The Big Heat (album)
Encyclopedia
The Big Heat is the 1986 debut solo album by former Wall of Voodoo
vocalist Stan Ridgway
, named after the 1953
noir film of the same name
. Originally released as a nine-song album, including the #4 UK hit "Camouflage", the album was re-released in 1993 with six additional tracks (and again re-released in 2007). In 1986, the album reached #131 on The Billboard 200.
Singles
Wall of Voodoo
Wall of Voodoo was an American New Wave group from Los Angeles best known for the 1983 hit "Mexican Radio". The band had a sound that was a fusion of synthesizer-based New Wave music with the spaghetti western soundtrack style of Ennio Morricone.-Formation:...
vocalist Stan Ridgway
Stan Ridgway
Stanard 'Stan' Ridgway is an American multi-instrumentalist singer-songwriter known for his distinctive voice, dramatic lyrical narratives, and eclectic solo albums and was the original lead singer of the band Wall of Voodoo...
, named after the 1953
1953 in film
The year 1953 in film involved some significant events.-Events:*September 16 — The Robe debuts as the first anamorphic, widescreen CinemaScope film.-Top grossing films : After theatrical re-issue- Awards :Academy Awards:A...
noir film of the same name
The Big Heat
The Big Heat is a 1953 film noir directed by Fritz Lang, starring Glenn Ford, Gloria Grahame, and Lee Marvin. It is about a cop who takes on the crime syndicate that controls his city after the brutal murder of his beloved wife. The film was written by former crime reporter Sydney Boehm based on a...
. Originally released as a nine-song album, including the #4 UK hit "Camouflage", the album was re-released in 1993 with six additional tracks (and again re-released in 2007). In 1986, the album reached #131 on The Billboard 200.
Track listing
Except where otherwise indicated, all songs composed by Stan Ridgway- "The Big Heat"
- "Pick It Up (And Put It in Your Pocket)"
- "Can't Stop the Show"
- "Pile Driver"
- "Walkin' Home Alone"
- "Drive She Said"
- "Salesman"
- "Twisted"
- "Camouflage"
- "Rio Greyhound" (instrumental)
1993 bonus tracks
Both edition (1993 and 2007) were labeled with the remarks Now contains 6 Bonus Tracks on top and IRS Vintage Years on the right side.- "Stormy Side of Town"
- "Foggy River" (Fred RoseFred Rose (musician)Fred Rose was an American Hall of Fame songwriter and music publishing executive.-Biography:Born in Evansville, Indiana, Fred Rose started playing piano and singing as a small boy. In his teens, he moved to Chicago, Illinois where he worked in bars busking for tips, and finally vaudeville...
) - "End of the Line"
- "Nadine" (Chuck BerryChuck BerryCharles Edward Anderson "Chuck" Berry is an American guitarist, singer, and songwriter, and one of the pioneers of rock and roll music. With songs such as "Maybellene" , "Roll Over Beethoven" , "Rock and Roll Music" and "Johnny B...
) - "Can't Stop the Show (live)"
- "Drive She Said (live)"
Accolades
| Year | Publication | Country | Accolade | Rank | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1986 | Best | France France The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France... |
"Albums of the Year" | 3 | |
| 1986 | Q Q (magazine) Q is a popular music magazine published monthly in the United Kingdom.Founders Mark Ellen and David Hepworth were dismayed by the music press of the time, which they felt was ignoring a generation of older music buyers who were buying CDs — then still a new technology... |
United Kingdom United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages... |
"Albums of the Year" | * | |
| 1986 | Sounds Sounds (magazine) Sounds was a long-term British music paper, published weekly from 10 October 1970 – 6 April 1991. It was produced by Spotlight Publications , which was set up by Jack Hutton and Peter Wilkinson, who left "Melody Maker" to start their own company... |
United Kingdom | "Albums of the Year" | * | |
| 1990 | Mucchio Selvaggio | Italy Italy Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and... |
"The Best Albums of the 80s" | * | |
| 1990 | Velvet | Italy | "The 100 Best Albums of the 80s" | * | |
| 1991 | Rock & Folk Rock & Folk Rock & Folk is a prominent French popular music magazine founded in 1966, and published in the Paris suburb of Clichy. Its current editor in chief in Philippe Manœuvre. Though the magazine's title includes the word "folk," it is in fact oriented strongly toward rock and roll, especially championing... |
France | "The 250 Best Albums from 1966-1991" | 3 | |
| 1999 | Panorama | Norway Norway Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million... |
