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Four-Calendar Café

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Four-Calendar Café is the seventh studio album by Scottish band Cocteau Twins, released on 18 October 1993 by Fontana Records. It was their first release since leaving their former record label 4AD.[1] Two singles were released to promote the album, "Evangeline" (September 1993) and "Bluebeard" (February 1994). A performance to promote "Bluebeard" on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno marked their debut performance on American television.[2]

Four-Calendar Café
Studio album by
Cocteau Twins
Released18 October 1993
Recorded1993
StudioSeptember Sound, London
GenreDream pop
Length41:23
LabelFontana
ProducerCocteau Twins
Cocteau Twins chronology
Heaven or Las Vegas
(1990) 		Four-Calendar Café
(1993) 		Snow
(1993)
Singles from Four-Calendar Café
  1. "Evangeline"
    Released: 20 September 1993
  2. "Bluebeard"
    Released: 7 February 1994

Background

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Fraser and Guthrie ended their 13-year relationship in 1993.[3] The band explained that Four-Calendar Café was a response to the turmoil that had engulfed them in that period, with Guthrie entering rehab and quitting alcohol and drugs, and Fraser undergoing psychotherapy.

The album distinguishes itself as one of the group's more direct and pop-oriented releases, with vocalist Elizabeth Fraser's lyrics more intelligible than usual. Guthrie claimed "I’ve consciously been stripping things back. In the past, I’ve always wanted one more overdub, one more melody, because I’m terrible for thinking that my music isn’t good enough. So if I put in a few more frilly overdubs, then it’ll be all right. These one’s are more substantial. The ideas are more focused".[4] Fraser said "I tend to go from one extreme to the other. To go from an album like ‘Blue Bell Knoll,’ which is so heavily disguised and removed from reality to ‘Heaven or Las Vegas,’ or even more to this one, where everything on it is in English and it's all audible...it is extreme, I think. But it seems important for me to do that".[5]

Raymonde later spoke highly of the album, claiming that "I think it’s an amazing record, and I think people will probably realise that many, many years in the future. It was such a departure from what we’d done before. And the fact that it wasn’t on 4AD, and the fact that we’d jumped ship and we were on the other side, with the enemy, on a major label, I think people were sort of like, ‘Oh, that can’t be any good.’ But I think in time people will realise what a great album ‘Four-Calendar Café’ is. Because I think it's beautiful".[6]

Release and promotion

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The album took its title from William Least Heat-Moon's book Blue Highways, in which the author considers the quality of a restaurant by how many calendars it has hanging on its wall.[7] The cover image was taken by Walter Wick, who is known for his photography for the children's book series I Spy.

Four–Calendar Cafe was released on 18 October 1993 by Fontana Records, their first album since leaving record label 4AD, under which their previous studio album, Heaven or Las Vegas (1990), was released. Two singles were released from the album – "Evangeline" as the lead single on 20 September 1993, and "Bluebeard" as the second and final single on 14 February 1994. To promote the album, Robin Guthrie appeared on MTV's 120 Minutes, marking the first television interview by a member of the band in the United States.[8] As part of the promotion, the band performed "Bluebeard" on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno.

"Evangeline" was a moderate hit in several countries. "Bluebeard" was a moderate success on the United States modern charts.

Critical performance

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Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic     [9]
Encyclopedia of Popular Music     [10]
Entertainment WeeklyA−[11]
Music Week     [12]
NME8/10[13]
Philadelphia Inquirer    [14]
Pitchfork8.1/10[15]
Q     [16]
Rolling Stone     [17]
(The New) Rolling Stone Album Guide     [18]

Upon its release, the album received generally positive reviews from music critics. AllMusic said "Four-Calendar Café is also, tellingly, their most earthbound effort; as with Heaven or Las Vegas, the emphasis here is on substance as much as style -- "Evangeline," "Bluebeard," and "Know Who You Are at Every Age" continue the trio's advance into more accessible melodic and lyrical ground without sacrificing even an ounce of their trademark ethereality".[19] Pitchfork commented on the album saying "Four-Calendar Café is full of trauma’s echoes".[20]

NME named it the 46th best record of 1993.[21]

Sales and commercial performance

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In the United Kingdom, the album debuted at number thirteen on the UK Albums Charts on week ending 24 October 1993,[22] spending a total of three weeks within the UK Top 100 Albums Charts.[23] In the United States, it debuted at number seventy-eight on the US Billboard 200 charts, spending a total of three weeks within the top 200.[24] As of 1996, it had sold 146,000 copies in the U.S. according to Nielsen SoundScan.[25]

It also spent three weeks within the albums chart in New Zealand, following a peak position of number twenty-two,[26] and also reached number forty-five on the European Top 100 Albums charts.[27]

Track listing

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All songs written by Cocteau Twins.

