Jollification Explained

Jollification
Type:studio
Artist:the Lightning Seeds
Cover:Lightningseedsjollificags0.jpg
Alt:Album cover for Jollification (1994)
Released:[1]
Recorded:1993
Genre:Alternative rock, Britpop, pop rock
Length:40:29
Label:Epic
Producer:Ian Broudie, Simon Rogers
Prev Title:Sense
Prev Year:1992
Next Title:Pure
Next Year:1996

Jollification is the third album by English rock band the Lightning Seeds. All songs were written by Ian Broudie, with contributions on some tracks from Alison Moyet, Ian McNabb and Terry Hall.

Four tracks from the album were released as singles in the UK: "Lucky You", "Marvellous", "Change" and "Perfect". It peaked at number 12 in the UK Albums Chart, and gained platinum certification in December 1995.

Background

In 1989 Ian Broudie began recording alone under the name Lightning Seeds and achieved success with the psychedelic and synthpop hit "Pure", from the album Cloudcuckooland, which reached the UK Top 20. The same year "Joy" and "All I Want" were also released but failed to make an impression. "Pure" had some success in the United States Billboard Top 40, reaching No. 32. Both "Pure" and "All I Want" also reached the Modern Rock Tracks top 10. In 1991 Broudie returned to song-writing and moved labels from Rough Trade to Virgin.

Writing and recording

By the end of 1993, Broudie had completed the third Lightning Seeds album Jollification, which included contributions from Terry Hall, Simon Rogers, Alison Moyet and Ian McNabb. A promotional tour began in August 1994 with their line-up consisting of, guitarist Paul Hemmings, drummer Chris Sharrock, bassist Martyn Campbell and keyboardist Ali Kane. The tour benefited from the success of the second single from the album "Change", which reached No. 13 in the UK Singles Chart, becoming Lightning Seeds' second UK top twenty hit. The album Jollification became a critical success[2] and the other singles taken from this album ("Lucky You", "Marvellous" and "Perfect") all made noticeable impact. Mark Farrow's album cover featured the use of computer graphics to create an enormous strawberry and depicting seeds with superimposed human faces.

Release and reception

Jollification was released in the UK on 5 September 1994 and in the US on 20 December 1994. Jason Damas for AllMusic felt that the album is "occasionally too produced", but called it Broudie's "strongest batch of songs yet".

Track listing

All songs written by Ian Broudie (except where stated).

  1. "Perfect" – 3:28
  2. "Lucky You" – 4:20 (Broudie, Terry Hall)
  3. "Open Goals" (sample by Aaron Neville, George Porter Jr., Joseph Modeliste, Leo Nocentelli) - 3:49
  4. "Change" – 4:03
  5. "Why Why Why" – 4:14
  6. "Marvellous" – 5:31
  7. "Feeling Lazy" – 3:55 (Broudie, Ian McNabb)
  8. "My Best Day" – 5:00 (Broudie, Alison Moyet)
  9. "Punch & Judy" – 3:17
  10. "Telling Tales" – 2:52

"Open Goals" contains a sample from "Look-Ka Py Py" as recorded by The Meters.

Personnel

The Lightning Seeds
Production
Additional musicians
Other personnel

Charts

Year-end charts

Singles

Release dateSinglePeak
8 August 1994"Lucky You"
  1. 43
2 January 1995"Change"
  1. 13
3 April 1995"Marvellous"
  1. 24
10 July 1995"Perfect"
  1. 18
9 October 1995"Lucky You" (re-release)
  1. 15

Certifications

Notes and References

  1. Album Releases. Music Week. 26. 3 September 1994.
  2. Web site: Lightning Seeds reviews. lightning-seeds.co.uk. 2 November 2010.
  3. Web site: The Lightning Seeds chart history, received from ARIA on 1 March 2022. ARIA. Imgur.com. 4 July 2024. N.B. The High Point number in the NAT column indicates the release's peak on the national chart.
  4. Web site: End of Year Album Chart Top 100 – 1995. Official Charts Company. 14 March 2021.
  5. Web site: End of Year Album Chart Top 100 – 1996. Official Charts Company. 14 March 2021.
  6. Web site: Certified Awards Search . BPI . 6 August 2011 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20110511120001/http://www.bpi.co.uk/certifiedawards/search.aspx . 11 May 2011 .