| The Thrill of It All | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | 1 September 1996 (1996-09-01) | |||
| Recorded | April – May 1996 | |||
| Studio | Rockfield Studios (Monmouth,Wales) | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | 51:38 | |||
| Label | Victor | |||
| Producer | Luke Morley | |||
| Thunder studio album chronology | ||||
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| Singles from The Thrill of It All | ||||
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The Thrill of It All is the fourthstudio album by Englishhard rock bandThunder. Recorded between April and May 1996 atRockfield Studios inMonmouth,Wales, it was produced the band's lead guitaristLuke Morley and mixed by Rupert Coulson at London'sTrident 2. The album was initially released in Japan byVictor Entertainment on 1 September 1996, with the European release byCastle Communications (under the band's B Lucky sub-label) following on 2 February 1997.
Unlike they did onLaughing on Judgement Day andBehind Closed Doors, Thunder vocalistDanny Bowes and second guitaristBen Matthews did not contribute to songwriting onThe Thrill of It All – all songs were written primarily by main songwriter Morley, with drummerGary "Harry" James co-writing four tracks. For personal reasons which eventually led to his departure in the summer of 1996, bassistMikael "Micke" Höglund did not perform on the album, with all bass recorded by Morley.
The Thrill of It All reached number 14 on theUK Albums Chart and number 5 on theUK Rock & Metal Albums Chart. The band promoted the album on tour throughout early 1997, with shows in Japan, the UK and Europe between January and May. Twosingles were released fromThe Thrill of It All – "Don't Wait Up" and "Love Worth Dying For" peaked at number 27 and number 60 on theUK Singles Chart, and number 2 and number 3 on theUK Rock & Metal Singles Chart, respectively.
Throughout January and February 1996, Thunder lead guitaristLuke Morley, guitarist and keyboardistBen Matthews and drummerGary "Harry" James, along with former producerAndy Taylor, began working on new material for the band's fourth studio album in Spain.[1] During this time, vocalistDanny Bowes was setting up the band's own record label B Lucky, which would be distributed throughCastle Communications.[2] The band's bassistMikael "Micke" Höglund chose not to be involved in the album's sessions due to his girlfriend being pregnant at the time, which would later lead to his leaving the band.[2] Instead of hiring a replacement for Höglund immediately, Morley decided to play bass on the album and the band would hire a new bassist later.[3]Chris Childs was hired in time for the UK release ofThe Thrill of It All.[4] Recording was completed between April and May 1996 atRockfield Studios inMonmouth,Wales, and the album was mixed at London'sTrident 2 by Rupert Coulson.[1][5]
"Don't Wait Up" was released as the firstsingle fromThe Thrill of It All in Japan on 16 September 1996, and later in the UK and Europe on 12 January 1997, alongside a "funky 50s stylevideo".[1] The single debuted at number 27 on theUK Singles Chart and number 2 on theUK Rock & Metal Singles Chart, behindReef's "Come Back Brighter".[6][7] "Love Worth Dying For" was released as the album's second single in Japan on 21 January 1997, and later in the UK and Europe on 24 March 1997.[1] It reached number 60 on the UK Singles Chart and number 3 on the UK Rock & Metal Singles Chart, behind tracks bySilverchair andDinosaur Jr.[6][8] A music video was filmed for "Love Worth Dying For" in January 1997, but was not released. Speaking about the video, drummer Gary "Harry" James explained that the video "never saw the light of day, and it never will. They wanted me to jump up and down inDoc Martens boots and a fairy outfit. We went with it for some reason, rather than telling them to fuck off."[9]
The Thrill of It All was originally released in Japan byVictor Entertainment on 1 September 1996. However, the scheduled European release of the album was delayed after Ben Matthews was diagnosed with acutetendinitis and was unable to play guitar, preventing the band from touring.[1] The album was eventually issued on 2 February 1997 byCastle Communications, under the band's own B Lucky sub-label.[1] Following the record's initial release, Thunder completed a short tour of Japan from 24 January to 1 February, before embarking on the UK leg of The Thrill of It All Tour on the day of the album's European release.[10] However, during the Japanese tour vocalist Danny Bowes fell ill withpneumonia andlaryngitis, which resulted in a number of shows on the UK tour having to be rescheduled to April.[9]
Upon its release,The Thrill of It All debuted at number 14 on theUK Albums Chart, its peak position,[6] and at number 5 on theUK Rock & Metal Albums Chart.[11] The album also reached the top 40 of theScottish Albums Chart, peaking at number 29.[12] Outside of the UK,The Thrill of It All reached number 40 on theFinnish Albums Chart,[13] and number 89 on theDutch Albums Chart.[14]
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [15] |
Reviewing the album forAllMusic, Eduardo Rivadavia criticised the lack of memorable songs onThe Thrill of It All, stating that "ensconced among the mindless drivel ... and the insipidly frivolous ... governing these sessions, one will find occasionally memorable efforts".[15] Rivadavia concluded by summarising that "The Thrill of It All sounds unbearably safe by today's standards, a relic of a far more commercial era in rock history and, therefore, really not very thrilling at all".[15]
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Pilot of My Dreams" | Luke Morley | 4:31 |
| 2. | "Living for Today" | Morley | 4:04 |
| 3. | "Love Worth Dying For" | Morley | 4:03 |
| 4. | "Don't Wait Up" | Morley | 4:03 |
| 5. | "Something About You" |
| 5:03 |
| 6. | "Welcome to the Party" |
| 4:42 |
| 7. | "The Thrill of It All" |
| 5:35 |
| 8. | "Hotter Than the Sun" | Morley | 4:48 |
| 9. | "This Forgotten Town" |
| 5:06 |
| 10. | "Cosmetic Punk" | Morley | 3:43 |
| 11. | "You Can't Live Your Life in a Day" | Morley | 6:00 |
| Total length: | 51:38 | ||
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 12. | "Too Bad" |
| 4:16 |
| Total length: | 55:54 | ||
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Love Worth Dying For" (acoustic version) | Morley | 3:21 |
| 2. | "Something About You" (acoustic version) |
| 3:53 |
| 3. | "You Can't Live Your Life in a Day" (acoustic version) | Morley | 4:07 |
| Total length: | 11:23 | ||
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Don't Wait Up" (extended version) | Morley | 4:35 |
| 2. | "Hirsute Boogie" |
| 2:15 |
| 3. | "Every Word's a Lie" | Morley | 4:13 |
| 4. | "Somebody to Love" | Morley | 4:07 |
| 5. | "Lethal Combination" |
| 3:41 |
| 6. | "Love Worth Dying For" (acoustic version) | Morley | 3:21 |
| 7. | "Something About You" (acoustic version) |
| 3:53 |
| 8. | "Bring It on Home" (acoustic version) (Sam Cooke cover) | Sam Cooke | 3:16 |
| 9. | "You Can't Live Your Life in a Day" (acoustic version) | Morley | 4:07 |
| 10. | "Too Bad" |
| 4:16 |
| 11. | "Love Worth Dying For" (enhanced video) | Morley | 3:43 |
| Total length: | 41:27 | ||
Thunder
Additional performers
| Additional personnel
|
| Chart (1997) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)[16] | 89 |
| Finnish Albums (Suomen virallinen lista)[17] | 40 |
| Scottish Albums (OCC)[18] | 29 |
| UK Albums (OCC)[19] | 14 |
| UK Rock & Metal Albums (OCC)[20] | 5 |
| Chart (2023) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| UK Independent Albums (OCC)[21] | 20 |
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