Sound ... Goodbye to Your Standards

Sound ... Goodbye to Your Standards is an album by the English band the Mighty Lemon Drops, released in 1991.[2][3]

Sound ... Goodbye to Your Standards
Studio album by
Released1991
GenreAlternative rock
LabelSire/Reprise[1]
ProducerAndy Paley
The Mighty Lemon Drops chronology
Laughter
(1989)
Sound ... Goodbye to Your Standards
(1991)
Ricochet
(1992)

The album's first single was "Unkind", which peaked at No. 28 on Billboard's Modern Rock Tracks chart.[4][5] The band supported the album by touring with Sister Double Happiness; they were also part of the ill-fated 1991 festival A Gathering of the Tribes.[6][7][8]

Production

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The album was produced by Andy Paley.[9] About half of the songs were written by guitar player David Newton.[10] The album was recorded live in the studio, in about two weeks.[11] Most of its songs are about relationship issues.[12]

Critical reception

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Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic     [13]
Calgary HeraldB-[14]
The Encyclopedia of Popular Music     [15]
Houston Chronicle    [1]
MusicHound Rock: The Essential Album Guide     [16]
The Tampa Tribune    [12]

Trouser Press wrote: "Stumbling through faint stabs at blues, beat-era rock'n'roll and ravedelia, the group sounds lost and bored, a plight exacerbated by the dire production, which is not only flat and sloppy but inconsistent at that."[10] Spin panned the "excessive echo, non-distinct, nondescript vocals, and inefficient layers of guitar."[17] The Indianapolis Star opined that "the Drops nearly redeem the lackluster material with some sterling performances."[18]

The St. Petersburg Times determined that "dream-like melodies, stoked by '60s-flavored rhythms, steal effective moments in cuts such as 'Unkind', 'My Shadow Girl' and 'Too High'."[19] The Los Angeles Times deemed the album "perhaps the group's best effort, due to pop-master Andy Paley's production and musical collaboration."[20] The Calgary Herald stated: "Soft and accessible, it's also too safe and a little bit too familiar."[14]

AllMusic wrote that "Sound is a reminder of how most alternative rock, in the months before Nirvana broke, was just as boring and predictable as anything in the mainstream."[13]

Track listing

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No.TitleLength
1."Too High" 
2."Unkind" 
3."My Shadow Girl" 
4."Barry's Poem" 
5."Always" 
6."Big Surprise" 
7."Cold, Cold Heart" 
8."Annabelle" 
9."You Don't Appreciate Anything" 
10."Colorful-Loving-Me" 
11."Ready, Steady, No!" 

References

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  1. ^ a b Racine, Marty (June 9, 1991). "Sound... The Mighty Lemon Drops". Zest. Houston Chronicle. p. 15.
  2. ^ "The Mighty Lemon Drops Biography, Songs, & Albums". AllMusic.
  3. ^ Jennings, Dave (Jun 22, 1991). "Albums — Sound by the Mighty Lemon Drops". Melody Maker. Vol. 67, no. 25. p. 33.
  4. ^ Kim, Jae-Ha (September 30, 1991). "Lemon Drops offer tart, tight musicianship". Features. Chicago Sun-Times. p. 34.
  5. ^ "The Mighty Lemon Drops". Billboard.
  6. ^ Heim, Chris (27 Sep 1991). "Mighty Lemon Drops and Sister Double Happiness". Friday. Chicago Tribune. p. N.
  7. ^ Catlin, Roger (September 19, 1991). "What's New". Calendar. Hartford Courant. p. 5.
  8. ^ Shuster, Fred (June 28, 1991). "Rock News & Notes". Los Angeles Daily News. p. L32.
  9. ^ Harbaugh, Chris (June 7, 1991). "Recordings on Review". Go!. Dayton Daily News. p. 17.
  10. ^ a b "Mighty Lemon Drops". Trouser Press. Retrieved 19 March 2022.
  11. ^ Harris, Paul A. (September 19, 1991). "Lemon Drops Band Is Not Soured on the 'Mersey' Beat". Calendar. St. Louis Post-Dispatch. p. 8.
  12. ^ a b Perez, Steven (June 14, 1991). "Pop that won't rot your teeth". Tampa Bay Times. The Tampa Tribune. p. 19.
  13. ^ a b "Sound". AllMusic.
  14. ^ a b Alberts, Sheldon (26 May 1991). "Recent Releases". Calgary Herald. p. E5.
  15. ^ Larkin, Colin (2006). The Encyclopedia of Popular Music. Vol. 5. MUZE. p. 746.
  16. ^ MusicHound Rock: The Essential Album Guide. Visible Ink Press. 1999. p. 756.
  17. ^ O'Connor, Rob (Jul 1991). "Spins". Spin. Vol. 7, no. 4. p. 77.
  18. ^ Lucas, Tim (1 July 1991). "The Mighty Lemon Drops Sound". The Indianapolis Star. p. C2.
  19. ^ Hall, Dave (14 June 1991). "The Mighty Lemon Drops Sound". Weekend. St. Petersburg Times. p. 16.
  20. ^ Washburn, Jim (20 Sep 1991). "These Lemon Drops Could Use a Fresher Flavor". Calendar. Los Angeles Times. p. 22.