A New Morning
Encyclopedia
A New Morning is the fifth studio album by English
alternative rock
band Suede
, released in September 2002. By the time the album was released, public interest in the band had waned, as shown by the poor charting of both the album and singles. Despite this, however, the album received moderate praise from critics and is generally liked by fans due to its warmer, and more simplistic sound (as opposed to Head Music
). All the songs were produced by Stephen Street
, except "Positivity" which was produced by John Leckie
, and "You Belong to Me" which was produced by Dave Eringa
.
and subsequent tour, keyboardist Neil Codling
announced his departure from the group on 23 March 2001, citing problems with Chronic fatigue syndrome
. Singer Brett Anderson
was furious at Codling's leaving, but understood the reasons behind his departure: "He couldn't help it, I know, but I did feel aggrieved. I felt let down. But more at the universe than at Neil." Codling was replaced by former Strangelove
keyboardist Alex Lee
. Anderson also had become sober for this record, overcoming his crack addiction and claiming that A New Morning was "the first ever Suede record that wasn’t influenced in its making by drugs". Anderson wrote lyrics isolated in a country house in Surrey away from the rest of the band, where he immersed himself in music and literature. He read Atomised by Michel Houellebecq
and books by Albert Camus
, Leonard Cohen
and Paul Auster
. Anderson says, "I created a deliberate vacuum so all these influences would flood in. I spent a lot of time walking in the countryside, sometimes for hours and hours, fascinated by nature and its battle with concrete and steel. I was living in Concrete Island
by J.G. Ballard."
The band began recording demos at Stanbridge Farm Studios in West Sussex
in July 2000. In October the band took a break from writing to perform their only gig of the year, which took place in Reykjavík
, Iceland
, where they premiered nine new songs. The group originally began working with American
producer Tony Hoffer
in 2001, and anticipated having a single released by Autumn
. Hoffer and Anderson had originally met in a toilet at Paisley Park in Minneapolis, Minnesota, where the two hit it off, finding several common musical interests. The meeting led to Anderson asking for Hoffer's input on some of the group's recent work. In February 2001 the band took up residency at Rockfield Studios
in Monmouth, Wales for a three-week trial run with Hoffer. The band were unimpressed with the trial run, especially Simon Gilbert
and Richard Oakes
, who both had strong opinions on the results. Nevertheless, the band decided to record the album with Hoffer and descended on Parkgate Studios, Hastings
, in May with their new member Alex Lee, following Codling's departure. Although the group recorded ten songs with Hoffer that Anderson said were the "best we've written," most of the material recorded with him producing was scrapped. In September the group recorded two songs with ex The Stone Roses
producer John Leckie
. The versions of "Beautiful Loser" and "Positivity" were promising, however, Leckie had other commitments forcing Suede to reconsider their options.
The group ultimately decided to work with Stephen Street
for the album, and recorded most of the released material with him in two months. Recording with Street began in January 2002, with the album finally being completed on March 23, 2002. Anderson had high praise for the producer, saying "Stephen has just turned this whole album around, he really has. Every song he's just taken and done something special with... From the millions of other sessions we've done for this album, there's just no comparison." Overall, seven different recording studios and four producers were used during the two year recording span for A New Morning, and costs estimated at around £1 million. Street stated that the album was a return to classic song construction, and bassist Mat Osman
said that lyrically A New Morning is "Very positive and upbeat".
"Obsessions" was the second single released and despite being better received than "Positivity", the song charted at a lower position and was ultimately the final single released from the album.
Despite the poor sales of the album, Suede still managed to deliver on a musical front as the album received moderate praise from critics. Stephen Thomas Erlewine
of Allmusic felt that the album was a "...solid, succinct collection of tuneful, stylish modern-day glam pop, nearly the equal of Coming Up, whose blueprint this follows to a tee. Song for song, it's better and more consistent than Head Music." He concluded by saying that "A New Morning isn't a new beginning, nor does it take many risks, but it does find Suede in top form with good songs and an appealing record." Jason Fox of NME
gave the album a respectable 7 out of 10. He said: "...when Suede are good, they're great. 'Astrogirl' has shades of the almighty 'The Asphalt World'; 'When The Rain Falls' is as mournful as 'The Big Time'." On the album as a whole he said that "A New Morning sees Suede show off their vulnerable side again. It won't attract any new admirers but old fans will love them more for it." Writing for The Guardian
, Steve Poole had mixed views on the album and awarded it 3 stars out of 5. He said that "'Beautiful Loser' and 'Astrogirl' gesture at past glories like 'Heroine' or 'The Chemistry Between Us', but lack that assured melodic grandiosity." He did have positive praise for the album saying that "there are moments of beauty, in 'Untitled' and the delicate miniature 'Morning'," Overall, he said that "it's better than the tedious cacophony of Head Music, but it quails in the shadow of Coming Up."
