) # "Hold It Deep" – 4:34 (Wakeling, Charlery, Railton,

Andy "Stoker" Growcott Andrew Growcott (a.k.a. Stoker) is a former member of the pop rock band Dexys Midnight Runners. After the Dexys broke up, he and another bandmate, Mickey Billingham, joined new wave band General Public. Growcott also played with Stephen Tin Ti ...

) # "Big Bed" – 4:12 (Norman Jones, Wakeling, Charlery, Railton) # "Punk" – 3:05 (Charlery) # "Friends Again" – 5:41 (Wakeling, David Ricketts, Railton) # "It's Weird" – 5:50 (Charlery, Railton) # "Never Not Alone" – 4:21 (Wakeling, Charlery, Railton) # "Handgun" – 4:52 (Wakeling, Railton) # "Blowhard" – 4:38 (Wakeling, Railton) # "

Warm Love "Warm Love" is a hit song written by Northern Irish singer-songwriter Van Morrison. The song was included on his 1973 album '' Hard Nose the Highway''. It was a Top Forty single hit when released in April 1973.Yorke, Into the Music, p. 102 Jack ...

" – 3:35 (

Van Morrison Sir George Ivan Morrison (born 31 August 1945), known professionally as Van Morrison, is a Northern Irish singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist whose recording career spans seven decades. He has won two Grammy Awards. As a teenager in t ...

) # "Rub It Better" – 5:32 (Charlery, Wakeling, Patrick Murray)

Personnel

General Public *

David Wakeling David Wakeling (born 19 February 1956) is an English singer, songwriter and musician, best known for his work with the band the Beat (known in North America as the English Beat) and General Public. Career Wakeling began his professional career ...

– vocals, guitar *

Ranking Roger Roger Charlery (21 February 1963 – 26 March 2019), known professionally as Ranking Roger,Strong, Martin C. (2002) ''The Great Rock Discography, 6th Edition'', Canongate, , p. 72Huey, Steve "Ranking Roger Biography, Allmusic, retrieved 17 Februa ...

– vocals, programming *Michael Railton – keyboards, vocals *Norman Jones – percussion, vocals *Wayne Lothian – bass *Dan Chase – drums with: *

– guitars, keyboards, background vocals * Mick Jones – guitars *

Chris Spedding Christopher John Spedding (born Peter Robinson, 17 June 1944) is an English musician, singer, guitarist, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, composer, and record producer. In a career spanning more than 50 years, Spedding is best known for his st ...

– guitars * Alex Weir – guitars *Chris Karn – guitars *Chris Manos – guitars *Marc Antoine Vouilloux – guitars *

Saxa Saxa may refer to: *Saxa (food product), a brand of salt and pepper *Saxa (musician) Saxa may refer to: *Saxa (food product) Saxa is a brand of herbs, spices, salt and pepper in the United Kingdom and Australia. Formerly a brand of Rank Hovis McD ...

– saxophone *Andrew Gayle – saxophone *Tom Fabre – saxophone *

David Longoria David Longoria is a GRAMMY Award nominated American trumpeter, songwriter, singer, and music producer. Singles Longoria's dance/pop song " Deeper Love", a duet with CeCe Peniston, peaked at No. 14 under ''Billboard'' magazine's "Hot Dance ...

– trumpet/ trumpet solo "Friends Again" *Greg Smith – trombone *

Norton Buffalo Phillip Jackson (September 28, 1951 – October 30, 2009), best known as Norton Buffalo, was an American singer-songwriter, country and blues harmonica player, record producer, bandleader and recording artist who was a versatile proponent of t ...

– harmonica *

Pato Banton Pato Banton (born Patrick Murray; 5 October 1961) is a reggae singer and toaster from Birmingham, England. He received the nickname "Pato Banton" from his stepfather; his first name derives from the sound of a Jamaican owl calling "patoo, patoo" ...

– toasting *Arlene Newson – background vocals *Andrea Gaines – background vocals *Sharon Celani – background vocals

References

{{Authority control General Public albums 1995 albums Epic Records albums Albums produced by Jerry Harrison