Swamp Thing is the third album by Malcolm McLaren, released in 1985.[5][6] It is composed of out-takes recorded between 1982 and 1984.[7] The tracks were often built upon material previously recorded – for example, "Eiffel Tower" repurposed lyrics from the Bow Wow Wow song "Sexy Eiffel Towers" with the rhythm track of "Punk it Up" from McLaren's album Duck Rock, while another track from that album, "Soweto," found its instrumental hook reused in the track "Boom Boom Baby."
| Swamp Thing | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
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| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | 11 November 1985 | |||
| Recorded | 1982–1984 | |||
| Genre | Dance music | |||
| Length | 37:31 | |||
| Label |  Charisma CAS 1170 Island/Atlantic90481 | |||
| Producer | Malcolm McLaren, Stephen Hague, Trevor Horn | |||
| Malcolm McLaren chronology | ||||
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| Singles from Swamp Thing | ||||
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| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [1] |
| The Encyclopedia of Popular Music | [2] |
| MusicHound Rock: The Essential Album Guide | [3] |
| The Rolling Stone Album Guide |  [4] |
The album was released to fulfill a contractual obligation with his record label. "Duck Rock Cheer" was the sole single released to promote the album. Neither the album nor the single met with commercial or critical success, though "Eiffel Tower" had earlier been featured on the soundtrack to the 1984 Jerry Schatzberg film No Small Affair.
Critical reception
editNME wrote that the album "plays listlessly end to end," and but that there are "four goodies out of eight."[8] Trouser Press wrote that "the title track perverts 'Wild Thing' into a nightmarish but enjoyable mess."[7] The Rolling Stone Album Guide called Swamp Thing "a hellishly self-referential mess."[4]
Track listing
edit| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Swamp Thing" | McLaren | 6:17 |
| 2. | "Duck Rock Cheer" | Trevor Horn, McLaren | 7:12 |
| 3. | "Buffalo Love" | Anne Dudley, McLaren | 4:00 |
| 4. | "Supresto" | McLaren | 1:12 |
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 5. | "B.I. Bikki" | Stephen Hague, McLaren | 3:42 |
| 6. | "Eiffel Tower" | McLaren | 3:46 |
| 7. | "Boom Boom Baby" | McLaren | 4:45 |
| 8. | "Duck Rockers/Promises" | Trevor Horn, McLaren | 5:56 |
Bonus tracks
edit- "Duck Rock Cheer - 12" Version (Cheerleader Version)"
- "Duck Rock Cheer - 7" Vocal Edit"
- "First Couple Out"
- "First Couple Out - Extended Version"
- "First Couple Out - Long fade"
- "B.1. Bikki - (New Mix, 2019)"
Personnel
edit- Stephen Hague - Production (tracks 2 and 5)
- Trevor Horn - Production (tracks 2 and 8)
- Malcolm McLaren - Production (all tracks except 2 and 5)
- Nick Egan - Cover Design
- Michael Halsband - Photography
- Bob Gruen - Background Photography
References
edit- ^ AllMusic review
- ^ Larkin, Colin (2006). The Encyclopedia of Popular Music. Vol. 5. MUZE. p. 660.
- ^ MusicHound Rock: The Essential Album Guide. Visible Ink Press. 1999. p. 736.
- ^ a b The Rolling Stone Album Guide. Random House. 1992. p. 463.
- ^ "Malcolm McLaren | Biography & History". AllMusic.
- ^ Gorman, Paul (9 April 2020). The Life & Times of Malcolm McLaren: The Biography. Little, Brown Book Group. ISBN 9781472121103 – via Google Books.
- ^ a b "Malcolm McLaren". Trouser Press. Retrieved 17 November 2020.
- ^ "Malcolm McLaren: Swamp thing | Articles | Zang Tuum Tumb and all that". www.zttaat.com.