Coming Up (album)

Coming Up
Studio album by Suede
Released	2 September 1996
Recorded	1996
Genre	Britpop, glam rock
Length	42:27
Label	Nude
Producer	Ed Buller
Suede chronology
Dog Man Star (1994) Coming Up (1996) Sci-Fi Lullabies (1997)
Singles from Coming Up
"Trash" Released: 29 July 1996 "Beautiful Ones" Released: 14 October 1996 "Saturday Night" Released: 13 January 1997 "Lazy" Released: 7 April 1997 "Filmstar" Released: 7 August 1997

Coming Up is the third album by English alternative rock band Suede, released in September 1996 on Nude Records. It was the band's first album since the departure of guitarist Bernard Butler, who was replaced by Richard Oakes. Also added to the band was keyboardist Neil Codling. The album was nominated for the 1997 Mercury Prize.^[1] A commercial and critical success, Coming Up was the album that introduced Suede to a worldwide audience, in places such as Europe, Canada and Asia.^[2]

Background and recording

After the departure of guitarist Bernard Butler and the lack of commercial success with Dog Man Star and its singles, Suede were being somewhat dismissed by the British music press.^[3] Determined to bring Suede back into the mainstream, Anderson decided that the sound of the new album would be the complete opposite of Dog Man Star. "I think the next album will be quite simple, actually. I'd really like to write a straightforward pop album. Just ten hits."^[4]

The guitarist to replace Butler was the 17-year-old Richard Oakes, who beat 500 other applicants for the role. Instead of applying for the job like everyone else, Oakes was auditioned on the strength of an impromptu demo tape he sent to the Suede fan club.^[5] Despite Oakes's smooth integration into his new role and the band's rejuvenated spirit, Anderson was tired of touring and was keen to get back in the studio with his new songwriting partner. "...it was becoming really not much fun touring an album that wasn't made by the band."^[6] This statement was an indication that Suede lacked enthusiasm, and were not content with being on tour, a feeling, which was reflected in the b-side, "Have You Ever Been This Low".^[6]

To prepare for its recording, the band had immersed themselves in T. Rex's 1972 album The Slider and its successor, Tanx. On the eve of the album's release, Anderson stated: "I wanted it to be a complete turnover from the last album, which was very dark and dank... I wanted it to be communicative and understandable. Pop music generally has to be pretty dumb, I think. And I've had my little affair with the avant-garde. It's not as exciting as pop music."^[7] Long-time producer Ed Buller would be at the controls once again. Bass player Mat Osman recalls how Buller was keen on making the album simple. "He was really keen on using all those devices: the big repeated end, the handclaps, the straightforward chorus, make it big and obvious."^[8]

Two songs which made it onto Coming Up had already been written in the early days of Suede. "Lazy" and "By the Sea" were two of Anderson's compositions, which had been written during the Butler era.^[8] "I pretty much knew Bernard wasn't going to be in Suede for the rest of his life and I thought it would be good to have a couple of things knocking about."^[9] "By the Sea" was actually written when Suede were recording their first album, which is why the songs opening line is almost identical to "So Young".^[4]

Unlike the tense and chaotic recording of Dog Man Star, which according to Anderson was written by post, the new material was far more celebratory in both its development and execution.^[8] "I kind of like working like that, because the whole of Dog Man Star was written by post pretty much,...There was no mutual exchange or anything like that."^[10] Songs such as "By the Sea" and "She" required the use of keyboards. Faced with the problem as to how to play them live, Suede recruited Simon Gilbert's cousin Neil Codling, who made his debut at a fanclub gig in January 1996.^[11]

The musical sound of Coming Up is more accessible than previous album Dog Man Star. Its singles were much more successful than those of their second LP, while the lyrical content concerns the band's disaffection at the mid-90s hedonistic, celebrity-obsessed culture; "Beautiful Ones" and "She" are caricatures of British yuppies, celebrities and heroin-chic models. "Beautiful Ones" was originally titled "Dead Leg" after Osman threatened to give Oakes a dead leg if he was unable to write a top ten single.^[8] According to Anderson, "The Chemistry Between Us" is about "the emptiness of it all" with regards to drug use.^[7] The album finishes with a note of optimism in "Saturday Night" - a straightforward, contented love song.

Release and reception

Coming Up was a commercial success, removing many fans' doubts about Suede's new line-up. It spawned five top 10 singles, sold 1.5 million copies,^[11] charting at number one on the UK Albums Chart.^[12] The lead single "Trash" was their joint top charting single along with "Stay Together", reaching number three on the UK Singles Chart, however it outsold the latter making it their biggest selling single ever.

