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File Under: Easy Listening

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File Under: Easy Listening (also known as F.U.E.L.) is the second (not counting the EP Beaster) and final studio album by Sugar.

File Under: Easy Listening
Studio album by
Sugar
ReleasedSeptember 6, 1994
Recorded1994
GenreAlternative rock
Length39:58
LabelRykodisc, Creation Records
ProducerBob Mould
Sugar chronology
Beaster
(1993) 		File Under: Easy Listening
(1994) 		Besides
(1995)
Singles from File Under: Easy Listening
  1. "Your Favorite Thing"
    Released: 1994
  2. "Believe What You're Saying"
    Released: 1994
  3. "Gee Angel"
    Released: 1995

Background

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Primary songwriter Bob Mould discussed material written after Beaster in 1993: "It's pretty punk rock. Not real fast, just pretty basic. A lot of it's really vocal-y. Really beautiful and really harmonic, but it's real piledriving… Weird chord changes underneath real traditional vocal lines. So I think it'll be somewhere between these last two records. Also, I'm really starting to hate guitar solos, so I'm trying to avoid them. I'm bending a lot of strings, starting to sound like Johnny Thunders again."[1]

An attempt to record the album in Atlanta proved abortive. "There were seventeen songs done," said Mould. "There were some vocals left to do, and that was it. But it wasn't satisfying me. I erased everything. What are you going to do – keep the tapes on a shelf somewhere? Like you'd ever go into that room again. 'Yes: there is my abject failure.' It's poison – get it out of your life."[2]

Reception

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Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic     [3]
The A.V. ClubB[4]
Entertainment WeeklyA[5]
The Guardian    [6]
NME9/10[7]
Pitchfork7.8/10[8]
Q     [9]
Rolling Stone     [10]
Select4/5[11]
The Village VoiceA[12]

"F.U.E.L. finds former Hüsker Dü man Bob Mould exorcising more demons over a structured barrage of pop noises," observed Steve Lamacq in Q. "The sounds and textures come from the dark, brooding Beaster while the melodies are lifted from the poppier Copper Blue."[9]

"File Under Easy Listening is the kind of title that a third-rate death metal band would come with…" quipped Clark Collis in Select. "Also, there's the production. Where tracks like 'Changes' or 'Hoover Dam' off Copper Blue leapt out of the speakers with all the unrestrained force and tang of a nuclear-powered kipper, most of F.U.E.L. would probably ask your auntie's permission before even turning up… And then, slowly but surely, it all begins to make sense."[11] The album peaked at #7 in the UK and #32 in Canada.

Track listing

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All tracks are written by Bob Mould; except where indicated. "We've come to a realisation," said Mould. "For all intents and purposes, it's my deal."[2]

Original album (2012 edition - Disc one)
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Gift" 4:14
2."Company Book"David Barbe3:45
3."Your Favorite Thing" 3:51
4."What You Want It to Be" 4:13
5."Gee Angel" 3:56
6."Panama City Motel" 4:07
7."Can't Help You Anymore" 3:29
8."Granny Cool" 3:33
9."Believe What You're Saying" 3:56
10."Explode and Make Up" 4:54
2012 edition - Disc one - B-sides
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
11."Mind Is An Island" (B-side of "Your Favourite Thing") 3:37
12."Frustration" (B-side of "Your Favourite Thing")Barbe5:18
13."Going Home" (B-side of "Your Favourite Thing") 2:40
14."In The Eyes Of My Friends" (B-side of "Believe What You're Saying")Barbe3:32
15."And You Tell Me" (B-side of "Believe What You're Saying") 5:02
16."Believe What You're Saying (Campfire Mix)" 3:53
2012 edition - Disc two - The Joke Is Always on Us, Sometimes (Live At First Avenue, Minneapolis, Minnesota, 2 November 1994)
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Gift" 4:12
2."Company Book"Barbe3:28
3."Hoover Dam" 3:08
4."After All The Roads Have Led To Nowhere" (B-side of "Gee Angel") 3:42
5."Where Diamonds Are Halos"Barbe4:21
6."Slick" 4:04
7."Going Home" 2:13
8."Running Out Of Time" 2:29
9."Frustration"Barbe4:38
10."Changes" 3:44
11."Can't Help You Any More" 2:59
12."Helpless" 3:04
13."If I Can't Change Your Mind" 3:04
14."In The Eyes Of My Friends"Barbe3:12
15."Clownmaster" (B-side of "Gee Angel live") 2:43
16."Gee Angel" (A-side of "Gee Angel live") 4:17
17."Explode And Make Up" (B-side of "Gee Angel") 4:39
18."The Slim" (B-side of "Gee Angel") 8:36
2012 edition - Disc three - DVD
No.TitleLength
1."Your Favourite Thing" (Promo video) 
2."Believe What You're Saying" (Promo video) 
3."Gee Angel" (Promo video) 
4."MTV Sugar Feature" (TV appearance) 
5."Believe What You're Saying - Bob Mould & Lou Barlow (Live On MTV 120 Minutes)" (TV appearance) 

