Cut (album)

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Cut
Studio album by The Slits

Publication
(s)

7th September 1979

Label (s) Island Records

Format (s)

LP , CD , MC

Genre (s)

Post-punk , dub

Title (number)

10

running time

31:52

occupation

production

Dennis Bovell

Studio (s)

Ridge Farm Studio, Rusper

chronology
- Cut Return of the Giant Slits
(1981)
Single release
September 14, 1979 Typical girls
Chart positions
Explanation of the data
Albums
Cut
  UK 30th 09/22/1979 (5 weeks)
Singles
Typical girls
  UK 60 10/13/1979 (3 weeks)
Ariane Forster 1980
Viv Albertine 2012

Cut is the debut album by British rock band The Slits . It was released on September 7, 1979 by Island Records .

background

Cut is the first album of the feminist punk band The Slits, the 1,976-year-old 14-by Kate Korus, Suzi Gutsy, Paloma Romero and the only German-born singer Ariane Forster in London was founded and initially opened for The Clash made its appearance. In March 1977 Korus and Gutsy dropped out and were replaced by guitarist Viv Albertine and inexperienced bassist Tessa Pollitt, who previously belonged to the short-lived collective The Flowers of Romance . In February 1979, The Slits signed a recording deal with Island Records . Reggae musician Dennis Bovell , who was working for The Pop Group at the same time, was able to be won as a producer for the debut album . Before the studio recordings began, the overwhelmed drummer Paloma Romero had to leave the slits, she was replaced by the drummer Peter Edward Clarke alias Budgie, a former member of the punk band Big in Japan . Romero then joined the band The Raincoats. Budgie left again in July 1979 and switched to Siouxsie and the Banshees . Was recorded Cut from March to May 1979, the Ridge Farm Studio in rural Rusper, West Sussex . During the recording the label owner Dick O'Dell became the new manager of the band. In September 1979 Island Records finally released the album, in the USA it was brought onto the market by the Iceland subsidiary Antilles. After disputes over production costs and advances, Iceland dissolved the contract with The Slits in November 1979. Viv Albertine later stated that the band never received a share of the album's revenues. The successor Bootleg Retrospective appeared in 1980 on O'Dell's indie label Y Records.

The provocative photo on the album cover , which shows the three female members of the Slits half-naked and covered in mud, caused a stir . The picture was taken by concert photographer Pennie Smith , who also created the iconic snapshot of Paul Simonon on the cover of The Clash's London Calling album . The record sleeve was designed by the designer duo Bloomfield / Travis. Inside are cartoons by Brian Gaylor and Viv Albertine.

Characteristic for Cut are distinct elements of dub and reggae as well as unconventional song structures, polyrhythmics and atonality in the music. The German accent can be heard in the singing of the front woman Ariane Forster.

As single was Typical Girls decoupled, with a cover version of I Heard It Through the Grapevine as a B-side . The song reached number 60 on the UK music charts .

In 2000 Island Records released Cut as a remaster on CD with two bonus tracks including I Heard It Through the Grapevine . On the occasion of the 30th anniversary, a deluxe edition of the album was released on October 19, 2009 with three bonus tracks, live recordings of performances in the broadcast of radio presenter John Peel from 1977/78 and the bonus CD unCut with demo recordings , alternative mixes and instrumentals of the songs.

On more recent pressings of the album I Heard It Through the Grapevine is also included as a bonus track on LP.

Track list

With the exception of the one indicated, all songs were written by Arianne “Ari Up” Forster, Viviane “Viv” Albertine , Tessa Pollitt and Paloma “Palmolive” Romero.

