The Warmer Side of Cool is the fifth studio album by Wang Chung released in May 1989 by Geffen Records. The album marked an artistic change from the new wave sound of their previous albums into a more traditional rock sound. Commercially, the album was a disappointment, peaking at #123 on the Billboard 200 in its sixth and final week on the chart.[3][4] Despite poor sales, the album managed to provide a minor hit with "Praying to a New God", which peaked at #63 on the Billboard Hot 100 on May 27, 1989.[5] Another song, "Swing", was scheduled to be the second single from The Warmer Side Of Cool, but its release was ultimately cancelled.[6]
| The Warmer Side of Cool | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | 23 May 1989 | |||
| Recorded | 41B Studios, Westlake Village, CA from 1988-1989 | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | 52:04 | |||
| Label | Geffen 24222 | |||
| Producer | Peter Wolf | |||
| Wang Chung chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Singles from The Warmer Side of Cool | ||||
| ||||
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| Allmusic |   [2] |
Reception
editThe album received 2 of 5 stars from Allmusic's Kelvin Hayes. Hayes concentrated his criticism's on the band's shift into rock from the band's original sound that had made them popular, and that they focused too heavily on the then contemporary mainstream rock music. Apart from the previous criticism, he did praise several of the album's tracks describing them as 'good melodic rock.'[7]
Track listing
editCD
edit| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Praying to a New God" | Jack Hues, Nick Feldman, David Chandler | 3:58 |
| 2. | "What’s So Bad About Feeling Good?" | Hues, Feldman, Chandler | 4:11 |
| 3. | "Snakedance" | Hues | 4:58 |
| 4. | "Swing" | Feldman | 4:29 |
| 5. | "When Love Looks Back at You" | Hues | 4:50 |
| 6. | "Games of Power" | Feldman | 4:53 |
| 7. | "At the Speed of Life" | Hues | 5:26 |
| 8. | "The Warmer Side of Cool" | Hues | 4:42 |
| 9. | "Logic and Love" | Feldman, Chandler | 4:04 |
| 10. | "Tall Trees in a Blue Sky" | Hues | 4:21 |
| 11. | "Big World" | Hues | 6:12 |
| Total length: | 52:04 | ||
Cassette/LP
editSide One
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Praying to a New God" | Nick Feldman, David Chandler, Jack Hues | 3:58 |
| 2. | "What’s So Bad About Feeling Good?" | Feldman, Hues, Chandler | 4:11 |
| 3. | "Snakedance" | Hues | 4:58 |
| 4. | "Swing" | Feldman | 4:29 |
| 5. | "When Love Looks Back at You" | Hues | 4:50 |
| 6. | "Games of Power" | Feldman | 4:53 |
| Total length: | 27:19 | ||
Side Two
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "At the Speed of Life" | Hues | 5:26 |
| 2. | "The Warmer Side of Cool" | Hues | 4:42 |
| 3. | "Logic and Love" | Feldman | 4:04 |
| 4. | "Tall Trees in a Blue Sky" | Hues | 4:21 |
| 5. | "Big World" | Hues | 6:12 |
| Total length: | 24:45 | ||
Chart performance
edit| Chart (1989) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| U.S. Billboard 200 | 123 |
Personnel
edit- Lead Vocals: Jack Hues
- Additional Vocals: Bill Clift, Darren Costin, Gary Falcone, Nick Feldman, Roger Freeland, Jeff Pescetto, Joe Pizzulo, Ina Wolf and Peter Wolf
- Tribal Vocals: Bill Clift, Allan Ryder and Peter Wolf
- Guitars: Jack Hues, Pete McCray and Mikal Reid
- Bass Guitar: Nick Feldman
- Drums: Michael Baird, Vinnie Colaiuta and Bryan Hitt
- Percussion: Paulinho Da Costa
- Vocal Percussion: Jeremy Smith
- Trombone: Bill Reichenbach Jr.
- Keyboards: Peter Wolf
- Mixed by Jeremy Smith
- Engineers: Jeremy Smith and Gonzalo "Bino" Espinoza
- Assistant Engineers: Gonzalo "Bino" Espinoza and Carlos Golliher
- Management: David Massey
- Art Direction/Design: Lynn Robb
- Collage by Ron Chadwick
- Wang Chung photos: Victoria Pearson-Cameron
- Photo of Asian boy: Reed Davis
- Photo of Kangaroo: Vitamvas/Camera Agency
- Photo of Interior: used by kind permission of Atlantic Antique Centres with thanks to Soho Design
- Photo of Dolphin: Julia Whitty
- Aerial Photography: from The Home Planet © 1988 Kevin W. Kelley. Addison-Wesley Pub. Co.
- Album mastered by Stephen Marcussen at Precision Lacquer
- Cassette and CD mastered by Dan Hersch at DigiPrep, Los Angeles, CA
- John Kalodner
- Special Thanks to: David Massey, John Kalodner, David Geffen, Ed Rosenblatt and everyone at Geffen Records (especially Al Coury, Marko Babineau, Peter Napoliello, Jonas Livingston, Norman Beil, Eddie Gilreath, Peter Baron, and Robin Rothman). Robin Godfrey-Cass, Ronny Vance, Ken Kraus, Nick Ben-Meir, Sandy Campbell, Lynn Robb, Rob Kline, and Bruce Jackson at 41B. Elaine Black, Debra Shallman, Cathy Woller, Lyn Fey, Roz Schrank, Sigrine Vally, David Chandler, Mikal Reid, Martin Winning (especially for help on "Swing"), Darren Costin, Brian Hitt, Debra Dobkin, and Jeff Naideau.
- Thanks too, to: Toru Nittono at L.A. Guitar Works, all at Norm's Rare Guitars, Bill Reim and Chuck Fukagawa at Ibanez Guitars, Chris and Allen at the Bass Centre, L.A., Beverly Lund, Francis and Rick at Bull Hitt Productions, the inventor of 'Asteroids', New England Digital, AKG, Monster Cables, Zildjian Cymbals, and D.W. Drums
References
edit- ^ "Great rock discography". p. 883.
- ^ Allmusic review
- ^ https://www.billboard.com/artist/wang-chung/chart-history/
- ^ "The Warmer Side of Cool chart database". Billboard.elpee.jp. Retrieved 17 September 2023.
- ^ Praying for a New God Charts on AllMusic.com
- ^ "Wang Chung History". wangchung.com. Retrieved 17 September 2023.
- ^ "The Warmer Side of Cool - Wang Chung | Songs, Reviews, Credits". AllMusic. Retrieved 9 July 2019.