in 2003 which featured two new songs, "Love the Way You Love" and the single "Attitude". Shortly after the release of Singles the group issued a joint statement on November 5 explaining that outside of the remaining dates on their current tour, that Suede would not be working together for the foreseeable future: "Suede would like to announce that from next year (2004) they will be working on their own individual projects." The announcement confirmed rumours of the group splitting up since the release of A New Morning. Anderson later stated that he felt he had to break out of Suede as he was in an artistic dead end and needed to do "Whatever it takes to get my demon back."
Disc Two: The B-Sides and more
All tracks written by Brett Anderson unless stated
Extra Tracks
DVD
Promo Videos
Bonus Videos
Suede: Up Close and Personal, Live At Mediacorp Studio, Singapore, 15 August 2002
Suede: Live At FNAC, Madrid, 20 September 2002
Bonus DVD Feature
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
alternative rock
Alternative rock
Alternative rock is a genre of rock music and a term used to describe a diverse musical movement that emerged from the independent music underground of the 1980s and became widely popular by the 1990s...
band Suede
Suede (band)
Suede are an English alternative rock band from London, formed in 1989. The group's most prominent early line-up featured singer Brett Anderson, guitarist Bernard Butler, bass player Mat Osman and drummer Simon Gilbert. By 1992, Suede were hailed as "The Best New Band in Britain", and attracted...
, released in September 2002. By the time the album was released, public interest in the band had waned, as shown by the poor charting of both the album and singles. Despite this, however, the album received moderate praise from critics and is generally liked by fans due to its warmer, and more simplistic sound (as opposed to Head Music
Head Music
Head Music is the fourth album by English alternative rock band Suede, released by Nude Records in May 1999.Produced and mixed by Steve Osborne, Head Music features a more electronic sound, which was a new approach to their music...
). All the songs were produced by Stephen Street
Stephen Street
Stephen Street is an English music producer best known for his work with The Smiths in the 1980s, as well as Blur and The Cranberries in the 1990s. Street also collaborated with Morrissey on some of his most popular work after The Smiths broke up, playing instruments and co-writing songs...
, except "Positivity" which was produced by John Leckie
John Leckie
John Leckie is a British music producer, notable for producing many high-profile albums such as The Stone Roses's debut and Radiohead's The Bends...
, and "You Belong to Me" which was produced by Dave Eringa
Dave Eringa
Dave Eringa is an English record producer from Essex who has engineered, mixed, produced, and played on albums by such bands as Manic Street Preachers, Ocean Colour Scene, Idlewild, 3 Colours Red, South and Johnny Boy...
.
Background and recording
The creation of Suede's fifth studio album A New Morning, was long and costly. Following the release of their 1999 album Head MusicHead Music
Head Music is the fourth album by English alternative rock band Suede, released by Nude Records in May 1999.Produced and mixed by Steve Osborne, Head Music features a more electronic sound, which was a new approach to their music...
and subsequent tour, keyboardist Neil Codling
Neil Codling
Neil John Codling is an English musician. He is best known as the keyboardist for the alternative rock band Suede.-Early life:...
announced his departure from the group on 23 March 2001, citing problems with Chronic fatigue syndrome
Chronic fatigue syndrome
Chronic fatigue syndrome is the most common name used to designate a significantly debilitating medical disorder or group of disorders generally defined by persistent fatigue accompanied by other specific symptoms for a minimum of six months, not due to ongoing exertion, not substantially...
. Singer Brett Anderson
Brett Anderson
Brett Lewis Anderson is an English singer-songwriter, best known as the lead vocalist of the band Suede. After Suede disbanded in 2003, he briefly fronted The Tears, and has released four solo albums...
was furious at Codling's leaving, but understood the reasons behind his departure: "He couldn't help it, I know, but I did feel aggrieved. I felt let down. But more at the universe than at Neil." Codling was replaced by former Strangelove
Strangelove (band)
Strangelove were an English alternative rock band, formed in Bristol in 1991 and led by singer Patrick Duff. They released three albums before splitting up in 1998.-History:...
keyboardist Alex Lee
Alex Lee
Alex Lee is an English musician. Lee is a multi-instrumentalist who has played guitar and keyboards for Goldfrapp, Strangelove, Suede, Placebo and The Blue Aeroplanes amongst others...