  1. "Know Who You Are at Every Age" – 3:42
  2. "Evangeline" – 4:31
  3. "Bluebeard" – 3:56
  4. "Theft, and Wandering Around Lost" – 4:30
  5. "Oil of Angels" – 4:38
  6. "Squeeze-Wax" – 3:49
  7. "My Truth" – 4:34
  8. "Essence" – 3:02
  9. "Summerhead" – 3:39
  10. "Pur" – 5:02

Personnel

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Additional personnel
  • Lincoln Fong - additional engineering

Cover versions

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The songs "Bluebeard" and "Know Who You Are at Every Age" were covered by Cantopop artist Faye Wong for her 1994 album Wu Si Lyun Seung or Random Thoughts. "Bluebeard" was renamed to become the album's title track, and "Know Who You Are at Every Age" became "Ji Gei Ji Bei" (or "Know Yourself and Each Other"). Wong's cover version of "Bluebeard" was featured in the film Chungking Express, in which she also starred.

Charts

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Chart performance for Four-Calendar Café
Chart (1993) Peak
position
Australian Albums (ARIA)[28] 111
European Albums (Music & Media)[29] 45
New Zealand Albums (RMNZ)[30] 22
UK Albums (OCC)[31] 13
US Billboard 200[32] 78

References

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  1. ^ "Music Street Journal - Music News & Reviews". www.musicstreetjournal.com. Retrieved 12 April 2024.
  2. ^ "Cocteau Twins: Bluebeard". cocteautwins.com. Retrieved 12 April 2024.
  3. ^ Bush, Calvin (8 October 1993). "These Childish Things". The List. Archived from the original on 20 January 2022. Retrieved 28 June 2019.
  4. ^ "Cocteau Twins: Four-Calendar Café". cocteautwins.com. Retrieved 12 April 2024.
  5. ^ "Cocteau Twins: Four-Calendar Café". cocteautwins.com. Retrieved 12 April 2024.
  6. ^ "Cocteau Twins: Four-Calendar Café". cocteautwins.com. Retrieved 12 April 2024.
  7. ^ "History". Cocteau Twins. Retrieved 12 June 2013.
  8. ^ "Robin Guthrie (Cocteau Twins) • MTV 120 minutes interview (Circa 1994)". YouTube.
  9. ^ Ankeny, Jason. "Four-Calendar Cafe – Cocteau Twins | Songs, Reviews, Credits, Awards". AllMusic. Retrieved 4 July 2015.
  10. ^ Larkin, Colin (2000). The Encyclopedia of Popular Music. Omnibus Press.
  11. ^ Woodard, Josef (19 November 1993). "Four-Calendar Café". Entertainment Weekly.
  12. ^ Aston, Martin (23 October 1993). "Market Preview: Alternative — Pick of the Week" (PDF). Music Week. p. 12. Retrieved 1 February 2023.
  13. ^ Kessler, Ted (16 October 1993). "Long Play: Aahhh Bistro!!!". NME. p. 32.
  14. ^ Wood, Sam (14 December 1993). "Re-Creating the '60s Fire of Saxophonist McLean". Philadelphia Inquirer.
  15. ^ Dorris, Jesse (19 October 2018). "Cocteau Twins: Four-Calendar Café". Pitchfork. Retrieved 19 October 2018.
  16. ^ Q. October 1993. p. 104. {{cite magazine}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  17. ^ Drozdowski, Ted (10 March 1994). "Recordings". Rolling Stone. Issue 677.
  18. ^ Brackett, Nathan; Hoard, Christian David (2004). The New Rolling Stone Album Guide. Simon and Schuster. ISBN 9780743201698.
  19. ^ "Four-Calendar Café - Cocteau Twins | Album | AllMusic". AllMusic. Retrieved 12 April 2024.
  20. ^ "Cocteau Twins: Treasure Hiding: The Fontana Years". Pitchfork. Retrieved 12 April 2024.
  21. ^ "Albums and Tracks of the Year: 1993". NME. Retrieved 3 January 2013.
  22. ^ "Official Albums Chart on 24/10/1993". Official Charts. Retrieved 12 April 2024.
  23. ^ "FOUR-CALENDAR CAFE". Official Charts. 30 October 1993. Retrieved 12 April 2024.
  24. ^ "Cocteau Twins | Biography, Music & News". Billboard. Retrieved 12 April 2024.
  25. ^ Bradley Bambarger (6 April 1996). "Radio Climate Could Boost Capitol's Cocteau Twins". Billboard. p. 14.
  26. ^ "Cocteau Twins". Charts.org.nz. Retrieved 12 April 2024.
  27. ^ "European Top 100 Albums" (PDF). World Radio History. Retrieved 12 April 2024.
  28. ^ "Cocteau Twins chart history, received from ARIA in May 2024". ARIA. Retrieved 20 July 2024 – via Imgur.com. N.B. The High Point number in the NAT column represents the release's peak on the national chart.
  29. ^ "European Top 100 Albums" (PDF). Music & Media. Vol. 10, no. 45. 6 November 1993. p. 16. OCLC 29800226 – via World Radio History.
  30. ^ "Charts.nz – Cocteau Twins – Four Calendar Café". Hung Medien. Retrieved 8 June 2021.
  31. ^ "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 8 June 2021.
  32. ^ "Cocteau Twins Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved 8 June 2021.
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