The Wonder (album)

The Wonder
Studio album by Tom Verlaine
Released	1990
Genre	Post-punk
Label	Fontana (UK)
Producer	Tom Verlaine, Fred Smith, John Jansen on "August" and "Shimmer"
Tom Verlaine chronology
Flash Light (1987) The Wonder (1990) Warm and Cool (1992)

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Allmusic

The Wonder is the sixth studio album by rock artist Tom Verlaine. It was released in 1990 on Fontana Records. The album was engineered by Mario Salvati and mixed by Tom Verlaine and Fred Smith except side 1 tracks 1, 2, 4, 5 and side 2 track 1 mixed by Julian Mendelsohn.

Recording

Recorded after a three year break, The Wonder featured Verlaine using a more affected singing style, described by Allmusic’s David Cleary as "an oily manner...suggesting a smarmy Bryan Ferry" (Ferry was the lead singer of Roxy Music). Verlaine also used the guitarist of The Church Marty Willson-Piper uncredited to fill out the guitar sound on the album. Willson-Piper recalls playing on "Stalingrad" with Jay Dee Daugherty, who also wasn't credited. Additionally, Deerfrance provides vocals on "Prayer."

Track listing

All songs written by Tom Verlaine

Side one

1. "Kaleidescopin'" - 3:27
2. "August" - 5:22
3. "Ancient Egypt" - 4:32
4. "Shimmer" - 3:36
5. "Stalingrad" - 3:25

Side two

1. "Pillow" - 4:27
2. "Storm" - 2:37
3. "5 Hours from Calais" - 4:35
4. "Cooleridge" - 4:17
5. "Prayer" - 3:55

Personnel

• Tom Verlaine - guitars, solos and vocals
• Jimmy Ripp - guitars
• Fred Smith - bass
• Andy Newmark - drums
• Bruce Brody - keyboards

Technical

• Mario Salvati - engineer

External links

• "The Wonder (official site)". www.thewonder.co.uk. Retrieved 14 February 2023.