Fur (Jane Wiedlin album)

__NOTOC__"Fur" is the second album by Jane Wiedlin, released in 1988. The songs "Rush Hour" and "Inside a Dream" were released as singles and both charted on the Billboard Hot 100. The album has a slick, contemporary production, with mainly programmed music complemented by electric guitar and some horns.

The album was written over a period of two years, following the lukewarm response to previous album "Jane Wiedlin" and her subsequent foray into acting. [ [http://news.google.com/archivesearch?hl=en&q=wiedlin+fur&as_ldate=1988&as_hdate=1988&um=1&ie=UTF-8&scoring=t&sa=X&oi=archive&ct=title "Daily News of Los Angeles", April 1988] ]

ongs

Despite the title track addressing the fur trade ("I don't wear fur/Won't do it/Fur's for fools"), most of the songs deal with fidelity ("Homeboy"), blossoming love ("One Heart One Way", "Lover's Night") and the fulfilment of ambitions ("Inside a Dream").

"Song of the Factory" differs from these themes with insistent synth lines and a more abstract lyric ("It is cold/But it is warm/It is one/But not alone"). Wiedlin's favourite song from the album,Fact|date=October 2007 it includes a dig at producer Shep Pettibone in morse code,Fact|date=October 2007 in reference to a feud between the renowned remixer and "Fur" producer Stephen Hague.Fact|date=October 2007

Both sides of the original vinyl record were bookmarked by slower love songs: "The End of Love" (which was the B-side to "Rush Hour" [ [http://www.discogs.com/release/555318 Discogs.com] ] ) and "Whatever It Takes". "Rush Hour" was the first single from the album and reached #9 in the United States [http://www.billboard.com/bbcom/retrieve_chart_history.do?model.chartFormatGroupName=Singles&model.vnuArtistId=20709&model.vnuAlbumId=49582 billboard.com] ] and #12 in Britain. [ [http://www.chartstats.com/songinfo.php?id=15603 Chart Stats] ] "Fur" and the next single "Inside a Dream" were more modest successes, reaching #105 [ [http://www.billboard.com/bbcom/esearch/chart_display.jsp?cfi=305&cfgn=Albums&cfn=The+Billboard+200&ci=3007524&cdi=6371733&cid=07%2F16%2F1988 billboard.com] ] and #57 respectively in the USA. "Fur" spent 21 weeks on The Billboard 200. [ [http://www.billboard.com/bbcom/esearch/searchResult.jsp?Ntt=jane+wiedlin+fur&Ntk=Keyword&an=bbcom&Ntx=mode+matchallpartial&Ex=1&N=36 billboard.com] ]

Reception

"Fur" received mixed reviews upon release. In the "Los Angeles Times", Steve Hochman wrote: "'Fur' is the perfect title for [Wiedlin's] second solo release: like a teddy bear it's warm and cuddly, but with no teeth or claws. Part of the blame goes to producer Stephen Hague, whose synth-pop is all fluff and no character". [ [http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/latimes/access/59871633.html?dids=59871633:59871633&FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:FT&date=May+15%2C+1988&author=STEVE+HOCHMAN&pub=Los+Angeles+Times+(pre-1997+Fulltext)&desc=No+Go+for+Ex-Go-Go's+Check+List+****Great+Balls+of+Fire+***Good+Vibrations+**Maybe+Baby+*Running+on+Empty&pqatl=google Los Angeles Times, 15 May 1988] ] The album was described as "shimmering mainstream pop [...] that is sometimes reminiscent of Madonna" in the "Daily News of Los Angeles". [ [http://news.google.com/archivesearch?hl=en&q=wiedlin+fur&as_ldate=1988&as_hdate=1988&um=1&ie=UTF-8&scoring=t&sa=X&oi=archive&ct=title "Daily News of Los Angeles", May 1988] ]

The review on allmusic states that "'Rush Hour' and the haunting ballad 'The End of Love' are the best of the lot, with 'Song of the Factory' close behind, but many of the other tracks are filler, and a couple just don't work at all", concluding that "Fur" largely sounds like Wiedlin was being led by EMI's A&R team instead of thinking for herself". [ [http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=10:kcfixqu5ldde allmusic] ]

Track listing

#"Inside a Dream" - 3:36 (Wiedlin, Cole)
#"Rush Hour" - 4:03 (Wiedlin, Rafelson)
#"One Heart One Way" - 3:49 (Wiedlin, Rafelson)
#"Homeboy" - 3:58 (Wiedlin, Lundt, Swirsky)
#"The End of Love" - 3:17 (Wiedlin, Hague)
#"Lover's Night" - 3:26 (Wiedlin, Rafelson)
#"Fur" 3:12 - (Wiedlin, Cole)
#"Give!" - 3:13 (Wiedlin, Rafelson)
#"Song of the Factory" - 4:54 (Wiedlin, Hague, Woolley)
#"Whatever It Takes" - 3:55 (Wiedlin, Kessler, Simms)

Credits

Produced by Stephen Hague Co-produced by David Jacob

Backing vocals - Simon Climie, Tessa Niles Guitar - Neil Taylor Horns - The Kick Horns Keyboards - Robert Fisher Percussion - Bruce Smith

References

External links

* [http://www.janewiedlin.com/ Official web site]