Bigger Than America
1996 studio album by Heaven 17
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Bigger Than America is the sixth studio album by the English synth-pop band Heaven 17. It was originally released in September 1996, on the label Eye of the Storm, eight years after their previous studio album, Teddy Bear, Duke & Psycho (1988).
| Bigger Than America | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
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| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | 20 September 1996 (UK) | |||
| Genre | Synth-pop | |||
| Length | 54:42 | |||
| Label | Eye of the Storm WEA | |||
| Producer | B.E.F. | |||
| Heaven 17 chronology | ||||
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| Singles from Bigger Than America | ||||
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The album peaked at number one on Germany Alphabeat Redaktionscharts' Rock/Pop/Alternative Charts in November 1996, but did not chart in the UK. It was listed as number 6 on the online music magazine Addicted to Noise's Writers Poll.[2]
In an interview with The Guardian in 2010, Ware recalled: "This went under the radar to the extent that hardly anybody in this country knew about it; we did do an album in '95 called Bigger Than America, which was our attempt to re-engage early analogue synths and create an album based on that. It just got lost in the big Warner Brothers machine."[3]
Critical reception
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| The Guardian |   [4] |
| Select | [5] |
Upon its release, Caroline Sullivan of The Guardian commented: "Heaven 17 have hardly changed [and] things are much the same - just less melodic. Marsh and Ware still produce plinky, one-tempo backbeats, [and] Gregory's lyrics are disillusioned, even morose. "We Blame Love" has the closest thing to a tune, which brings us to the crux of the matter - their status as godfathers of techno is unchallenged, but these songs are hollow and too samey."[4]
Robert Semrow of Keyboard wrote: "[Heaven 17] were outstanding before, and have only improved with time. Each song is solid and very dancefloor-friendly. Bigger Than America is similar to their previous sound, with pads and dance grooves providing a backdrop for Gregory's unmistakable strong vocals. Lots of movement, lots of changes, and lots to enjoy."[6] Howard Cohen of Knight Ridder summarised: "Erasure-like Europop cuts 'Freak!' and 'Another Big Idea' are danceable enough, and there's a throbbing Giorgio Moroder dance remix. But this is largely tuneless, boring stuff. Which explains why few missed Heaven 17 in the first place."[7]
Track listing
- "Dive" – 4:30
- "Designing Heaven" – 5:15
- "We Blame Love" – 4:49
- "Another Big Idea" – 4:57
- "Freak!" – 4:09
- "Bigger Than America" – 4:00
- "Unreal Everything" – 4:10
- "The Big Dipper" – 4:57
- "Do I Believe?" – 4:57
- "Resurrection Man" – 4:06
- "Maybe Forever" – 4:42
- "An Electronic Prayer" – 4:06
- "Designing Heaven – (Mies Van Der Rohe mix)" +
- "Designing Heaven (Den Hemmel Designen) – (Gregorio remix)" +
Tracks marked with "+" are bonus tracks added to the other version of the CD album.
Personnel
Production
- Ray Smith – cover art