''Say Something Good'' is the debut studio album by River City People, released by

EMI EMI Group Limited (formerly EMI Group plc until 2007; originally an initialism for Electric and Musical Industries, also referred to as EMI Records or simply EMI) was a British transnational conglomerate founded in March 1931 in London. At t ...

in Europe and Capitol in the US in 1989. Following a reissue in 1990, it reached No. 23 in the UK and remained in the charts for nine weeks. River City People signed a recording contract with EMI in 1988, after

Channel 4 Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by Channel Four Television Corporation. It is state-owned enterprise, publicly owned but, unlike the BBC, it receives no public funding and is funded en ...

's ''

The Chart Show ''The Chart Show'' (also known as ''The ITV Chart Show'' between 1989 and 1998) is a weekly syndicated music video programme, which ran in the United Kingdom from April 1986 until August 1998, with revivals in 2003 and 2008–2009. ''The Char ...

'' commissioned a video for the band's song "(What's Wrong With) Dreaming?". The band then recorded their debut album in

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

during January–March 1989 with producer

Don Gehman Don Gehman is an American record producer, engineer, and executive, best known for his work with John Mellencamp and Hootie & the Blowfish. AllMusic calls him one of "the most successful producers of the 1980s and 1990s." As a sound engineer, he ...

. Six singles were released from the album, the first of which, "(What's Wrong With) Dreaming?", was released in July 1989 and peaked at No. 70 in the UK. The follow-up, "Say Something Good", failed to chart and the third, "Walking On Ice", reached No. 62. The double A-side, "Carry the Blame"/"

California Dreamin' "California Dreamin" is a song written by John and Michelle Phillips in 1963 and first recorded by Barry McGuire. The best-known version is by the Mamas & the Papas, who sang backup on the original version and released it as a single in Dec ...

", was released in June 1990 and gave the band a No. 13 hit. A remixed version of "(What's Wrong With) Dreaming?" peaked at No. 40 and the final single, "When I Was Young", peaked at No. 62.

Reception

Upon release, ''

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'' wrote: "The band seem to have their roots in the late 60s. The songs all have a distinct 60s feel for melodies and harmonies, which makes it a pleasant, if not lovable record." ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...

'' described the album as one which "merges London pop sensibilities with American rock vibes". They added: "Singer

Siobhan Maher Siobhan Maher Kennedy (born 11 January 1964) is an English singer and songwriter. She was the lead vocalist of the Liverpool-based band River City People during the late 1980s and early 1990s. The band released two albums, '' Say Something Good'' ...

breathes dimension into sensitive and perceptive prose composed by bandmates/brothers Tim and Paul Speed." Mark Frith of ''

Smash Hits ''Smash Hits'' was a British music magazine aimed at young adults, originally published by EMAP. It ran from 1978 to 2006, and, after initially appearing monthly, was issued fortnightly during most of that time. The name survived as a brand ...

'' wrote: "Virtually all the songs are excellent and the Rivers aren't afraid to use manic guitars on straight-forward pop songs. On top of all that, Siobhan Maher's vocals are positively the chirpiest in pop." Anne Warren Murray of ''

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'' considered the album a "strong first effort" and added: "It's hard to say which side is better, since both are filled with alluring, melodic songs." She highlighted the "upbeat" tracks "(What's Wrong with) Dreaming?" and "Walking On Ice", and the "more mellow" "No Doubt" and "When I Was Young". Steven Miller of ''

The Daily Utah Chronicle The University of Utah (the U, U of U, or simply Utah) is a public research university in Salt Lake City, Utah, United States. It was established in 1850 as the University of Deseret by the General Assembly of the provisional State of Deseret, ...

'' wrote: "The lbum containsten cuts worth of quirky pop that owes a bit to

All About Eve ''All About Eve'' is a 1950 American Drama (film and television), drama film written and directed by Joseph L. Mankiewicz, and produced by Darryl F. Zanuck. It is based on the 1946 short story (and subsequent 1949 radio drama) "The Wisdom of E ...

, vintage U2 and

Laurie Anderson Laura Phillips "Laurie" Anderson (born June 5, 1947) is an American avant-garde artist, musician and filmmaker whose work encompasses performance art, pop music, and multimedia projects. Initially trained in violin and sculpting,Amirkhanian, Cha ...

but stands out with an identity all its own."

Track listing

Personnel

River City People *

- vocals * Tim Speed - guitars, vocals * David Snell - bass * Paul Speed - drums, percussion Additional musicians * Phil Shenale - keyboards, keyboard programming *

John Helliwell John Anthony Helliwell (born 15 February 1945) is an English musician, best known as the saxophonist, secondary keyboardist, and backing vocalist for the rock band Supertramp. He also served as an MC during the band's concerts, talking and ma ...

- saxophone on "Home and Dry" Production *

- producer, engineer * John Carter, Ed Thacker - engineer * Dan Bosworth, Pete Magdeleno, Robin Laine - assistant engineers * River City People - producers of "California Dreamin'" and "Huskisson St." * Nick Davis - producer, engineer and mixer on "California Dreamin'" * Ronnie Stone - producer of "Huskisson St." * Ronni O'Keefe - producer of "Find a Reason" Other * Abraham Pants - artwork (1989 release) * Paul Cox - photography (1989 release) * Normal Service - art direction, design (1990 release) * Peter Mountain - photography (1990 release)

Charts

References

{{Authority control 1989 debut albums EMI Records albums Capitol Records albums Albums produced by Don Gehman