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Fruit of Life

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Fruit of Life
Studio album by
Wild Colonials
Released1994
Recorded1993 at Real World Studios, Box, Wiltshire, England and at Sunset Sound Factory, Hollywood, California, U.S.
GenreFolk rock[1]
Length56:01
LabelDGC[2]
ProducerTchad Blake
Wild Colonials chronology
Fruit of Life
(1994) 		This Can't Be Life
(1996)

Fruit of Life is the debut album by the Wild Colonials, released in 1994.[3][4] "Spark" was released as a single and was a radio hit.[5][6] The band supported the album with a North American tour, including shows with Toad the Wet Sprocket and Grant Lee Buffalo.[7][8]

Production

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Recorded partly at Real World Studios, the album was produced by Tchad Blake.[9][10] Chad Smith and Pete Thomas contributed to the album.[11][12] Frontwoman Angela McCluskey wrote or cowrote nine of the album's 10 songs.[13] "Dear Mike" is a homage to Mike Scott.[14] "Don't Explain" is a cover of the Billie Holidays song.[15] "Rainbow" borrows from Carmen.[16]

Critical reception

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Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[17]
Los Angeles Daily News[1]
Los Angeles Times[18]
The Republican[19]
The Tampa Tribune[16]

The Los Angeles Times praised McCluskey's "throaty Scotswoman vocals, and a violin-dominated, Celtic-friendly sound that's warm even by coffeehouse standards."[18] The Record wrote that "the restrained musical backdrop—mostly piano, acoustic guitar and occasional horns—serves McCluskey's rich voice perfectly."[20] The Tampa Tribune deemed Fruit of Life "the freshest debut album since last year's Everybody Else Is Doing It, So Why Can't We? by the Cranberries."[16]

The News Tribune stated that "Irish chanteys, American R&B and folk styles are merged with Middle Eastern and even African rhythms."[21] The State advised: "Call it world folk, more compelling than a cowboy junkie, more tantalizing than 10,000 maniacs."[22] The Republican noted that "much of the lyrical content here is dark, and the music ranges from the deeply brooding to undeniably uplifting."[19]

AllMusic called the album "an inventive pastiche of a variety of folk and pop influences."[17]

Track listing

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All songs written by various members of the Wild Colonials except for the Billie Holiday cover "Don't Explain".

  1. "Girl" (McCluskey/Shark/Cantelon/Roewe) – 6:28
  2. "Spark" (McCluskey/Shark) – 4:20
  3. "Heaven & Hell" (McCluskey/Roewe) – 5:20
  4. "Philadelphia Story" (McCluskey/Shark/Cantelon) – 4:52
  5. "Mission" (McCluskey/Shark/Cantelon/Roewe/Bernard) – 6:05
  6. "Alice" (McCluskey/Shark/Cantelon/Roewe) – 4:58
  7. "Rainbow" (McCluskey/Shark/Cantelon) – 5:12
  8. "Don't Explain" (Holiday/Herzog) – 6:46
  9. "Victim" (McCluskey/Shark/Cantelon/Roewe) – 5:59
  10. "Dear Mike" (McCluskey/Shark/Cantelon/Roewe) – 6:13

Personnel

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  • Angela McCluskey – vocals
  • Shark – guitars, vocals, percussion
  • Paul Cantelon – violin, piano, harmonium
  • Scott Roewe – piano, organ, bass, sax, chanter, didgeridoo, tin whistle

With

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  • Matt Chamberlain – drums, percussion
  • Pete Thomas – drums, percussion
  • Joel Virgel Vierset – percussion
  • Glen C. Holmon – bass
  • Martin Tillmann – cello
  • Chad Smith – drums on "Dear Mike"
  • Julio "Jimmy" Ledezma – drums on "Philadelphia Story"
  • Pandit Dinesh – tablas on "Victim
  • Guy Pratt – bass on "Heaven & Hell"
  • Erik G. Hanson – percussion on "Heaven & Hell"

Production

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  • Producer: Tchad Blake
  • Recorded by: Tchad Blake
  • Additional engineering: John Paterno, James Cadsky, Richard Evans

References

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  1. ^ a b Shuster, Fred (June 3, 1994). "ROCK: WILD COLONIALS/'FRUIT OF LIFE'". Los Angeles Daily News. p. L33.
  2. ^ "Wild Colonials Biography, Songs, & Albums". AllMusic.
  3. ^ "Picks & pans – Fruit of Life by the Wild Colonials". People. 41 (15): 23. Apr 25, 1994.
  4. ^ Everett, Maria (Aug 1994). "Now, elegant sounds — Fruit of Life by Wild Colonials". Glamour. 92 (8): 154.
  5. ^ "A 'Wild' Party". Billboard. 106 (27): 80. July 2, 1994.
  6. ^ "WILD COLONIALS WOO CAFEGOERS WITH PLAYFUL INTIMACY". Rhythm. Wisconsin State Journal. November 3, 1994. p. 4.
  7. ^ Daley, David (21 Nov 1994). "TOAD BLAND AND POLITELY PREDICTABLE". Hartford Courant. p. A4.
  8. ^ Outerbridge, Laura (May 26, 1994). "Colonials settle on variety of styles". The Washington Times. p. M8.
  9. ^ Agassi, Tirzah (November 15, 1994). "THE WILD COLONIALS' debut Fruit of Life...". Arts. The Jerusalem Post. p. 7.
  10. ^ Maestri, Cathy (June 7, 1994). "Wild Colonials emerges uncontrived". The Press-Enterprise. p. C4.
  11. ^ Bogosian, Dan (May 15, 2020). "Red Hot Chili Peppers FAQ: All That's Left to Know About the World's Best-Selling Alternative Band". Rowman & Littlefield – via Google Books.
  12. ^ Whepley, Brian (April 18, 1994). "SCOTTISH-BORN SINGER GIVES MEANING TO WILD COLONIALS' SONGS". The Wichita Eagle. p. 6A.
  13. ^ Levesque, Roger (12 June 1994). "WILD COLONIALS: Fruit of Life". Edmonton Journal. p. E7.
  14. ^ Roos, John (9 Dec 1995). "Adventures in Music". Los Angeles Times. p. F4.
  15. ^ Arp, Dennis (April 8, 1994). "HOT ALBUM". Orange County Register. p. P46.
  16. ^ a b c Schafer, Mitch (April 29, 1994). "WILD COLONIALS, Fruit of Life". FRIDAY EXTRA!. The Tampa Tribune. p. 21.
  17. ^ a b "Wild Colonials – Fruit of Life Album Reviews, Songs & More | AllMusic" – via www.allmusic.com.
  18. ^ a b Willman, Chris (17 July 1994). "Wild Colonials, 'Fruit of Life'". Calendar. Los Angeles Times. p. 68.
  19. ^ a b O'Hare, Kevin (May 15, 1994). "Wild Colonials, 'Fruit of Life'". The Republican. p. E1.
  20. ^ Weiler, Derek (28 Apr 1994). "Fruit of Life". The Record. p. D7.
  21. ^ Nelson, Rick (10 June 1994). "The Crocodile Cafe has a super show...". The News Tribune. p. F2.
  22. ^ Miller, Michael (April 1, 1994). "Wild Colonials, 'Fruit of Life'". The State. p. D10.
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