Door, Door Explained

Door, Door
Type:Album
Artist:The Boys Next Door
Cover:Boys next door-door door.png
Released:June 1979
Recorded:June 1978
Side A recorded at Alan Eaton Studios (Melbourne)
January 1979
Side B produced at Richmond Recorders
Genre:Post-punk
Length:31:56
Label:Mushroom Records
Producer:The Boys Next Door
Next Title:Hee Haw
Next Year:1979

Door, Door is the debut album by Australian rock band The Boys Next Door. The album was recorded before the band left Australia for London in 1980, at which point they changed their name to The Birthday Party and created the body of work for which they are most recognised. Likewise, the album is different stylistically from their later work, being less dark and slightly more poppy.

Background

The band recorded a full album in June 1978 as a four-piece. Shortly afterwards, Rowland S. Howard joined as second guitarist and the group discarded half of these songs and recorded five new tracks in January 1979. These were featured on side two of the released LP (tracks 6-10 of the CD release). Of the "missing" half-album, only a demo of the song "Sex Crimes" has ever been released (in 2005).[1]

Legacy

Vocalist Nick Cave later said of the album, "We were adolescents and very late developers. There was a period where we were confused and had a lot of problems and we put out an album like Door, Door which is a product of all those things. I mean, it was a complete wet dream that record. I hate it. It reeks of a band trying to be musically intelligent and write clever, witty lyrics. It's a complete wank".[2]

The album includes the single "Shivers" which became their best known song. Written by Howard, "Shivers" was later covered by Marie Hoy, The Screaming Jets, Divine Fits, Courtney Barnett, and others. "Shivers" was also included on the soundtrack of the 1986 film Dogs in Space, both the original Door Door version and Marie Hoy's cover.

Track listing

  1. "The Nightwatchman" – 2:07
  2. "Brave Exhibitions" – 2:27
  3. "Friends of My World" – 2:46
  4. "The Voice" – 3:55
  5. "Roman Roman" – 1:35
  6. "Somebody's Watching" – 2:39
  7. "After a Fashion" – 4:36
  8. "Dive Position" – 2:47
  9. "I Mistake Myself" – 4:31
  10. "Shivers" – 4:34

All songs credited to The Boys Next Door.

Band personnel

Additional personnel

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Inner City Sound . Inner City Soundtrack track list . Innercitysound.com.au . 14 February 2012.
  2. Andrea Jones . Birthday Party Celebrate . Australian Rolling Stone . Randwick, NSW . Silvertongues Pty Ltd . February 1982 . 17.
  3. Book: Kent, David. David Kent (historian). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992. illustrated. Australian Chart Book. St Ives, N.S.W.. 1993. 0-646-11917-6. 44.