The Cucumbers (album)

The Cucumbers
Studio album by
the Cucumbers
Released1987
StudioThe Firehouse, London
GenreGuitar pop
LabelProfile
ProducerDavid Young
The Cucumbers chronology
All Shook Up
(1986) 		The Cucumbers
(1987) 		Where We Sleep Tonight
(1994)

The Cucumbers is an album by the American band the Cucumbers, released in 1987.[1][2] It was a success on college radio stations.[3] The band supported the album with a North American tour.[4]

Production

Recorded in London with a budget of $15,000, the album was produced by David Young.[5][6] The singers and guitarists Deena Shoshkes and Jon Fried, who wrote the songs, were backed by John Williams on bass and Yuergen Renner on drums.[7] The band enjoyed being away from the cutthroat New York City recording environment.[8] Many of the songs are about relationships, the daily experience of living with a domestic partner, obstacles in life, and learning how to adjust to disappointment.[9][10] Profile Records asked the Cucumbers to rerecord "My Boyfriend", which had appeared on their first EP.[11] "My Town" is about the demographic and commercial transformation of Hoboken.[12] "Don't Drop the Baby" was written after Fried became an uncle.[7]

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[13]
The Boston Phoenix[14]
Robert ChristgauA−[12]
The Philadelphia Inquirer[15]
The Record[16]
Rolling Stone[17]

The New York Times said, "Like the early Talking Heads and the B-52's, the Cucumbers put some twists into late-1960's pop, funk and bubble gum. Springy guitar lines ... and a terse backbeat carry the songs, as the easy harmonies of the 1960's are crimped and stripped back to the point of dissonance."[18] The Washington Post noted that "the Cucumbers have an assured pop-ensemble sound and Deena Shoskes' sweetly idiosyncratic lyrics are engaging even when the melodies that frame them are not."[19] The Philadelphia Inquirer stated that the band "makes verbally witty, melodically pretty music that never becomes treacly or sentimental."[15] Trouser Press opined that "fancier production reduces the group's amateurish appeal and obscures its quirky personality; smoothed out and spruced up, the entirely presentable songs blur together."[20] The Baltimore Sun concluded that when the band "strives for the mainstream perkiness of, say, Talking Heads 77, it becomes beset by a terminal case of the cutes".[21]

Track listing

No.TitleLength
1."My Boyfriend" 
2."Work Together" 
3."Tiger" 
4."I'll Do Anything" 
5."Shower" 
6."Don't Drop the Baby" 
7."My Town" 
8."Birds" 
9."One Step Further" 
10."Just Don't Tell Me What to Do" 

References

  1. ^ Makin, Robert (February 20, 2003). "Music". Courier News. p. E4.
  2. ^ Blush, Steve (2016). New York Rock: From the Rise of the Velvet Underground to the Fall of CBGB. St. Martin's Publishing Group. p. 317.
  3. ^ Van Matre, Lynn (January 22, 1988). "The Concert Line". Friday. Chicago Tribune. p. 5.
  4. ^ Takiff, Jonathan (February 26, 1988). "Chestnut Cabaret coming distractions...". Features Friday. Philadelphia Daily News. p. 41.
  5. ^ Bohen, Jim (November 16, 1987). "Cucumbers looking beyond Hoboken". Daily Record. p. C2.
  6. ^ Haring, Bruce (May 9, 1987). "Cucumbers gain a new label". Courier News. p. B10.
  7. ^ a b Kanzler, George (November 1, 1987). "Cucumbers avoid excesses of other bands". The Sunday Star-Ledger. p. 4.22.
  8. ^ Santelli, Robert (June 4, 1987). "The Cucumbers look for salad days". Asbury Park Press. p. C14.
  9. ^ Popson, Tom (January 22, 1988). "Slices of Life with Hoboken's Cucumbers". Friday. Chicago Tribune. p. H.
  10. ^ Nold Jr., James (February 27, 1988). "Reviews". Scene. The Courier-Journal. p. 8.
  11. ^ Bohen, Jim (May 10, 1987). "Contest win leads to record contract". Daily Record. Northwest N.J. p. E20.
  12. ^ a b "The Cucumbers". Robert Christgau. Retrieved April 15, 2025.
  13. ^ "The Cucumbers Review by Stewart Mason". AllMusic. Retrieved April 18, 2025.
  14. ^ Guterman, Jimmy (December 10, 1987). "Off the Record". The Boston Phoenix. p. 3.35.
  15. ^ a b Tucker, Ken (November 1, 1987). "The Cucumbers The Cucumbers". The Philadelphia Inquirer. p. G9.
  16. ^ Jaeger, Barbara (December 23, 1987). "Work bears fruit for the Cucumbers". The Record. p. E18.
  17. ^ Browne, David (March 10, 1988). "Records". Rolling Stone. No. 521. p. 96.
  18. ^ Pareles, Jon (December 30, 1987). "The Cucumbers, Group from Hoboken". The New York Times. p. C10.
  19. ^ Jenkins, Mark (October 23, 1987). "Take 5 at 9:30, 2 of 'Em Keepers". Weekend. The Washington Post. p. 17.
  20. ^ Robbins, Ira. "Cucumbers". Trouser Press. Retrieved April 15, 2025.
  21. ^ Considine, J.D. (October 23, 1987). "Records". Maryland Live. The Baltimore Sun. p. 2.
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