Divinyls (album) explained

Divinyls
Type:studio
Artist:Divinyls
Cover:DivinylsAlbumcover.jpg
Released:29 January 1991
Recorded:July−October 1990
Studio:Groove Masters Studio, Santa Monica; "Cafe Interlude" recorded at Mega Studios (Paris)
Genre:Pop rock
Length:47:41
Label:Virgin
Producer:Christina Amphlett, Mark McEntee, David Tickle
Prev Title:Temperamental
Prev Year:1988
Next Title:Essential
Next Year:1991

Divinyls (stylised as diVINYLS) is the fourth studio album by Australian band Divinyls, released on 29 January 1991 by Virgin Records. The album was the band's most successful,[1] peaking at number 5 in Australia and number 15 on the US Billboard 200. It also contains the band's biggest-selling single, "I Touch Myself", which reached number one in Australia, number four in the US and number 10 in the UK.

Background and recording

It was the only album recorded by the band with the Virgin Records label after a recording contract with Chrysalis Records in the UK was terminated.[2] Virgin told manager Andrew McManus they were keen to sign the band—by then comprising just singer Chrissy Amphlett and guitarist Mark McEntee—because they saw Amphlett as "the next Madonna". Amphlett and McEntee moved to an apartment in Paris where they wrote "Love School", "Make Out Alright" and "Lay Your Body Down", before transferring to Los Angeles, where the remainder of the album was written, partly in collaboration with songwriters Billy Steinberg and Tom Kelly.

The album was recorded at Jackson Browne's Groove Masters Studio in Santa Monica, with backing provided by bassist Randy Jackson, keyboardist Benmont Tench of Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers and drummer Charley Drayton, who later married Amphlett in 1999.

Promotion

Director Michael Bay filmed a video for "I Touch Myself" in a nunnery in Pasadena. The clip was nominated for an MTV award but in their home country was banned from television.

Critical reception

Jim Farber from Rolling Stone gave praise to the album's instrumentation and lyrical hooks for giving the band more grit and attention to listeners than the "murky production" found on Temperamental. He also highlighted Chrissy Amphlett's vocal performance as another step up from the previous album, calling it "the most sexually charged voice from a rock female" since Chrissie Hynde. Alex Henderson of AllMusic found the record to be "respectable and generally appealing", praising its new wave-influenced tracks for having a sense of edge and melody to them. He added that the band's debut effort Desperate was a better starting point for new listeners but said that this contained more strengths to warrant more attention.

Personnel

Musicians

Production

Charts

Year-end charts

Chart (1991)!scope="col"
Position
Australian Albums (ARIA)[3] 49
US Billboard 200[4] 98

"Make Out Alright"

Make Out Alright
Type:single
Artist:Divinyls
Album:Divinyls
B-Side:Need a Lover
Released:1991
Recorded:1990
Studio:Groove Masters Studio, Santa Monica
Genre:Rock, pop rock
Length:4:38
Label:Virgin
Producer:Christina Amphlett, Mark McEntee, David Tickle
Prev Title:Love School
Prev Year:1991
Next Title:I'm on Your Side
Next Year:1991

"Make Out Alright" is a song by Australian rock duo Divinyls, released as the third single from their self-titled fourth album in 1991. "Make Out Alright" peaked at No. 105 in Australia.[5]

Track listing

Australian CD single[6]

  1. "Make Out Alright" - 4:38
  2. "Need a Lover" - 4:50

Australian 12"/Europe CD single[7]

  1. "Make Out Alright" - 4:38
  2. "I Touch Myself" (Live)
  3. "Need a Lover" - 4:50

Notes and References

  1. Book: McFarlane, Ian . Encyclopedia of Australian Rock and Pop . Ian McFarlane . . 1999 . 1-86448-768-2 . 30 May 2008 . registration .
  2. Book: Amphlett , Chrissy . Chrissy Amphlett . Larry Writer . Pleasure and Pain: My Life . Hodder Australia . 2005 . Sydney . 0-7336-1959-2 . 336.
  3. Web site: ARIA Top 100 Albums for 1991. Australian Recording Industry Association. 28 January 2021.
  4. Web site: Top Billboard 200 Albums – Year-End 1991. Billboard. 28 January 2021.
  5. Web site: Response from ARIA to chart inquiry, received 5 June 2015 . 9 August 2015 . imgur.com . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20150605213523/http://i.imgur.com/DkGCr8v.jpg . 5 June 2015 .
  6. http://www.discogs.com/Divinyls-Make-Out-Alright/release/1563768 "Divinyls - 'Make Out Alright' (CD) at Discogs:
  7. http://notsorted.tripod.com/DIV.discog.html "Divinyls Discography"