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39 Minutes

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
39 Minutes
Studio album by
Released1988 (1988)
GenrePop
Length37:49 (Vinyl)
LabelVirgin
ProducerJamie Lane
Microdisney chronology
Crooked Mile
(1987)
39 Minutes
(1988)
The Peel Sessions Album
(1989)

39 Minutes is the fourth and final studio album by the Irish pop group Microdisney, released in 1988.[1][2] It was a commercial disappointment.[3] The first single was "Gale Force Wind".[4] "Singer's Hampstead Home" is allegedly a criticism of Boy George's celebrity persona.[5]

Critical reception

[edit]
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[6]
The Virgin Encyclopedia of Eighties Music[7]

The album attracted divisive reviews at the time, with Cathal Coughlan saying in the 2022, "The press on 39 Minutes, as I recall, was pretty bad"[8]. David Stubbs in a review for the Melody Maker described the album as "horrible, frankly", [9] while the Trouser Press opined that 39 Minutes "restores the group's sense of purpose, balancing the slick production of recent efforts with a slightly more aggressive attack and Coughlan's sharpest lyrics in ages."[10] The album was acclaimed by Hot Press as "some of the best and most provocative pop music ever to have emanated from this country".[11]

Track listing

[edit]

All tracks composed by Cathal Coughlan and Sean O'Hagan.

Side one

  1. "Singer's Hampstead Home" (4:02)
  2. "High & Dry" (3:04)
  3. "Send Herman Home" (4:03)
  4. "Ambulance for One" (3:26)
  5. "Soul Boy" (5:04)

Side two

  1. "Back to the Old Town" (3:13)
  2. "United Colours" (3:16)
  3. "Gale Force Wind" (3:57)
  4. "Herr Direktor" (3:42)
  5. "Bluerings" (3:55)

References

[edit]
  1. ^ The Rough Guide to Rock (3rd ed.). Rough Guides. 2003. p. 673.
  2. ^ Smyth, Gerry (2005). Noisy Island: A Short History of Irish Popular Music. Cork University Press. p. 81.
  3. ^ "Microdisney Biography by Jason Ankeny". AllMusic. Retrieved 13 November 2024.
  4. ^ Brown, Nicky (11 February 1988). "Micro 'next big thing'". Gateshead Post. p. 26.
  5. ^ Meagher, John (28 Nov 2015). "Microdisney—gone but not forgotten". Review. Irish Independent. p. 16.
  6. ^ "39 Minutes Microdisney". AllMusic. Retrieved 13 November 2024.
  7. ^ Larkin, Colin (1997). The Virgin Encyclopedia of Eighties Music. Virgin Books. p. 322.
  8. ^ Perkins, Julie (Director). The Story of Microdisney: The Clock Comes Down the Stairs. BBC Television.
  9. ^ Stubbs, David (2 April 1988). "Time Fades Away". Melody Maker.
  10. ^ "Microdisney". Trouser Press. Retrieved 13 November 2024.
  11. ^ Byrne, George (28 March 2001). "39 Minutes". Hot Press. Retrieved 11 November 2024.