. Anderson also had become sober for this record, overcoming his crack addiction and claiming that A New Morning was "the first ever Suede record that wasn’t influenced in its making by drugs". Anderson wrote lyrics isolated in a country house in Surrey away from the rest of the band, where he immersed himself in music and literature. He read Atomised by Michel Houellebecq
Michel Houellebecq
Michel Houellebecq , born Michel Thomas, 26 February 1958—or 1956 —on the French island of Réunion, is a controversial and award-winning French author, filmmaker and poet. To admirers he is a writer in the tradition of literary provocation that reaches back to the Marquis de Sade and Baudelaire;...
and books by Albert Camus
Albert Camus
Albert Camus was a French author, journalist, and key philosopher of the 20th century. In 1949, Camus founded the Group for International Liaisons within the Revolutionary Union Movement, which was opposed to some tendencies of the Surrealist movement of André Breton.Camus was awarded the 1957...
, Leonard Cohen
Leonard Cohen
Leonard Norman Cohen, is a Canadian singer-songwriter, musician, poet and novelist. Cohen published his first book of poetry in Montreal in 1956 and his first novel in 1963. His work often explores religion, isolation, sexuality and interpersonal relationships...
and Paul Auster
Paul Auster
Paul Benjamin Auster is an American author known for works blending absurdism, existentialism, crime fiction and the search for identity and personal meaning in works such as The New York Trilogy , Moon Palace , The Music of Chance , The Book of Illusions and The Brooklyn Follies...
. Anderson says, "I created a deliberate vacuum so all these influences would flood in. I spent a lot of time walking in the countryside, sometimes for hours and hours, fascinated by nature and its battle with concrete and steel. I was living in Concrete Island
Concrete Island
Concrete Island is a 1974 English fiction novel by J. G. Ballard.- Plot introduction :A twisted adaptation of Robinson Crusoe, the story's protagonist, Robert Maitland, a wealthy architect, finds himself stranded in a manmade 'island' between the Westway and M4 Motorway in West London, forced to...
by J.G. Ballard."
The band began recording demos at Stanbridge Farm Studios in West Sussex
West Sussex
West Sussex is a county in the south of England, bordering onto East Sussex , Hampshire and Surrey. The county of Sussex has been divided into East and West since the 12th century, and obtained separate county councils in 1888, but it remained a single ceremonial county until 1974 and the coming...
in July 2000. In October the band took a break from writing to perform their only gig of the year, which took place in Reykjavík
Reykjavík
Reykjavík is the capital and largest city in Iceland.Its latitude at 64°08' N makes it the world's northernmost capital of a sovereign state. It is located in southwestern Iceland, on the southern shore of Faxaflói Bay...
, Iceland
Iceland
Iceland , described as the Republic of Iceland, is a Nordic and European island country in the North Atlantic Ocean, on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. Iceland also refers to the main island of the country, which contains almost all the population and almost all the land area. The country has a population...
, where they premiered nine new songs. The group originally began working with American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
producer Tony Hoffer
Tony Hoffer
Tony Hoffer is an American producer, guitarist, and music mixer who is credited for his work on multiple platinum-selling albums including The Kooks, The Thrills, Beck, Supergrass, Turin Brakes and Air...
in 2001, and anticipated having a single released by Autumn
Autumn
Autumn is one of the four temperate seasons. Autumn marks the transition from summer into winter usually in September or March when the arrival of night becomes noticeably earlier....
. Hoffer and Anderson had originally met in a toilet at Paisley Park in Minneapolis, Minnesota, where the two hit it off, finding several common musical interests. The meeting led to Anderson asking for Hoffer's input on some of the group's recent work. In February 2001 the band took up residency at Rockfield Studios
Rockfield Studios
Rockfield Studios, near Monmouth in Wales and just outside the village of Rockfield, Monmouthshire are where many of British rock music’s most successful recordings have been made.-History:...
in Monmouth, Wales for a three-week trial run with Hoffer. The band were unimpressed with the trial run, especially Simon Gilbert
Simon Gilbert
Simon Gilbert is an English drummer and member of the English band, Suede....
and Richard Oakes
Richard Oakes (guitarist)
Richard Oakes is an English musician and songwriter, best known as the guitarist and occasional pianist and backing vocalist of the English band, Suede.-Early life:...