"The 30 Best Albums of the Year 1970-98" | 19 | |
| 2002 | Mucchio Selvaggio | Italy | "100 Best Albums by Decade" | 1-20 | |
| "*" denotes an unordered list. | |||||
Chart positions
Album| Chart | Peak | |
|---|---|---|
| Norwegian Charts VG-lista VG-listen is a Norwegian record chart. It is weekly presented in the newspaper VG and the Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation program Topp 20. It is considered the primary Norwegian record chart, charting albums and singles from countries and continent around the world. The data is collected by... |
11 | |
| Swiss Album Chart | 27 | |
| U.S. Billboard 200 Billboard 200 The Billboard 200 is a ranking of the 200 highest-selling music albums and EPs in the United States, published weekly by Billboard magazine. It is frequently used to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of artists... |
131 |
Singles
| Year | Title | Peak Chart positions | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1986 | "Drive She Said" | 60 | — | — | — | — | ||||||
| "Camouflage" | 76 | 2 | 11 | 17 | 4 | |||||||
| 1987 | "The Big Heat" | 91 | — | — | — | — | ||||||
| "—" denotes singles that were released but did not chart. | ||||||||||||
Performance
- K. K. BarrettK. K. BarrettKeith "K. K." Barrett is a production designer known for his work on feature films by Spike Jonze and Sofia Coppola. Barrett also played drums for the 1970s punk rock band, The Screamers...
– drumsDrum kitA drum kit is a collection of drums, cymbals and often other percussion instruments, such as cowbells, wood blocks, triangles, chimes, or tambourines, arranged for convenient playing by a single person .... - Chris Becerra – drums
- Joe Berardi – drums
- Hugo BurnhamHugo BurnhamHugo Burnham was the drummer for the English rock group Gang of Four. Creem magazine's Dave DiMartino said in 1980 "Witness Hugo Burnham, a close-cropped, thickset out-and-out scary drummer who looks like his idea of fun might be pushing young American faces into old American brick walls." He...
– percussion - Louis Cabasa – bass guitarBass guitarThe bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
- Mark Cohen – banjoBanjoIn the 1830s Sweeney became the first white man to play the banjo on stage. His version of the instrument replaced the gourd with a drum-like sound box and included four full-length strings alongside a short fifth-string. There is no proof, however, that Sweeney invented either innovation. This new...
, mandolinMandolinA mandolin is a musical instrument in the lute family . It descends from the mandore, a soprano member of the lute family. The mandolin soundboard comes in many shapes—but generally round or teardrop-shaped, sometimes with scrolls or other projections. A mandolin may have f-holes, or a single... - John Dentino – keyboards
- Bruce FowlerBruce FowlerBruce Lambourne Fowler is a prominent American trombone player and composer. He notably played trombone on many Frank Zappa records, as well as with Captain Beefheart, and in the Fowler Brothers Band...
– tromboneTromboneThe trombone is a musical instrument in the brass family. Like all brass instruments, sound is produced when the player’s vibrating lips cause the air column inside the instrument to vibrate... - Mitchell FroomMitchell Froom-Career:Froom began his career as a keyboard player in Sonoma County, California. The band Crossfire featured two keyboards players; Mitchell on one side of the stage and brother David on the other with Gary Pihl on guitar...
– keyboards - Richard GibbsRichard GibbsRichard “Ribbs” Gibbs is an American film composer and music producer whose credits include the films Sweet Hearts Dance, Dr...
– synthesizerSynthesizerA synthesizer is an electronic instrument capable of producing sounds by generating electrical signals of different frequencies. These electrical signals are played through a loudspeaker or set of headphones...
, Emulator - Richard Greene – violinViolinThe violin is a string instrument, usually with four strings tuned in perfect fifths. It is the smallest, highest-pitched member of the violin family of string instruments, which includes the viola and cello....
- Bernard Hall – keyboards
- Roger KleierRoger KleierRoger Kleier is an American composer, guitarist, improviser, and producer.He studied composition at the University of North Texas College of Music and the USC Thornton School of Music. Kleier's compositional work typically develops an expanded vocabulary for the electric guitar through the use of...
