The Fine Art of Surfacing
| The Fine Art of Surfacing | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Studio album by The Boomtown Rats | ||||
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Publication |
October 1979 |
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| Label (s) | Columbia Records | |||
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Format (s) |
CD, LP |
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Title (number) |
10 |
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running time |
40:13 |
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| occupation |
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Robert John Lange |
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Studio (s) |
Phonogram Studios, Hilversum , The Netherlands |
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The Fine Art of Surfacing is the third album of the Boomtown Rats and includes the hit singles I Do not Like Mondays , Diamond Smiles and Someone's Looking At You . The single I Don't Like Mondays with the B-side It's All the Rage was released in June 1979 and reached number one on the British charts at the end of July. The song refers to Brenda Ann Spencer , who staged a school massacre on January 29, 1979 in San Diego , California and simply said "I don't like Mondays" as an explanation.
Critics had different opinions about The Fine Art of Surfacing . Some named it Boomtown Rats' best album and one of the best albums of 1979, while other critics gave it mixed ratings.
Following their previous album A Tonic For The Troops , the Boomtown Rats went on a promotional tour of the United States and learned a lot about American life and the music there. This became the recurring theme of the new album. Songs like I Don't Like Mondays and Diamond Smiles give deep insights into American society, while others like Nothing Happened Today and Having My Picture Taken ridicule this life as stupid.
Musically, the album represents a departure from the group's earlier punk influences and reflects various musical influences. The music of the Boomtown Rats was henceforth assigned to the music genre New Wave . In 2005, The Fine Art of Surfacing was re-released on CD. The recordings were digitally edited by Bod Geldof and Pete Briquette and the album was supplemented by five bonus tracks .
Track list
All Bob Geldof songs unless specifically stated.
- Someone's Looking at You - 4:22
- Diamond Smiles - 3:49
- Wind Chill Factor (Minus Zero) - 4:35
- Having My Picture Taken (Geldof, Pete Briquette) - 3:18
- Sleep (Fingers' Lullaby) (Johnnie Fingers) - 5:30
- I Don't Like Mondays - 4:16
- Nothing Happened Today - 3:18 am
- Keep It Up (Geldof, Gerry Cott) - 3:39
- Nice 'N' Neat - 2:50
- When the Night Comes - 5:00
Bonus tracks 2005
- Episode 3 - 1:10
- Real Different (Single B-Side) - 2:39
- How do you do? (Single B-side) - 2:39
- Late Last Night (Single B-Side) - 2:43
- Nothing Happened Today (Live in Cardiff) - 3:44
Hit parades
album
| year | Hit parade | space |
|---|---|---|
| 1979 | UK album charts | 7th |
Singles
| year | single | Hit parade | space |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1979 | I don't like mondays | UK Singles Chart | 1 |
| 1979 | I don't like mondays | Billboard Hot 100 | 73 |
Awards
| country | Art |
|---|---|
| Canada | 2 × platinum |
| UK | gold |
Individual evidence
- ↑ The Fine Art of Surfacing at Discogs , accessed on September 19, 2012 (English).
- ↑ Jochen Scheytt: I don't like Mondays. ( Memento of May 3, 2015 in the Internet Archive ) Retrieved December 27, 2016.
- ^ Reviews: Allmusic , Robert Christgau
- ^ The Fine Art of Surfacing. Retrieved September 19, 2012 .
- ↑ Boomtown Rats - Fine Art of Surfacing CD. CD Universe, accessed on September 19, 2012.
- ^ The Fine Art of Surfacing. iTunes , accessed September 19, 2012.
- ↑ a b Chart sources: UK , US
- ↑ Ross Fitzsmons: Banana Republic. Archived from the original on July 5, 2008 ; accessed on September 19, 2012 (English).
- ↑ Certified Awards Search. British Phonographic Industry, accessed September 19, 2012 (search for Boomington Rats ).