Lick (album)
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1992 (CD reissue with bonus tracks)
| Lick | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
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| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | April 1989 (original LP) 1992 (CD reissue with bonus tracks) | |||
| Recorded | 1988 | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Label | Taang! | |||
| Producer | Tom Hamilton, Terry Katzman | |||
| The Lemonheads chronology | ||||
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Lick is the third album by The Lemonheads and the last to feature founding member Ben Deily. It was released in 1989 and was the group's last album before signing to major label Atlantic. A typo on the album itself erroneously states its release date as 1988. As with their first two albums, it was re-released as a CD in 1992, with two bonus tracks.
As would become something of a trademark, the Lemonheads' lineup featured some significant differences on Lick from both previous and later albums. Although the band had officially broken up after recording their second album, Creator, in 1988, they were offered a chance to play a European tour, so in early '89 the band reformed with Evan Dando on drums, Corey Loog Brennan and Ben Deily on guitars, and Jesse Peretz on bass. Deily and Dando, the Lemonheads' two singers, were still not getting along, and their personality clashes and technical difficulties in the studio meant that only five new original songs were recorded. To fill out Lick, several earlier unreleased tracks, B-sides, and covers were added to the album.
After completion, Deily left the band permanently, replaced on their subsequent European tour by Dando and Brennan on guitars and Mark Natola on drums. Peretz, one of the original Lemonheads along with Dando and Deily, stayed on to record their next album, Lovey, but left after the supporting tour in '91. Ever since, Dando has been the Lemonheads' sole permanent member amid frequent lineup changes.
Critical reception
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [1] |
| NME | 8/10[2] |
| Spin Alternative Record Guide | 6/10[3] |
- Q (2/96, p. 109) – "...the seeds of their future and mainstream successes were firmly sown...and about to emerge..."
- Melody Maker (12/16/95, p. 32) – Recommended – "...the rapidly budding Dando [flexes] a burgeoning [songwriting] talent....the real killer here is "Luka", a wired rewrite of Suzanne Vega's ghastly, mawkish hit; [shows a] talent for melancholy recontextualisation of the oddest source material..."