Reviews were generally positive and seemed to respect Suede's new pop sound. Stephen Thomas Erlewine of Allmusic rated Coming Up 4 out of 5, he welcomed the album's simplicity, however felt that very little progress had been made: "As a statement of purpose, Coming Up is unimpeachable. Though it doesn't break any new ground for the band — unless you count the newfound sense of optimism — it's a remarkable consolidation and crystallization of Suede's talents."^[13] James Delingpole of the Daily Telegraph wrote that ..."Coming Up is their defiant reminder of what made Suede so special." He added, ..."If Dog Man Star was Diamond Dogs, then this is Suede's Ziggy Stardust - extravagant, steeped in glam and unashamedly poppy.^[14] Andy Gill of The Independent, however was a harsh critic of the album. In contrast to their first album, he wrote, "...two albums and one guitarist later, they sound utterly mined out," he added "...in many ways, it's a step back from Dogmanstar - and their manner grows increasingly obnoxious.^[15]

Despite its success in the U.K. and Europe, Coming Up did not win an audience in America, partially because of its later release in April 1997 and partially because Suede only supported it with a three-city tour.^[2] According to Nielsen SoundScan, Coming Up has sold about 40,000 copies in the U.S. as of 2008.^[16] Critical reception, however was very positive stateside. Marc Savlov of The Austin Chronicle wrote that "...Oakes more than fills the boots of his predecessor, and the new CD is a pure pop pleasure, thick and sinewy and terribly, cooly British."^[17] Keith Phipps of The A.V. Club had similar views, saying that "...The London Suede should, by all laws of musical logic, have disappeared by now. However, after surviving a name change, the replacement of co-songwriter/guitarist Bernard Butler with an obscure 17-year old, and more than a few changes in musical fashion, the band has returned with a third album that's more consistent and accessible than anything it's produced before."^[18] James Hunter of Spin gave the album 8 out of 10. He said that "...the band pushes its case by ascending to heights of absolutely lucid songcraft that, in this often fuzzy era, feels exhilarating."^[19]

Suede embarked on a short tour of the U.S. and Canada in May 1997 to support the album,^[20] but fell upon bad fortune when their equipment got stolen after playing a sold out show in Boston, Massachusetts on 17 May.^[21]

Legacy

In December 1996, The Face,^[22] Melody Maker,^[23] Select^[24] and Q^[25] listed Coming Up as one of the ten greatest albums of the year, while Mojo^[26] and NME^[27] ranked it 12th.

Two years later, Q readers voted Coming Up the 36th greatest album of all time.^[28] A worldwide Virgin poll saw the album voted #195 in the all-time top 1000 albums.^[29] In 1999, American music critic Ned Raggett ranked Coming Up as the 42nd greatest album of the 1990s.^[30] The following year, Q ranked the album the 96th greatest British album ever.^[25]

Track listing

All songs written by Brett Anderson and Richard Oakes except where noted.

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"Trash"		4:06
2.	"Filmstar"		3:25
3.	"Lazy"	Anderson	3:19
4.	"By the Sea"	Anderson	4:15
5.	"She"		3:38
6.	"Beautiful Ones"		3:50
7.	"Starcrazy"	Anderson, Neil Codling	3:33
8.	"Picnic by the Motorway"		4:45
9.	"The Chemistry Between Us"	Anderson, Codling	7:04
10.	"Saturday Night"		4:32

2011 Remastered and Expanded Version ^[31]

Disc One: Demos and B-Sides

1. "She (Greenhouse Demo)" - 2:49
2. "Lazy (Greenhouse Demo)" - 3:15
3. "Dead Leg (Beautiful Ones)" - 3:16
4. "Filmstar (Church Demo)" - 2:38
5. "Pisspot (Trash)" - 5:02
6. "Ballad Idea [Saturday Night] (Church Demo)" - 3:49
7. "Tiswas (Starcrazy)" - 3:20

B-Sides

All tracks written by Brett Anderson and Richard Oakes unless stated.

