Fine Young Cannibals (album)

Fine Young Cannibals
European cover. The North American release features the design behind the band's name colored blue.
Studio album by
Fine Young Cannibals
ReleasedDecember 1985
Recorded1985
StudioPower Plant Studios and Sound Suite Studios, London
Genre
Length34:21
Label
Producer
Fine Young Cannibals chronology
Fine Young Cannibals
(1985) 		The Raw & the Cooked
(1989)

Fine Young Cannibals is the debut studio album by the band of the same name, released in 1985.

The album features the band's debut hit single "Johnny Come Home", which reached number 8 on the UK Singles Chart. This success did not continue with the next single, "Blue", which peaked at number 41 in the UK. The version of "Blue" on the original US and Canadian vinyl LP and cassette was re-mixed and edited in an attempt to boost its commercial appeal. The re-mix version features additional electronically processed percussion overdubs, giving it a sound more typical of 1980s synthpop hits. Later CD pressings feature the re-mix version of "Blue" in place of the original US album version.

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[2]
Classic Pop[3]
Mojo[4]
Record Collector[5]
Record Mirror4+1⁄2/5[6]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide[7]
Smash Hits5/10[8]
Sounds[9]
Uncut6/10[10]
The Village VoiceB+[11]

Record Mirror critic Stuart Bailie praised "the variety of emotional shades" in Roland Gift's singing on Fine Young Cannibals, adding that the group "are one of the few bands to realise the value of a sparse presentation" and "have an emotional charge that's sorely needed just now".[6] In Rolling Stone, Mark Coleman highlighted Gift's "casual authority" as a vocalist and said that the lyrics "strike a fine balance, noting the subtle and not so subtle toll politics and economics take on relationships. That forecast may be bleak, but Fine Young Cannibals displays a healthy optimism that's as irrepressible as the seamless beat beneath it."[12] Spin's Annie Russo wrote, "The lyrical content on most cuts isn't terribly complicated, one thought turned around a few times; but the sparseness lays snug next to the inlays and wrap-arounds of Gift's voice, along with the more than competent instrumental work, forever keeping the vocals buoyed up."[13]

Stewart Mason, in an AllMusic retrospective review, commented that Fine Young Cannibals "is a powerful and satisfying debut" with "uniformly strong" songs.[2] Nigel Williamson called the album "an artful soul-pop concoction loaded with hooks and hits" in Uncut,[10] while in Classic Pop, John Earls said that it was a testament to the group's reputation as "the soul band even the indie kids love".[3]

Track listing

Songs composed by Roland Gift and David Steele except where noted.

  1. "Johnny Come Home" – 3:35
  2. "Couldn't Care More" – 3:30
  3. "Don't Ask Me to Choose" (Andy Cox, Gift, Steele) – 3:05
  4. "Funny How Love Is" (Cox, Gift, Steele) – 3:28
  5. "Suspicious Minds" (Mark James) – 3:56
  6. "Blue" (Cox, Gift, Steele) – 3:31
  7. "Move to Work" – 3:26
  8. "On a Promise" – 3:06
  9. "Time Isn't Kind" (Cox, Gift, Steele) – 3:12
  10. "Like a Stranger" – 3:28

Additional tracks on 1986 edition

  2. "Johnny Come Home" (extended mix) – 5:43
  3. "Suspicious Minds" (Suspicious mix; Mark James) – 7:52
2011 Rhino Records deluxe edition disc 1
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Johnny Come Home" 3:37
2."Couldn't Care More" 3:31
3."Don't Ask Me to Choose"Andy Cox, David Steele, Roland Gift3:12
4."Funny How Love Is"Andy Cox, David Steele, Roland Gift3:28
5."Suspicious Minds"Mark James3:59
6."Blue"Andy Cox, David Steele, Roland Gift3:31
7."Move to Work" 3:28
8."On a Promise" 3:08
9."Time Isn't Kind"Andy Cox, David Steele, Roland Gift3:25
10."Like a Stranger" 3:28
11."Wade in the Water" (B-side to "Blue")Traditional; arranged by Andy Cox, David Steele, Roland Gift2:57
12."Love for Sale" (B-side to "Johnny Come Home")Cole Porter2:51
13."Motherless Child" (B-side to "Funny How Love Is")Traditional; arranged by Andy Cox, David Steele, Roland Gift/Joe the Squid2:37
2011 Rhino Records deluxe edition disc 2
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Johnny Come Home" (Mark Moore 12" remix) 4:49
2."Johnny Come Home" (extended mix; also included on the 1998 edition) 5:40
3."Johnny Come Home" (That Other mix) 5:09
4."Johnny Takes a Trip" (B-side to "Johnny Come Home", also found on The Raw & the Remix) 5:02
5."Suspicious Minds" (extended mix)Mark James4:39
6."Suspicious Minds" (Suspicious mix; also included on the 1998 edition)Mark James7:55
7."Suspicious Minds" (US remix)Mark James5:24
8."Suspicious Minds" (Caught in a Dub)Mark James7:43
9."Suspicious Minds" (Shakedown mix)Mark James3:48