page 1
1. Instant Hit - 2:43
2. So Tough - 2:41
3. Donation, donation, donation - 3:18
4. Shoplifting - 1:39
5th FM - 3:35
Page 2
6. Newtown - 3:48
7. Ping Pong Affair - 4:16
8. Love and Romance - 2:27
9. Typical Girls - 3:57
10. Adventures Close to Home - 3:28
Bonus tracks (CD)
11. I Heard It Through the Grapevine ( Barrett Strong , Norman Whitfield ) - 3:59
12. Liebe And Romance (Slow Version) - 4:44
unCut
1. I Heard It Through the Grapevine (Demo) (Strong, Whitfield) - 3:46
2. Instant Hit (8-Track Demo) - 2:34
3. Spend, Spend, Spend (8-Track Demo) - 3:28
4. Newtown (8-Track Demo) - 3:39
5. Adventures Close to Home (8-Track Demo) - 3:38
6. Instant Hit (Rough Mix) - 2:43
7. So Tough (Rough Mix) - 2:40
8. Spend, Spend, Spend (Toast Version) - 3:19
9. Shoplifting (Rough Mix) - 1:40
10. Fm (Rough Mix) - 3:53
11. Newtown (Rough Mix) - 4:31
12. Ping Pong Affair (Rough Mix) - 4:41
13. Love and Romance (Rough Mix) - 2:28
14. Typical Girls (Rough Mix) - 4:18
15. Adventures Close to Home (Rough Mix) - 3:28
16. So Tough (Outtake) - 1:38
17. Instant Hit (Instrumental Outtake) - 2:35
18. Typical Girls (Instrumental Outtake) - 4:01
19. Spend, Spend, Spend (Dub Version) - 3:17
20. In the Beginning, There Was Rhythm (Early Version) - 5:52

reception

source rating
Allmusic
Rolling Stone
Pitchfork
Laut.de
Music Express

The album received mostly positive reviews and is now one of the classics of post-punk . Rolling Stone magazine voted Cut 33 out of the 40 best punk albums. In the selection of the 500 best albums of all time by the New Musical Express, it ranks 278. Typical Girls reached number 384 of the 500 best songs of all time. Pitchfork leads Typical Girls at number 70 of the 200 best songs of the 1970s.

“This record, produced by the underrated Dennis Bovell, is one of the milestones of post-punk. An album with strange but stirring rhythms and atonal but happy chants. "

- Robert E. Murray

“The band combined jumping rhythms and weird chords with Aristeutonic singing (an obvious role model for Björk ). In their creativity they did not let themselves be disturbed by a lack of musicality - such as the tempos of “Typical Girls” or the raw skank of “Instant Hit”. Male shortages are brilliantly attacked on the anti-love song "Love Und Romance" and in the funk of "Ping-Pong Affair". The highlights include the songs against consumerism such as "Spend, Spend, Spend" and "Shoplifting". "

- Chris Shade

Cut was included in the 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die .

literature

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Cut: Full Official Chart History on officialcharts.com (accessed August 20, 2019)
  2. ↑ a b Typical Girls: Full Official Chart History on officialcharts.com (accessed August 20, 2019)
  3. ^ A b c Christian Graf, Burghard Rausch: Rockmusiklexikon Europa, Volume 2, Frankfurt am Main 2005: Fischer Taschenbuch Verlag, p. 1188.
  4. ↑ a b The Slits - Biography on chartsurfer.de (accessed on August 22, 2019)
  5. ↑ The Slits' Viv Albertine claims band never received royalties for 1979 debut 'Cut' on nme.com (accessed August 22, 2019)
  6. ^ A b Buckley, Peter (ed.): Rock Rough Guide, 2nd edition, Stuttgart 2004: Verlag JB Metzler, p. 735.
  7. ↑ Review by Andy Kellman on allmusic.com (accessed August 20, 2019)
  8. ↑ Review by Alex Mar on rollingstone.com (accessed August 20, 2019)
  9. ↑ Review by David Raposa on pitchfork.com (accessed August 20, 2019)
  10. ↑ Review by Michael Schuh on laut.de (accessed August 20, 2019)
  11. ↑ Review by Harald Inhülsen, in: Musikexpress 10/1979, issue 285, p. 40/41.
  12. ↑ 40 Greatest Punk Albums of All Time on rollingstone.com (accessed August 20, 2019)
  13. ↑ The 500 Greatest Albums Of All Time on nme.com (accessed August 20, 2019)
  14. ↑ The 500 Greatest Songs Of All Time on nme.com (accessed August 22, 2019)
  15. ↑ The 200 Best Songs of the 1970s on pitchfork.com (accessed August 22, 2019)
  16. ↑ Dimery, Robert (ed.): 1001 albums - music that you should hear before life is over, 8th edition, Zurich 2015: Edition Olms, p. 437.