Privilege (Television Personalities album) explained

Privilege
Type:	studio
Artist:	Television Personalities
Cover:	Privilege - Television Personalities cover.jpg
Released:	February 1990
Genre:	Punk rock, new wave
Length:	46:40
Label:	Fire^[1]
Producer:	Phil Vinall, Television Personalities
Prev Title:	The Painted Word
Prev Year:	1984
Next Title:	Closer to God
Next Year:	1992

Privilege is an album by English rock band Television Personalities.^{[2] [3]} It was released in 1990 through Fire Records.^[4] The album was recorded as a trio, with former Swell Maps member Jowe Head and drummer Jeffrey Bloom accompanying Dan Treacy.

Critical reception

Jason Ankeny of AllMusic gave the album a positive review, describing it as "one of the group's most personal and dark records." Chicago Tribune critic David Levinsky wrote that "the LP suffers from overly lush production, supplying one too many monolithic synth chords." Levinsky also stated: "We get a record suffering from the shotgun approach: a couple of exceptional singles and a lot of also-rans." In contrast, Ira Robbins of Trouser Press stated: "Privilege dresses Treacy's characteristically direct songs with just the right amount of keyboards, and his voice is as boyishly engaging as ever."^[5] The Spin Alternative Record Guide called the album "overproduced," but wrote that "Treacy can still make his pop obsessions gleam like vintage Campbell's soup cans."

Track listing

All songs written by Dan Treacy, except where noted.

1. "Paradise Is For The Blessed" – 3:49
2. "A Good And Faithful Servant" – 3:38
3. "Conscience Tells Me No" – 3:29
4. "My Hedonistic Tendencies" – 4:05
5. "All My Dreams Are Dead" – 3:00
6. "Salvador Dali's Garden Party" – 3:32
7. "The Man Who Paints The Rainbows" – 2:44
8. "What If It's Raining?" – 3:37
9. "Sad Mona Lisa" – 2:40
10. "The Engine Driver Song" – 2:55
11. "Sometimes I Think You Know Me Better Than I Know Myself" – 1:51
12. "Privilege" – 3:43
13. "The Room At The Top Of The Stairs" (Randall Hylton, Treacy) – 3:35
14. "This Time There's No Happy Ending" – 2:20
15. "Part One: Fulfilling The Contractual Obligations" – 1:47

Personnel

Television Personalities

• Jowe Head – bass
• Jefferey Bloom – drums
• Dan Treacy – guitar, keyboards, vocals
• Jowe Head – strings, trumpet

Technical

• Matthew Fisher – engineering
• Wilson Sharp – engineering
• Television Personalities – production
• Phil Vinall – production

Notes and References

1. Web site: Television Personalities – Privilege. February 19, 2018. FIRE RECORDS.
2. Web site: Television Personalities | Biography & History. AllMusic.
3. Book: The Rough Guide to Rock . 1999 . Rough Guides Ltd . 994 . 2nd.
4. Web site: Spins. SPIN. June 2, 1990. SPIN Media LLC. Google Books.
5. Web site: Television Personalities . . 5 January 2015 . Robbins, Ira.