Label: Island Records (US)
Catalog#: 314-524 126-2
Format: CD, Album
Country: US
Released: 1996
Genre: Electronic, Rock
Style: New Wave, Downtempo, Avantgarde


Credits: Backing Vocals - Loretta Heywood (tracks: 4, 5, 7 to 9, 11)
Bass - Erik Sanko (tracks: 1 to 5, 9 to 11)
Drums, Programmed By, Turntables - Tim Simenon
Guitar [Electric] - Chris Cunningham (tracks: 1, 2, 5, 9, 10, 12)
Keyboards - Dave Clayton (tracks: 1 to 11)
Percussion - Danny Cummings (tracks: 1, 2, 4, 7 to 12)
Producer - Gavin Friday, Maurice Seezer, Tim Simenon

Notes: Gavin sings through a megaphone he calls the "stronzophone" on tracks 2, 5, 6.
"The Last Song I'll Ever Sing" in loving memory of Thom McGinty, The Diceman [1954-1995].


Reviews: Friday's third solo effort, as always with Seezer as his main collaborator, provided another development in his musical approach with the choice of Bomb the Bass mainman Tim Simenon as producer. Further continuing the initial experiments the two did on Adam 'n' Eve, Simenon helped create a dance-influenced album that ranges from industrial slams to clean, elegant breaks, in many ways serving as the model for his following work with Depeche Mode on Ultra. There's more than a few hints of where Massive Attack would end up on Mezzanine as well, as the low pulses and sudden guitar/drum hits on the title track show -- and the fact that the lead single from Shag Tobacco was named "Angel." Friday himself is still the sharp-tongued ruined romantic of the previous albums, as apt to swoon as wittily shred and breathlessly gasp, while Seezer again provides the music and core work on keyboards and accordion (check out "Dolls") to back him perfectly. The obvious glam inspirations the two have always had get full confirmation via a great cover of T. Rex's "The Slider," but rather than trying to recreate that song's exact atmosphere, Simenon helps whip up a clattering, stop-start performance that still keeps all the sex. As for the rest of Shag Tobacco, it's one lush, playful plunge after another into just enough decadence. "Angel" sounds rather like an extension of the striking Adam 'n' Eve closer "Eden," similarly mixing wonderful falsetto from Friday with steady yet soaring music, including great fuzz bass from Erik Sanko. With its outrageous title, "Mr. Pussy" gets credit for being named after a legendary transvestite from Dublin, who provides the brief spoken word conclusion and shows he has as much style as Friday himself. Best song title of the bunch: "You, Me and World War Three."


Tracklisting:
1. Shag Tobacco (4:52)
Accordion, Keyboards - Maurice Seezer
Mandolin - Chris Cunningham
Synthesizer [Ewi] - Renaud Pion
2. Caruso (5:42)
Accordion, Keyboards, Piano, Drum Programming - Maurice Seezer
Backing Vocals - Enrico Caruso
Clarinet [Bass, B Flat], Jaws Harp - Renaud Pion
3. Angel (6:06)
Guitar [Pick Effects] - Chris Cunningham
Synthesizer [Ewi], Flute [Bass] - Renaud Pion
Synthesizer [Omnichord], Programmed By [System 700] - Don Hozz
4. Little Black Dress (4:05)
Accordion, Keyboards, Piano, Drum Programming - Maurice Seezer
Backing Vocals - Bono , The Edge
Saxophone [Baritone, Toy], Synthesizer [Ewi] - Renaud Pion
5. The Slider (3:18)
Accordion, Organ, Piano - Maurice Seezer
Saxophone [Baritone], Synthesizer [Ewi], Programmed By - Renaud Pion
Turntables - Tim Simenon
6. Dolls (4:10)
Bass [Rhythm] - Erik Sanko
Piano, Bass, Keyboards, Accordion, Guitar [Electric], Drum Programming - Maurice Seezer
Synthesizer [Ewi] - Renaud Pion
7. Mr. Pussy (3:41)
Bass, Strings - Dave Clayton
Clarinet [Bass, B Flat], Saxophone [Baritone] - Renaud Pion
Featuring [M. C.] - Mr. Pussy
Piano, Accordion, Keyboards - Maurice Seezer
8. You, Me And World War III (4:39)
Bass, Piano, Keyboards - Maurice Seezer
Flute [Bass] - Renaud Pion
9. Kitchen Sink Drama (6:00)
Guitar [Electric] - Erik Sanko
Piano, Clavinet, Keyboards, Drum Programming - Maurice Seezer
Synthesizer [Ewi], Flute [Bass] - Renaud Pion
10. My Twentieth Century (5:06)
Acoustic Guitar - Chris Cunningham
Piano, Keyboards, Accordion - Maurice Seezer
Synthesizer [Ewi], Saxophone [Baritone], Flute [Bass] - Renaud Pion
11. The Last Song I'll Ever Sing (3:50)
Acoustic Guitar - Chris Cunningham
Piano, Keyboards, Accordion, Drum Programming - Maurice Seezer
Violin, Saxophone [Baritone] - Renaud Pion
12. Le Roi d'Amour (3:51)
Acoustic Guitar, Mandolin - Chris Cunningham
Flute [Bass], Clarinet [Bass, B Flat] Clarinet - Renaud Pion
Piano, Keyboards, Accordion, Drum Programming - Maurice Seezer