– guitarGuitarThe guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with... - Cliff MartinezCliff MartinezCliff Martinez is an American film score composer and former drummer.-Biography:Cliff Martinez was born in the Bronx, New York. Raised in Columbus, Ohio, his first job composing was for the popular television show Pee Wee's Playhouse...
– bass - Mr. Christopher – violin, celloCelloThe cello is a bowed string instrument with four strings tuned in perfect fifths. It is a member of the violin family of musical instruments, which also includes the violin, viola, and double bass. Old forms of the instrument in the Baroque era are baryton and viol .A person who plays a cello is...
- Bill NolandBill NolandWilliam D. "Bill" Noland is an American musician, composer, and producer best known for his membership in the New Wave/Punk groups Wall of Voodoo and Human Hands during the late 1970s and '80s.- Human Hands :...
– pianoPianoThe piano is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. It is one of the most popular instruments in the world. Widely used in classical and jazz music for solo performances, ensemble use, chamber music and accompaniment, the piano is also very popular as an aid to composing and rehearsal...
, keyboards, - Joe Ramirez – guitar, programming, vocalsSingingSinging is the act of producing musical sounds with the voice, and augments regular speech by the use of both tonality and rhythm. One who sings is called a singer or vocalist. Singers perform music known as songs that can be sung either with or without accompaniment by musical instruments...
, drum programming - Tom Recchion – percussion
- Steve ReidSteve ReidSteve Reid was an American jazz drummer who played with a wide range of artists including Miles Davis, Ornette Coleman, James Brown, Fela Kuti and Sun Ra, and as a session drummer for Motown.- Biography :...
– percussion - Stan RidgwayStan RidgwayStanard 'Stan' Ridgway is an American multi-instrumentalist singer-songwriter known for his distinctive voice, dramatic lyrical narratives, and eclectic solo albums and was the original lead singer of the band Wall of Voodoo...
– banjo, guitar, harmonicaHarmonicaThe harmonica, also called harp, French harp, blues harp, and mouth organ, is a free reed wind instrument used primarily in blues and American folk music, jazz, country, and rock and roll. It is played by blowing air into it or drawing air out by placing lips over individual holes or multiple holes...
, keyboards, vocals - David Sutton – bass
- Mark Terlizzi – bass
- Louis VandenBerg – keyboards
- Mike WattMike WattMichael David Watt is an American bassist, singer and songwriter.He is best known for co-founding the rock bands Minutemen, dos, and Firehose; , he is also the bassist for the reunited Stooges and a member of the art rock/jazz/punk/improv group Banyan as well as many other post-Minutemen...
– bass - Pietra WexstunPietra WexstunPietra Wexstun is an electronic musician and singer-songwriter from Los Angeles, California. She has fronted for the band Hecate's Angels since 1996, and has performed with her husband Stan Ridgway since 1986. She has contributed to all of Ridgway's solo and Drywall albums, performing backing...
– vocals - Eric Williams – guitar
- Bruce Zelesnik – drums
Production
- Joe Chiccarelli – producer, engineer, mixing
- Bill NolandBill NolandWilliam D. "Bill" Noland is an American musician, composer, and producer best known for his membership in the New Wave/Punk groups Wall of Voodoo and Human Hands during the late 1970s and '80s.- Human Hands :...
– producer - Mitchell FroomMitchell Froom-Career:Froom began his career as a keyboard player in Sonoma County, California. The band Crossfire featured two keyboards players; Mitchell on one side of the stage and brother David on the other with Gary Pihl on guitar...
– producer - Carl Grasso – art direction
- Jim Hill – engineer
- Hugh JonesHugh JonesHugh Jones is a British record producer with many important post-punk albums to his credit.-Career:Jones made a name early in the 1980s with a jangly sound that aged better than many of his contemporaries' production styles, however he started out as lead singer in the band Mistral in the early...
– producer, engineer, mixing - Mark Lewis – assistant engineer
- Scott Lindgren – photography, cover art concept
- Stan RidgwayStan RidgwayStanard 'Stan' Ridgway is an American multi-instrumentalist singer-songwriter known for his distinctive voice, dramatic lyrical narratives, and eclectic solo albums and was the original lead singer of the band Wall of Voodoo...
– producer, engineer - Louis VandenBerg – producer, engineer
- Andy Waterman – mixing
- Simon Watson – engineer