Personnel

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  • Bob Mould – guitars, vocals
  • David Barbe – bass, vocals
  • Malcolm Travis – drums
  • James SK Wān – bamboo flute

Charts

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Album

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Chart performance for File Under: Easy Listening
Chart (1994) Peak
position
Australian Albums (ARIA)[13] 72
New Zealand Albums (RMNZ)[14] 10
UK Albums Chart[15] 7
US Billboard Pop Albums[16] 50

Single

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Chart performance for singles from File Under: Easy Listening
Title Chart (1994) Peak
position
"Your Favorite Thing" UK Singles Chart[15] 48
"Your Favorite Thing" US Billboard Modern Rock Tracks[16] 14
"Believe What You're Saying" UK Singles Chart[15] 73

References

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  1. ^ Cavanagh, David (July 1993). "Sidewalking". Select. p. 72.
  2. ^ a b Mundy, Chris (November 3, 1994). "Sugar: Turning bitter into sweet". Rolling Stone. p. 72.
  3. ^ Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "File Under: Easy Listening – Sugar". AllMusic. Retrieved May 29, 2020.
  4. ^ Ryan, Kyle (July 24, 2012). "Sugar: File Under: Easy Listening". The A.V. Club. Retrieved May 29, 2020.
  5. ^ Flaherty, Mike (September 9, 1994). "File Under: Easy Listening". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved May 29, 2020.
  6. ^ Ellison, Mike (September 16, 1994). "Sugar: File Under: Easy Listening (Creation CRECD 172)". The Guardian.
  7. ^ "Sugar: File Under: Easy Listening". NME. September 3, 1994. p. 50.
  8. ^ Harvey, Eric (July 30, 2012). "Sugar: Sugar Reissues". Pitchfork. Retrieved May 29, 2020.
  9. ^ a b Lamacq, Steve (October 1994). "Sugar: File Under: Easy Listening". Q. No. 97. p. 126.
  10. ^ Evans, Paul (October 6, 1994). "Sugar: File Under: Easy Listening". Rolling Stone. p. 87.
  11. ^ a b Collis, Clark (October 1994). "Sugar: File Under: Easy Listening". Select. No. 52.
  12. ^ Christgau, Robert (September 13, 1994). "Consumer Guide". The Village Voice. Retrieved May 29, 2020.
  13. ^ Ryan, Gavin (2011). Australia's Music Charts 1988–2010 (PDF ed.). Mt Martha, Victoria, Australia: Moonlight Publishing. p. 271.
  14. ^ "Charts.nz – Sugar – File Under: Easy Listening". Hung Medien. Retrieved October 19, 2022.
  15. ^ a b c "The Official Charts Company - Sugar". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 2015-08-10.
  16. ^ a b "allmusic ((( Sugar > Awards )))". Billboard. Retrieved 2015-08-15.
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