| Mind Bomb | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | 15 May 1989 (UK)[1] 11 July 1989 (US)[2] | |||
| Genre | Alternative rock,dance-rock,college rock | |||
| Length | 45:59 | |||
| Label | Epic | |||
| Producer | Warne Livesey,Roli Mosimann,Matt Johnson[3] | |||
| The The chronology | ||||
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| Singles from Mind Bomb | ||||
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| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [4] |
| Chicago Tribune | [5] |
| The Encyclopedia of Popular Music |  [6] |
| MusicHound Rock: The Essential Album Guide | [3] |
| Rolling Stone | [7] |
| The Rolling Stone Album Guide | [8] |
Mind Bomb is the third studio album by the Englishpost-punk bandThe The.[9][10] It was released bySome Bizzare/Epic on 15 May 1989 and recorded during late 1988 and early 1989. It is the band's first album to feature formerThe Smiths guitaristJohnny Marr.
The album peaked at No. 4 on theUK Albums Chart.[11]
Matt Johnson assembled a full band of The The, retaining his role as singer, primary songwriter, frontman and guitarist (and playing keyboards and other instruments in the studio), and bringing in guitarist Johnny Marr. Johnson had known Marr since the early 1980s, and had attempted to entice him into an earlier version of The The prior to Marr forming The Smiths. Completing the lineup was formerJulian Cope band bass guitarist James Eller and session drummer David Palmer (while D.C. Collard provided live keyboards). Additional instrumentation onMind Bomb was provided by sessioneers, most notably keyboard playerWix.
Instead of the darkly polisheddance-pop styling of earlier albumsSoul Mining andInfected,Mind Bomb opens up the music to reveal a slow, winding textured world of sound, thanks in no small measure to Marr. Lyrical subjects includepolitics,religion, andromance. The band would also play a world tour and record a follow-up,Dusk. After that, Johnson dissolved it and went about his business alone again. A remastered version of the album was released in 2002.
The Quietus called the album "slow, expansive, looming into inexorable life with a rage that smouldered rather than flamed."[12]The Encyclopedia of Popular Music called it "bombastic in tone and filled with lyrical diatribes and anti-religious rants allied to distinctly unmelodic songs."[6] TheLos Angeles Times called it "an embarrassing exercise in breast-beating," writing that "this bloated record is doubly distressing considering that it’s the work of the same man who turned out one of the most mysterious and lovely pop tunes of the ‘80s, 'Uncertain Smile'."[13] In a retrospective review,Stylus Magazine wrote that "it’s easy to let the seemingly prescient relevance of the lyrics toMind Bomb outweigh the actual music, which would be a shame because, with or without those words, it’s still a great record."[14]
Tracks written by Matt Johnson, except where noted.
Artwork and typography by Fiona Skinner. Photography Andrew MacPherson. Back cover image was created to reference photomontagist John Heartfield Der Sinn von Genf The Meaning of Geneva AIZ Cover, Berlin, Germany, 1932
| Chart (1989) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Australian Albums (ARIA)[15] | 32 |
| Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)[16] | 39 |
| German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[17] | 24 |
| New Zealand Albums (RMNZ)[18] | 3 |
| Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan)[19] | 30 |
| UK Albums (OCC)[20] | 4 |
| USBillboard 200[21] | 138 |
