Privilege (Television Personalities album)

Privilege is an album by English rock band Television Personalities.[6][7] It was released in 1990 through Fire Records.[4][8] The album was recorded as a trio, with former Swell Maps member Jowe Head and drummer Jeffrey Bloom accompanying Dan Treacy.[9]

Privilege
Studio album by
ReleasedFebruary 1990
GenrePunk rock, new wave
Length46:40
LabelFire[1]
ProducerPhil Vinall, Television Personalities
Television Personalities chronology
The Painted Word
(1984)
Privilege
(1990)
Closer to God
(1992)
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[2]
Chicago Tribune[3]
The Encyclopedia of Popular Music[4]
Spin Alternative Record Guide7/10[5]

Critical reception

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Jason Ankeny of AllMusic gave the album a positive review, describing it as "one of the group's most personal and dark records."[2] Chicago Tribune critic David Levinsky wrote that "the LP suffers from overly lush production, supplying one too many monolithic synth chords." Levinsky also stated: "We get a record suffering from the shotgun approach: a couple of exceptional singles and a lot of also-rans."[3] In contrast, Ira Robbins of Trouser Press stated: "Privilege dresses Treacy's characteristically direct songs with just the right amount of keyboards, and his voice is as boyishly engaging as ever."[9] The Spin Alternative Record Guide called the album "overproduced," but wrote that "Treacy can still make his pop obsessions gleam like vintage Campbell's soup cans."[5]

Track listing

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All songs written by Dan Treacy, except where noted.

  1. "Paradise Is For The Blessed" – 3:49
  2. "A Good And Faithful Servant" – 3:38
  3. "Conscience Tells Me No" – 3:29
  4. "My Hedonistic Tendencies" – 4:05
  5. "All My Dreams Are Dead" – 3:00
  6. "Salvador Dali's Garden Party" – 3:32
  7. "The Man Who Paints The Rainbows" – 2:44
  8. "What If It's Raining?" – 3:37
  9. "Sad Mona Lisa" – 2:40
  10. "The Engine Driver Song" – 2:55
  11. "Sometimes I Think You Know Me Better Than I Know Myself" – 1:51
  12. "Privilege" – 3:43
  13. "The Room At The Top Of The Stairs" (Randall Hylton, Treacy) – 3:35
  14. "This Time There's No Happy Ending" – 2:20
  15. "Part One: Fulfilling The Contractual Obligations" – 1:47

Personnel

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Television Personalities
  • Jowe Head – bass
  • Jefferey Bloom – drums
  • Dan Treacy – guitar, keyboards, vocals
  • Jowe Head – strings, trumpet
Technical
  • Matthew Fisher – engineering
  • Wilson Sharp – engineering
  • Television Personalities – production
  • Phil Vinall – production

References

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  1. ^ "Television Personalities – Privilege". FIRE RECORDS. 19 February 2018.
  2. ^ a b Ankeny, Jason. "Television Personalities - Privilege". AllMusic. Retrieved 5 January 2015.
  3. ^ a b Levinsky, David (29 March 1990). "Television Personalities - Privilege". The Chicago Tribune. Retrieved 5 January 2015.
  4. ^ a b Larkin, Colin (2006). The Encyclopedia of Popular Music. Vol. 8. MUZE. p. 83.
  5. ^ a b Spin Alternative Record Guide. Vintage Books. 1995. pp. 399–400.
  6. ^ "Television Personalities | Biography & History". AllMusic.
  7. ^ The Rough Guide to Rock (2nd ed.). Rough Guides Ltd. 1999. p. 994.
  8. ^ "Spins". SPIN. SPIN Media LLC. 2 June 1990 – via Google Books.
  9. ^ a b Robbins, Ira. "Television Personalities". Trouser Press. Retrieved 5 January 2015.
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