, who both had strong opinions on the results. Nevertheless, the band decided to record the album with Hoffer and descended on Parkgate Studios, Hastings
Hastings
Hastings is a town and borough in the county of East Sussex on the south coast of England. The town is located east of the county town of Lewes and south east of London, and has an estimated population of 86,900....
, in May with their new member Alex Lee, following Codling's departure. Although the group recorded ten songs with Hoffer that Anderson said were the "best we've written," most of the material recorded with him producing was scrapped. In September the group recorded two songs with ex The Stone Roses
The Stone Roses
The Stone Roses are an English alternative rock band formed in Manchester in 1983. They were one of the pioneering groups of the Madchester movement that was active during the late 1980s and early 1990s...
producer John Leckie
John Leckie
John Leckie is a British music producer, notable for producing many high-profile albums such as The Stone Roses's debut and Radiohead's The Bends...
. The versions of "Beautiful Loser" and "Positivity" were promising, however, Leckie had other commitments forcing Suede to reconsider their options.
The group ultimately decided to work with Stephen Street
Stephen Street
Stephen Street is an English music producer best known for his work with The Smiths in the 1980s, as well as Blur and The Cranberries in the 1990s. Street also collaborated with Morrissey on some of his most popular work after The Smiths broke up, playing instruments and co-writing songs...
for the album, and recorded most of the released material with him in two months. Recording with Street began in January 2002, with the album finally being completed on March 23, 2002. Anderson had high praise for the producer, saying "Stephen has just turned this whole album around, he really has. Every song he's just taken and done something special with... From the millions of other sessions we've done for this album, there's just no comparison." Overall, seven different recording studios and four producers were used during the two year recording span for A New Morning, and costs estimated at around £1 million. Street stated that the album was a return to classic song construction, and bassist Mat Osman
Mat Osman
Mat Osman is an English musician, best known as the bassist in the band Suede. He studied at the London School of Economics, where in 1989 he was awarded a BSc in Economics....
said that lyrically A New Morning is "Very positive and upbeat".
Release and reception
A New Morning failed to crack the British Top 20, peaking at #24, which was the lowest chart position for the group at that time. The album remains the only studio album from Suede's catalog not to be released in the U.S. The lead single for the album was "Positivity", which received a large amount of criticism from fans and the press. NME writer Julian Marshall wrote that "Positivity" was "[G]reeted with an apathetic shrug by everyone but the most devoted". Although it peaked at #16 on the charts and Anderson initially felt happy about the song, his feelings towards it would change in time. He later said of "Positivity" that "When I first wrote it I thought it was a masterpiece but soon realized that many people were genuinely offended by it." He would also go on to say "...If there was ever just one song that destroyed a band then it was 'Positivity' with Suede.""Obsessions" was the second single released and despite being better received than "Positivity", the song charted at a lower position and was ultimately the final single released from the album.
Despite the poor sales of the album, Suede still managed to deliver on a musical front as the album received moderate praise from critics. Stephen Thomas Erlewine
Stephen Thomas Erlewine
Stephen Thomas Erlewine is a senior editor for Allmusic. He is the author of many artist biographies and record reviews for Allmusic, as well as a freelance writer, occasionally contributing liner notes. He is also frontman and guitarist for the Ann Arbor-based band Who Dat?Erlewine is the nephew...
of Allmusic felt that the album was a "...solid, succinct collection of tuneful, stylish modern-day glam pop, nearly the equal of Coming Up, whose blueprint this follows to a tee. Song for song, it's better and more consistent than Head Music." He concluded by saying that "A New Morning isn't a new beginning, nor does it take many risks, but it does find Suede in top form with good songs and an appealing record." Jason Fox of NME
NME
The New Musical Express is a popular music publication in the United Kingdom, published weekly since March 1952. It started as a music newspaper, and gradually moved toward a magazine format during the 1980s, changing from newsprint in 1998. It was the first British paper to include a singles...
gave the album a respectable 7 out of 10. He said: "...when Suede are good, they're great. 'Astrogirl' has shades of the almighty 'The Asphalt World'; 'When The Rain Falls' is as mournful as 'The Big Time'." On the album as a whole he said that "A New Morning sees Suede show off their vulnerable side again. It won't attract any new admirers but old fans will love them more for it." Writing for The Guardian
The Guardian
The Guardian, formerly known as The Manchester Guardian , is a British national daily newspaper in the Berliner format...