Personnel

Fine Young Cannibals
Additional musicians
  • Martin Parry – drums
  • Graeme Hamilton – trumpet, piano solo on "Time Isn't Kind"
  • Gavyn Wright – violin
  • Saxa – saxophone on "Funny How Love Is"
  • Beverlei Brown, Gloria Brown, Maxine Brown – backing vocals on "Like a Stranger"
  • Jimmy Somerville – backing vocals on "Suspicious Minds"
  • Jenny Jones – drums, backing vocals on "Couldn't Care More"
Technical

Charts

Weekly charts

Chart (1985–1986) Peak
position
Australian Albums (Kent Music Report)[14] 2
Canada Top Albums/CDs (RPM)[15] 21
Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)[16] 21
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[17] 42
New Zealand Albums (RMNZ)[18] 11
Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[19] 17
UK Albums (OCC)[20] 11
US Billboard 200[21] 49

Year-end charts

Chart (1986) Peak
position
Australian Albums (Kent Music Report)[22] 15

Certifications

Region Certification Certified units/sales
Canada (Music Canada)[23] Platinum 100,000^
United Kingdom (BPI)[24] Gold 100,000^

^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

References

  1. ^ a b Erlewine, Stephen Thomas (1 January 1997). "Fine Young Cannibals". In Bogdanov, Vladimir; Erlewine, Michael; Erlewine, Stephen Thomas; Unterberger, Richie; Woodstra, Chris (eds.). AllMusic Guide to Rock. San Francisco: Miller Freeman, Inc. p. 335.
  2. ^ a b Mason, Stewart. "Fine Young Cannibals – Fine Young Cannibals". AllMusic. Retrieved 3 July 2012.
  3. ^ a b Earls, John (November–December 2020). "Fine Young Cannibals: Fine Young Cannibals / The Raw & the Cooked". Classic Pop. No. 66. p. 92.
  4. ^ Harrison, Ian (June 2013). "Fine Young Cannibals: Fine Young Cannibals". Mojo. No. 235.
  5. ^ Waring, Charles (Christmas 2020). "Fine Young Cannibals: Fine Young Cannibals / The Raw & the Cooked". Record Collector. No. 513. p. 124.
  6. ^ a b Bailie, Stuart (14 December 1985). "Fine Young Cannibals: Fine Young Cannibals". Record Mirror. p. 14.
  7. ^ Considine, J. D. (1992). "Fine Young Cannibals". In DeCurtis, Anthony; Henke, James; George-Warren, Holly (eds.). The Rolling Stone Album Guide (3rd ed.). Random House. p. 244. ISBN 0-679-73729-4.
  8. ^ Cranna, Ian (18–31 December 1985). "Fine Young Cannibals: Fine Young Cannibals". Smash Hits. Vol. 6, no. 25. p. 54.
  9. ^ Linfield, Carole (14 December 1985). "Fine Young Cannibals: Fine Young Cannibals". Sounds. p. 28.
  10. ^ a b Williamson, Nigel (February 2021). "Fine Young Cannibals: Fine Young Cannibals / The Raw & the Cooked". Uncut. No. 285. p. 45.
  11. ^ Christgau, Robert (1 April 1986). "Christgau's Consumer Guide". The Village Voice. Retrieved 16 March 2013.
  12. ^ Coleman, Mark (24 April 1986). "Fine Young Cannibals: Fine Young Cannibals". Rolling Stone. No. 472. pp. 58–59. Archived from the original on 9 May 2006. Retrieved 16 March 2013.
  13. ^ Russo, Annie (April 1986). "Fine Young Cannibals: Fine Young Cannibals". Spin. Vol. 2, no. 1. p. 39. Retrieved 11 September 2010.
  14. ^ Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 (illustrated ed.). St Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
  15. ^ "Top RPM Albums: Issue 0660". RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved 16 August 2025.
  16. ^ "Dutchcharts.nl – Fine Young Cannibals – Fine Young Cannibals" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 16 August 2025.
  17. ^ "Offiziellecharts.de – Fine Young Cannibals – Fine Young Cannibals" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved 16 August 2025.
  18. ^ "Charts.nz – Fine Young Cannibals – Fine Young Cannibals". Hung Medien. Retrieved 16 August 2025.
  19. ^ "Swisscharts.com – Fine Young Cannibals – Fine Young Cannibals". Hung Medien. Retrieved 16 August 2025.
  20. ^ "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 16 August 2025.
  21. ^ "Fine Young Cannibals Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Archived from the original on 27 July 2018. Retrieved 16 August 2025.
  22. ^ Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 (illustrated ed.). St Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. p. 438. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
  23. ^ "Canadian album certifications – Fine Young Cannibals – Fine Young Cannibals". Music Canada. Retrieved 16 August 2025.
  24. ^ "British album certifications – Fine Young Cannibals – Fine Young Cannibals". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 16 August 2025.
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