Paranoid & Sunburnt
1995 studio album by Skunk Anansie
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Paranoid & Sunburnt is the debut studio album by British rock band Skunk Anansie, first released in 1995 via One Little Indian Records. It was re-released in 2005 with a DVD featuring the videos to the singles. This album was recorded with the band's original drummer, Robbie France, but he is not featured on the cover. The album, featuring a mix of controversial protest songs (mainly about politics and religion), peaked at number 8 in the UK Albums Chart.
| Paranoid & Sunburnt | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
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| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | 18 September 1995 | |||
| Recorded | 1994–1995 | |||
| Studio | Great Linford Manor (Milton Keynes, England) | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | 44:10 | |||
| Label | ||||
| Producer |
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| Skunk Anansie chronology | ||||
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| Singles from Paranoid & Sunburnt | ||||
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [5] |
| The Austin Chronicle | [6] |
| Christgau's Consumer Guide |  [7] |
| The Guardian | [8] |
| Los Angeles Times | [9] |
| NME | 8/10[10] |
| Select | 3/5[11] |
Track listing
All tracks are written by Skin and Len Arran; except where noted.
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Selling Jesus" | 3:45 | |
| 2. | "Intellectualise My Blackness" | 3:45 | |
| 3. | "I Can Dream" | 3:51 | |
| 4. | "Little Baby Swastikkka" | 4:04 | |
| 5. | "All in the Name of Pity" | 3:23 | |
| 6. | "Charity" | 4:33 | |
| 7. | "It Takes Blood & Guts to Be This Cool But I'm Still Just a Cliche" | 4:12 | |
| 8. | "Weak" | Skin, Ace, Richard Lewis, Robert France | 3:34 |
| 9. | "And Here I Stand" | Skin, Ace, Richard Lewis, Robert France | 5:14 |
| 10. | "100 Ways to Be a Good Girl" | 3:58 | |
| 11. | "Rise Up" | 4:05 |
Singles
"Little Baby Swastikkka" was the first release from the album. It was not a commercial release, however. It was a radio single and only 2,000 copies were pressed.
"Selling Jesus" was the first commercial single release from the album. Released in March 1995, it peaked at No. 46 in the UK Singles Chart. It also appeared on the Strange Days soundtrack. It is written in protest of religion and politics, and in particular Christianity. The single is taken from their debut album, Paranoid & Sunburnt, and reached number 46 on the UK Singles Chart. Three added B-sides were included on the CD release, with track 4 'Skunk Song' being written by Ace, R. France, C. Lewis and Skin. There are two versions of the video, the first video was directed by production team Gob TV, who also directed the video for "I Can Dream", and the second video was directed by Kathryn Bigelow, for their film Strange Days.[citation needed]
"I Can Dream" was the follow-up single, released in June 1995, and charted at No. 41.
"Charity" was the third single, released in August 1995, and charted at No. 40. It was re-released in 1996 (see below).
"Weak" was the fourth single, released in January 1996, and charted at No. 20.
"Charity" was re-released in April 1996 and its peak chart position was higher than the original release. It peaked at No. 20.
Personnel
- Deborah "Skin" Dyer – lead vocals, guitar, theremin, piano, keyboards
- Martin "Ace" Kent – guitar, backing vocals
- Richard "Cass" Lewis – bass, guitar, backing vocals
- Robbie France – drums, percussion, backing vocals
Technical
- Andy Wallace – mixing
- Donald Christie – photography
Charts
Weekly charts
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Year-end charts
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Certifications
| Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
|---|---|---|
| Netherlands (NVPI)[24] | Platinum | 100,000^ |
| United Kingdom (BPI)[25] | Platinum | 300,000^ |
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^ Shipments figures based on certification alone. | ||