, Steve Poole had mixed views on the album and awarded it 3 stars out of 5. He said that "'Beautiful Loser' and 'Astrogirl' gesture at past glories like 'Heroine' or 'The Chemistry Between Us', but lack that assured melodic grandiosity." He did have positive praise for the album saying that "there are moments of beauty, in 'Untitled' and the delicate miniature 'Morning'," Overall, he said that "it's better than the tedious cacophony of Head Music, but it quails in the shadow of Coming Up."
Aftermath
Suede released a compilation album SinglesSingles (Suede album)
-Asian Limited Edition Bonus DVD:Live performance recording from Suede's "Up Close And Personal" tour in Singapore on August 15, 2002.# Positivity# The Wild Ones# Untitled# When the Rain Falls# Oceans# Trash# Lazy# The Power# She's in Fashion...
in 2003 which featured two new songs, "Love the Way You Love" and the single "Attitude". Shortly after the release of Singles the group issued a joint statement on November 5 explaining that outside of the remaining dates on their current tour, that Suede would not be working together for the foreseeable future: "Suede would like to announce that from next year (2004) they will be working on their own individual projects." The announcement confirmed rumours of the group splitting up since the release of A New Morning. Anderson later stated that he felt he had to break out of Suede as he was in an artistic dead end and needed to do "Whatever it takes to get my demon back."
Track listing
2011 Remastered and Expanded Version
Disc One: Demos- "Obsessions (2KHz Demo)" – 3:52
- "Positivity (Hoffer Version)" – 3:01
- "Buckley (Simon) (Demo)" – 4:39
- "Bony (Untitled) [Stanbridge Demo]" – 3:54
- "Beautiful Loser [Parkgate Demo]" – 3:50
- "Lost In TV [Stanbridge Demo]" – 4:29
- "Lonely Girls [Parkgate Demo]" – 3:22
- "Cheap (Demo)" – 4:45
- "When The Rain Falls (Stanbridge Demo)" – 4:30
Disc Two: The B-Sides and more
All tracks written by Brett Anderson unless stated
- "Simon" – 4:34 (Anderson/Codling)
- "Cheap" – 4:42 (Anderson/Oakes)
- "One Love" – 4:01 (Anderson/Oakes/Osman/Tony HofferTony HofferTony Hoffer is an American producer, guitarist, and music mixer who is credited for his work on multiple platinum-selling albums including The Kooks, The Thrills, Beck, Supergrass, Turin Brakes and Air...
) - "Superstar" – 4:11 (Anderson/Oakes/Codling/Osman/Lee/Simon GilbertSimon GilbertSimon Gilbert is an English drummer and member of the English band, Suede....
) - "Colours" – 3:30
- "Campfire Song" – 5:35 (Anderson/Codling)
- "Cool Thing" – 3:05 (Anderson/Oakes/Osman)
- "Instant Sunshine" – 3:49 (Anderson/Codling)
- "UFO" – 3:28
- "Rainy Day Girl" – 4:13
- "Hard Candy" – 2:46
- "ABC Song" – 4:01 (Anderson/Oakes/Gilbert/Osman/Lee)
- "You Belong To Me" – 3:24
- "Love The Way You Love" – 3:35
- "Attitude" – 3:04 (Anderson/Osman)
- "Golden Gun" – 3:05 (Anderson/Osman)
- "Oxygen" – 4:05 (Anderson/Oakes)
Extra Tracks
- "Golden Gun (Z One Demo)" – 2:58
- "Love the Way You Love (Brett's original 4 track demo)" – 4:38
- "Refugees" – 4:31 (Anderson/Lee) (Previously unreleased)
DVD
Promo Videos
- Positivity
- Obsessions
- Attitude [with Brett]
Bonus Videos
- Simon [‘Far From China’ opening titles]
- Positivity [Early recording session]
- Attitude [without Brett]
Suede: Up Close and Personal, Live At Mediacorp Studio, Singapore, 15 August 2002
- Positivity
- The Wild Ones
- Untitled
- When The Rain Falls
- Oceans
- Trash
- Lazy
- The Power
- She’s In Fashion
Suede: Live At FNAC, Madrid, 20 September 2002
- Positivity
- Obsessions
- Everything Will Flow
- Trash
- Beautiful Ones
Bonus DVD Feature
- Brett Anderson, Richard Oakes and Neil Codling 2011 Interview including film inserts by Simon Gilbert
UK singles charting
- 2002 "Positivity" No. 16
- 2002 "Obsessions" No. 29