Door, Door is the debut album by Australian rock band The Boys Next Door. The album was recorded before the band left Australia for London in 1980, at which point they changed their name to The Birthday Party and created the body of work for which they are most recognised. Likewise, the album is different stylistically from their later work, being less dark and slightly more poppy.
| Door, Door | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | June 1979 | |||
| Recorded | June 1978 Side A recorded at Alan Eaton Studios (Melbourne) January 1979 Side B produced at Richmond Recorders | |||
| Genre | Post-punk | |||
| Length | 31:56 | |||
| Label | Mushroom Records | |||
| Producer | The Boys Next Door | |||
| The Boys Next Door chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Singles from Door, Door | ||||
| ||||
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [1] |
Background
editThe band recorded a full album in June 1978 as a four-piece. Shortly afterwards, Rowland S. Howard joined as second guitarist and the group discarded half of these songs and recorded five new tracks in January 1979. These were featured on side two of the released LP (tracks 6-10 of the CD release). Of the "missing" half-album, only a demo of the song "Sex Crimes" has ever been released (in 2005).[2]
Legacy
editVocalist Nick Cave later said of the album, "We were adolescents and very late developers. There was a period where we were confused and had a lot of problems and we put out an album like Door, Door which is a product of all those things. I mean, it was a complete wet dream that record. I hate it. It reeks of a band trying to be musically intelligent and write clever, witty lyrics. It's a complete wank".[3]
The album includes the single "Shivers" which became their best known song. Written by Howard, "Shivers" was later covered by Marie Hoy, The Screaming Jets, Divine Fits, Courtney Barnett, and others. "Shivers" was also included on the soundtrack of the 1986 film Dogs in Space, both the original Door Door version and Marie Hoy's cover.
Track listing
editAll songs credited to The Boys Next Door.
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "The Nightwatchman" | 2:07 |
| 2. | "Brave Exhibitions" | 2:27 |
| 3. | "Friends of My World" | 2:46 |
| 4. | "The Voice" | 3:55 |
| 5. | "Roman Roman" | 1:35 |
| 6. | "Somebody's Watching" | 2:39 |
| 7. | "After a Fashion" | 4:36 |
| 8. | "Dive Position" | 2:47 |
| 9. | "I Mistake Myself" | 4:31 |
| 10. | "Shivers" | 4:34 |
| Total length: | 31:56 | |
Charts
edit| Chart (1979) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Australian (Kent Music Report) | 93[4] |
Band personnel
edit- Nick Cave – vocals
- Mick Harvey – guitar (track 1–7), piano (track 8–10)
- Rowland S. Howard – guitar (track 7–10)
- Tracy Pew – bass guitar
- Phill Calvert – drums
Additional personnel
edit- Tony Cohen – engineer
- Chris Coyne – tenor sax
- Henry Vyhnal – violin
- Andrew Duffield – electronics
References
edit- ^ Allmusic review
- ^ Inner City Sound. "Inner City Soundtrack track list". Innercitysound.com.au. Retrieved 14 February 2012.
- ^ Andrea Jones. "Birthday Party Celebrate". Australian Rolling Stone (February 1982). Randwick, NSW: Silvertongues Pty Ltd: 17.
- ^ Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 (illustrated ed.). St Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. p. 44. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.