The Vertigo of Bliss is the second studio album by Scottish 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 Biffy Clyro

Biffy Clyro

Biffy Clyro are a Scottish rock band from Kilmarnock, comprising Simon Neil , James Johnston and Ben Johnston...

, released on 16 June 2003, on Beggars Banquet Records

Beggars Banquet Records

Beggars Banquet is an English independent record label that began as a chain of record shops owned by Martin Mills and Nick Austin, and is part of the Beggars Group of labels...

. The band has confirmed the myth that principal recording on the album was recorded in just one day, leaving the band to "play the PlayStation

PlayStation

The is a 32-bit fifth-generation video game console first released by Sony Computer Entertainment in Japan on December 3, .The PlayStation was the first of the PlayStation series of consoles and handheld game devices. The PlayStation 2 was the console's successor in 2000...

" for the remainder of the week that had been booked in Linford Manor

Linford Manor

Linford Manor is an old mansion or manor house converted into a recording studio complex in Great Linford, Milton Keynes, England. It is now owned by Pete Winkelman who is chairman of football club....

.

Overview

The Vertigo of Bliss was recorded and released only one year after Blackened Sky

Blackened Sky

Blackened Sky is the debut studio album by Scottish alternative rock band Biffy Clyro, released on 10 March 2002, on Beggars Banquet Records...

. The album arguably sounds more like a singular piece of work (the only track not recorded during the same sessions was "Toys, Toys, Toys..." which was originally a double-A-side single with "Joy.Discovery.Invention") as opposed to a collection of individual songs. The album remains a firm favourite with a lot of fans on the Biffy Clyro board, perhaps because of its more experimental style, which sees songs such as "Bodies in Flight" and "Toys Toys Toys, Choke, Toys Toys Toys" cramming several movements

Movement (music)

A movement is a self-contained part of a musical composition or musical form. While individual or selected movements from a composition are sometimes performed separately, a performance of the complete work requires all the movements to be performed in succession...

 into the space of one song

Song

In music, a song is a composition for voice or voices, performed by singing.A song may be accompanied by musical instruments, or it may be unaccompanied, as in the case of a cappella songs...

. Moreover, string sections are used to climactic effect in "With Aplomb" and "Now The Action Is On Fire" showing the band's clear progression from their debut.

The distinctive cover art was created by Milo Manara

Milo Manara

Maurilio Manara – known professionally as Milo Manara – is an Italian comic book writer and artist, best known for his erotic approach to the medium.-Career:...

, who also created the cover art for all the singles from The Vertigo of Bliss. The album takes its name from one of Lucifer's musings in the novel, I, Lucifer

I, Lucifer (Glen Duncan)

I, Lucifer is a 2003 novel by Glen Duncan, told from the point of view of the eponymous fallen angel, who has taken on a human body formerly belonging to a struggling writer.-Plot summary:...

. As with each of the band's first three albums, it has only been played in full once, on 14 December 2005 at King Tut's Wah Wah Hut

King Tut's Wah Wah Hut

King Tut's Wah Wah Hut, also known as King Tut's, is a live music venue and bar in on St. Vincent Street, Glasgow, Scotland. It is owned and managed by Glasgow-based gig promoters DF Concerts...

 in Glasgow

Glasgow

Glasgow is the largest city in Scotland and third most populous in the United Kingdom. The city is situated on the River Clyde in the country's west central lowlands...

. The album reached #48 in the UK Albums Chart

UK Albums Chart

The UK Albums Chart is a list of albums ranked by physical and digital sales in the United Kingdom. It is compiled every week by The Official Charts Company and broadcast on a Sunday on BBC Radio 1 , and published in Music Week magazine and on the OCC website .To qualify for the UK albums chart...

.

Track listing

• "The Ideal Height
  The Ideal Height
  "The Ideal Height" is a song by Biffy Clyro and was the first single from their 2003 album, The Vertigo of Bliss, and their fifth overall single. On the UK Singles Chart, it placed at a peak position of number 46.-Track listings:...
  
  ", ""Questions and Answers"
  Questions and Answers (song)
  "Questions and Answers" is a song by Biffy Clyro, and was the second single to be released from their 2003 album, The Vertigo Of Bliss, and their sixth overall single...
  
  ", "Toys, Toys, Toys, Choke, Toys, Toys, Toys
  Toys, Toys, Toys, Choke, Toys, Toys, Toys
  "Toys, Toys, Toys, Choke, Toys, Toys, Toys" is a song by Biffy Clyro from their second album, The Vertigo of Bliss, and was the band's fourth single. It appeared as a double A-side with "Joy.Discovery.Invention", and was released on CD and 7"...
  
  " and "Eradicate the Doubt
  Eradicate the Doubt
  "Eradicate the Doubt" is a song by Biffy Clyro and the third single from their 2003 album, The Vertigo Of Bliss, and their seventh overall single. It reached number 98 on the UK Singles Chart.-Track listings:Songs and lyrics by Simon Neil...
  
  " were released as singles.

B-sides From Vertigo of Bliss

• "And With the Scissorkick Is Victorious" - 5:24
• "Do You Remember What You Came for" - 3:31
• "Good Practice Makes Permanent" - 4:19
• "Let's Get Smiling" - 3:04
• "Muckquaikerjawbreaker" - 4:10
• "I Hope You're Done" - 3:40
• "Ewans True Mental You" - 1:24
• "Convex, Concave (Live at The Mean Fiddler, London, England, 14 June 2003)" – 4:19
• "57 (Live at The Mean Fiddler, London, England, 14 June 2003)" – 3:18
• "Now the Action is on Fire! (Live at The Mean Fiddler, London, England, 14 June 2003)" – 6:22
• "Eradicate the Doubt (Live at The Mean Fiddler, London, England, 14 June 2003) " – 4:26
• "The Ideal Height (Live at The Mean Fiddler, London, England, 14 June 2003)
• "Justboy (Live at The Mean Fiddler, London, England, 14 June 2003)"

Release history

The Vertigo of Bliss was released in the UK in 2003.

Country	Date	Label	Format	Catalogue number
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...	16 June 2003	Beggars Banquet Beggars Banquet - Personnel :The Rolling Stones* Mick Jagger – lead and backing vocals, harmonica on "Parachute Woman"* Keith Richards – acoustic and electric guitar, bass guitar on "Sympathy for the Devil" and "Street Fighting Man", backing vocals, lead vocals on opening of "Salt of the Earth"* Brian...	CD	BBQCD233
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...	16 June 2003	Beggars Banquet Beggars Banquet - Personnel :The Rolling Stones* Mick Jagger – lead and backing vocals, harmonica on "Parachute Woman"* Keith Richards – acoustic and electric guitar, bass guitar on "Sympathy for the Devil" and "Street Fighting Man", backing vocals, lead vocals on opening of "Salt of the Earth"* Brian...	Vinyl Gramophone record A gramophone record, commonly known as a phonograph record , vinyl record , or colloquially, a record, is an analog sound storage medium consisting of a flat disc with an inscribed, modulated spiral groove...  (now out of print Out of print Out of print refers to an item, typically a book , but can include any print or visual media or sound recording, that is in the state of no longer being published.... )	BBQ233