Word of Mouth (Toni Basil album)
1981 studio album by Toni Basil
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Word of Mouth is the debut studio album by American singer Toni Basil. It was first released in May 1981 in the United Kingdom and April 1982 in the United States. The album features the number-one worldwide hit "Mickey", as well as three covers of songs by Devo, who also performed on those three tracks ("Be Stiff", "Space Girls", which is a re-titled "Space Girl Blues", and "You Gotta Problem", which is a re-titled "Pity You"). The U.S. version of the album added the songs "Rock On" (a David Essex cover) and "Shoppin' from A to Z", deleting "Hanging Around". Word of Mouth was certified Gold by the RIAA. Basil also released a video album for Word of Mouth.[4]
| Word of Mouth | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | May 22, 1981 | |||
| Recorded | 1981 | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | 39:28 | |||
| Label | Chrysalis (U.S.) Radialchoice (UK) | |||
| Producer |
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| Toni Basil chronology | ||||
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| Singles from Word of Mouth | ||||
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| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |    [3] |
| Christgau's Record Guide | B+[2] |
Chart performance
The lead single "Mickey" became an international hit, earning a double platinum certification. The album, which was released shortly after, was also a success, peaking at number 22 and receiving a Gold certification. However, the following singles, "Nobody" in the UK and "Shoppin' from A to Z" in the US, both under-performed, which cut the album's success short. It also reached number 27 on the New Zealand albums chart.
Track listing
U.S. LP
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Mickey" | 4:12 | |
| 2. | "Rock On" | David Essex | 4:04 |
| 3. | "Shoppin' from A to Z" | 4:08 | |
| 4. | "You Gotta Problem" | Mark Mothersbaugh | 4:34 |
| 5. | "Be Stiff" | 3:22 |
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Nobody" | Paul Delph | 4:00 |
| 2. | "Little Red Book" | 4:04 | |
| 3. | "Space Girls" | Casale | 2:56 |
| 4. | "Thief on the Loose" |
| 3:50 |
| 5. | "Time After Time" |
| 4:18 |
UK LP
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Nobody" | Delph | 4:03 |
| 2. | "Hanging Around" | Conway | 4:08 |
| 3. | "Thief on the Loose" |
| 3:54 |
| 4. | "Time After Time" |
| 4:23 |
| 5. | "Mickey" |
| 4:15 |
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Little Red Book" |
| 4:07 |
| 2. | "Be Stiff" |
| 3:24 |
| 3. | "Space Girls" | Casale | 3:00 |
| 4. | "You Gotta Problem" | Mothersbaugh | 4:36 |
International cassette
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Mickey" |
| 4:15 |
| 2. | "Nobody" | Delph | 4:03 |
| 3. | "Hanging Around" | Conway | 4:08 |
| 4. | "Thief on the Loose" |
| 3:54 |
| 5. | "Little Red Book" |
| 4:07 |
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Time After Time" |
| 4:23 |
| 2. | "Be Stiff" |
| 3:24 |
| 3. | "Space Girls" | Casale | 3:00 |
| 4. | "You Gotta Problem" | Mothersbaugh | 4:36 |
Personnel
- Toni Basil – vocals
- Rick Parnell, Alan Myers, Ed Greene, Mike Baird – drums
- Doug Lunn, Gerald Casale (credited as Jerry Casale) – bass
- Mike Chapman – synthesizer and keyboards on "Mickey"
- Dorsey High Cheerleaders, classes of 1980–81 – stomping and chanting on "Mickey"
- Greg Mathieson, Michael Boddicker, Mark Mothersbaugh, Paul Delph – synthesizer
- Bob Mothersbaugh, John Goodsall, Bob Casale, Richie Zito, Trevor Veitch, David Storrs – guitar
- Richard Greene – violin on "Rock On"
- Dan Wyman – synthesizer programming; vocoder on "Space Girls"
- Allee Willis, Bruce Roberts, Bob Esty – additional vocals
- The Alphabet Singers – additional backing vocals on "Shoppin' from A to Z"
- Technical
- Produced by Greg Mathieson and Trevor Veitch
- John Michael Weaver, Joe Robb, Tony D'Amico, David Leonard – engineer
- Janet Levinson – design
- Steven Arnold – cover photography
Charts
Weekly charts
|
Year-end charts
|
Certifications
| Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
|---|---|---|
| Canada (Music Canada)[11] | Gold | 50,000^ |
| United States (RIAA)[12] | Gold | 500,000^ |
|
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone. | ||