1. "Asda Town" - 3:08 (Anderson)
2. "Together" - 4:34
3. "Bentswood Boys" - 3:14

Disc Two: The B-Sides

1. "Europe Is Our Playground [original version]" - 4:39 (Anderson/Mat Osman)
2. "Have You Ever Been This Low?" - 3:56
3. "Another No One" - 3:52 (Anderson)
4. "Every Monday Morning Comes" - 4:29
5. "Sound Of The Streets" - 5:01 (Anderson)
6. "Young Men" - 4:37
7. "Sam" - 3:38 (Anderson)
8. "Money" - 4:06
9. "This Time" - 5:47
10. "WSD" - 4:40 (Anderson)
11. "Jumble Sale Mums" - 4:17
12. "These Are The Sad Songs" - 6:22
13. "Feel" - 5:05 (Anderson/Codling/Oakes/Osman/Simon Gilbert)
14. "Sadie" - 5:26
15. "Graffiti Women" - 4:51 (Anderson)
16. "Duchess" - 3:52 (Anderson/Codling)

Extra Track

1. "Motown" - 4:42 (Anderson/Codling) (Previously unreleased rehearsal room recording)

DVD

Promo Videos

• Trash
• Beautiful Ones
• Saturday Night
• Lazy
• Filmstar

Bonus Videos

• Europe Is Our Playground
• Shipbuilding

Live At The Roundhouse, 15 December 1996

• She
• Trash
• By The Sea
• Lazy
• Saturday Night (featuring Neil Tennant)
• Rent (featuring Neil Tennant) (Tennant/Chris Lowe)
• Europe Is Our Playground
• Beautiful Ones
• Starcrazy

In Paris, 7 October 1994

• This Hollywood Life
• We Are The Pigs
• Killing Of A Flashboy
• Animal Nitrate
• Heroine
• The Wild Ones
• So Young
• Metal Mickey

Bonus DVD Feature

• Brett Anderson, Richard Oakes and Neil Codling 2011 Interview including film inserts by Simon Gilbert

Personnel

Suede Brett Anderson – Vocals, Artwork Richard Oakes – Guitar Mat Osman – Bass guitar Simon Gilbert – Drums Neil Codling – Keyboards

Production Ed Buller – Producer, Engineer, Mixing Dave Bascombe – Mixing Gary Stout – Engineer

Additional personnel Craig Armstrong – String Arrangements Nick Knight – Photography Peter Saville – Art direction Howard Wakefield – Design

References

• Barnett, David. Love and Poison. Carlton Publishing Group, 2003. ISBN 0-233-00094-1

Notes

1. ^ "Mercury Prize 1997 Shortlist".
2. ^ ^{a b} "The London Suede: Biography". MTV.com
3. ^ Sakamoto, John. "New Suede crew". Canoe.ca 13 Feb 1995
4. ^ ^{a b} Barnett, p. 183
5. ^ Author unknown. "Metromania: Bright lights - Richard Oakes". The Independent. 20 Oct 1994
6. ^ ^{a b} Barnett, p. 179
7. ^ ^{a b} McCormick, Neil. "Taking the rough with the smooth". Daily Telegraph. 31 Aug 1996
8. ^ ^{a b c d} Barnett, D. "Trash, You & Me: The Story Of Suede's Coming Up". The Quietus. 23 March 2010
9. ^ Barnett, p. 182
10. ^ Barnett, p. 187
11. ^ ^{a b} Author unknown. "COMING UP? SUEDE'S FOURTH ALBUM". NME.com. 2 Aug 1998
12. ^ The Official UK Charts Company: Search Results.
13. ^ Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "Coming Up Review". Allmusic.
14. ^ Delingpole, James. "Rock Records". Daily Telegraph. 31 August 1996
15. ^ Gill, Andy "Record reviews: Coming Up". The Independent. 23 Aug 1996
16. ^ Caulfield, Keith. "Ask Billboard: Blue Suede Shoes". Billboard.com. Sept 26, 2008
17. ^ Savlov, Marc. "Coming Up Review". The Austin Chronicle. 8 May 1997
18. ^ Phipps, Keith. "Coming Up review". The A.V. Club. 29 March 2002
19. ^ Hunter, James. "Spin record reviews". Spin. May 1997
20. ^ "London Suede's U.S. Return". MTV.com. 28 Mar 1997.
21. ^ "London Suede Looks For Missing Gear Online". MTV.com. 27 May 1997.
22. ^ The Face Recordings Of The Year. The Face. 1996. Archived at rocklistmusic.co.uk
23. ^ Melody Maker End Of Year Critic Lists. Melody Maker. 1996. Archived at rocklistmusic.co.uk
24. ^ Select End Of Year Lists. Select. 1996. Archived at rocklistmusic.co.uk
25. ^ ^{a b} Q lists
26. ^ MOJO Albums Of The Year. Mojo. 1996. Archived at rocklistmusic.co.uk
27. ^ NME Albums. NME. 1996. Archived at rocklistmusic.co.uk
28. ^ "Top 100 Q Magazine".
29. ^ Virgin: All-time top 1000 albums. Archived at rocklistmusic.co.uk
30. ^ Ned Raggett
31. ^ http://www.suede.co.uk/band/coming-up/