Fine Young Cannibals is the debut studio album by the band of the same name, released in 1985.
The album features the band's debut hit single "Johnny Come Home", which reached number 8 on the UK Singles Chart. This success did not continue with the next single, "Blue", which peaked at number 41 in the UK.
The original version of "Blue" on LP and cassette was re-mixed and edited in an attempt to boost its commercial appeal. The second version features additional percussion overdubs but deletes the trumpet and horn parts. Later CD pressings feature the re-mix version of Blue in place of the original album version, with no mention of this on the record. The original mix later appeared on disc 2 of the 2020 reissue titled as "Blue (Dance Version)".
Contents
Critical reception
Record Mirror critic Stuart Bailie praised "the variety of emotional shades" in Roland Gift's singing on Fine Young Cannibals, adding that the group "are one of the few bands to realise the value of a sparse presentation" and "have an emotional charge that's sorely needed just now". In Rolling Stone, Mark Coleman highlighted Gift's "casual authority" as a vocalist and said that the lyrics "strike a fine balance, noting the subtle and not so subtle toll politics and economics take on relationships. That forecast may be bleak, but Fine Young Cannibals displays a healthy optimism that's as irrepressible as the seamless beat beneath it." Spin's Annie Russo wrote, "The lyrical content on most cuts isn't terribly complicated, one thought turned around a few times; but the sparseness lays snug next to the inlays and wrap-arounds of Gift's voice, along with the more than competent instrumental work, forever keeping the vocals buoyed up."
Stewart Mason, in an AllMusic retrospective review, commented that Fine Young Cannibals "is a powerful and satisfying debut" with "uniformly strong" songs. Nigel Williamson called the album "an artful soul-pop concoction loaded with hooks and hits" in Uncut, while in Classic Pop, John Earls said that it was a testament to the group's reputation as "the soul band even the indie kids love".
Track listing
Songs composed by Roland Gift and David Steele except where noted.
"Johnny Come Home" – 3:35
"Couldn't Care More" – 3:30
"Don't Ask Me to Choose" (Andy Cox, Gift, Steele) – 3:05
"Funny How Love Is" (Cox, Gift, Steele) – 3:28
"Suspicious Minds" (Mark James) – 3:56
"Blue" (Cox, Gift, Steele) – 3:31
"Move to Work" – 3:26
"On a Promise" – 3:06
"Time Isn't Kind" (Cox, Gift, Steele) – 3:12
"Like a Stranger" – 3:28
Additional tracks on 1986 edition
"Johnny Come Home" (extended mix) – 5:43
"Suspicious Minds" (Suspicious mix; Mark James) – 7:52
Personnel
Fine Young Cannibals
Roland Gift – vocals
Andy Cox – guitar, organ on "Time Isn't Kind"
David Steele – bass, piano, keyboards
Additional musicians
Martin Parry – drums
Graeme Hamilton – trumpet, piano solo on "Time Isn't Kind"
Gavyn Wright – violin
Saxa – saxophone on "Funny How Love Is"
Beverlei Brown, Gloria Brown, Maxine Brown – backing vocals on "Like a Stranger"
Jimmy Somerville – backing vocals on "Suspicious Minds"
Jenny Jones – drums, backing vocals on "Couldn't Care More"
Technical
Alvin Clark – engineering
Mike Pela, Robin Millar – mixing
Anton Corbijn – front cover photography