Smart (Sleeper album) explained

Smart
Type:	Album
Artist:	Sleeper
Cover:	Smartsleeper.jpg
Released:	13 February 1995
Recorded:	1994
Genre:	Britpop
Label:	Indolent/Arista
Producer:	Paul Corkett Sleeper Ian Broudie
Next Title:	The It Girl
Next Year:	1996

Smart is the debut studio album by English rock band Sleeper, released on 13 February 1995^[1] by Indolent Records. It was mixed by Stephen Street. The album's sleeve photo is of the Mercury Seven astronauts. A 25th anniversary deluxe edition was released in 2020 on both vinyl and CD. The CD version has 10 extra tracks.

Background

Vocalist and guitarist Louise Wener came across guitarist Jon Stewart while the pair were attending Manchester University in 1992. The following year, they moved to London and formed a band with bassist Diid Osman and drummer Andy Maclure of the Crawl. The band, christened Surrender Dorothy, started performing live by mid-1993; they signed to Indolent, who were impressed with the track "Stay", and changed their name to Sleeper. Stewart said there were "about a dozen Surrender Dororthys" in the United States. They played a few shows under this new name prior to the release of the "Alice in Vain" single, in November 1993.^[2] "Swallow" was then released as a single in February 1994, followed by "Delicious" in May 1994, the latter of which peaked at number 75 on the UK Singles Chart.^[3] Soon afterwards, they went on tour supporting Blur, and released the Bucket & Spade EP in June 1994.^[4]

Release

"Inbetweener" was released as a single in January 1995.^[5] Author Dave Thompson, in his book Alternative Rock (2000), wrote that it was the most anticipated album of the year that overcame the "hype, hope, and hubris which attended it", despite the tabloid press focusing its efforts "searching for details of Wener's mid-album split" from Stewart. "Vegas" was released as a single in March 19995.^[6]

Reception

Thompson said the band's "quietly seething indy-pop" positively accentuates Wener's "tough vulnerability. Right now, the focus is squarely on the lyrics' vivid tales of sex, death, and the vanities and vagaries of modern life."

Track listing

Credits per booklet.

Personnel

Personnel per booklet.^[7] Sleeper

• Louise Wener – vocals, guitar
• Jon Stewart – guitars
• Andy Maclure – drums, percussion
• Diid Osman – bass

Production and design

• Paul Corkett – producer (all except track 3), mixing (tracks 5 and 8)
• Sleeper – producer, design
• Stephen Street – mixing (all except tracks 3, 5 and 8)
• Ian Broudie – producer (track 3), mixing (track 3)
• T&CP Associates – design
• NASA – cover picture
• Hulton-Deutsch – cover picture
• Ricky Futura – cover digitally remastered
• Kevin Westenberg – Sleeper photography

References

Citations

Sources

• Anon.. Sleeper: Smart . . 102 . March 1995.
• Sexton, Paul . Arista's Sleeper Awakens Interest: U.K. group seen as 'international band' . Billboard . 1995-02-11 . 107 . 6 . 15 April 2021 . English . 0006-2510 . In the U.K. where Sleeper has been signed to Indolent Records since mid-1993, Smart is due Feb. 13..
• Sharp . Johnny . Sleeper: Smart . . 279 . August 2020.
• Book: Thompson, Dave. Dave Thompson (author). Alternative Rock. Third Ear: The Essential Listening Companion. 2000. Miller Freeman Books. San Francisco, California. 0-87930-607-6.
• Wilkinson . Roy . Sleeper: Smart . . 57 . March 1995 .

External links

• Smart at YouTube (streamed copy where licensed)

Notes and References

1. Sexton 1995, p. 10
2. Web site: Alice - Sleeper / Release Info. . 21 October 2023.
3. Thompson 2000, p. 626
4. Web site: Bucket & Spade - Sleeper / Release Info. AllMusic. 21 October 2023.
5. Web site: Inbetweener - Sleeper / Release Info. AllMusic. 21 October 2023.
6. Web site: Vegas - Sleeper / Release Info. AllMusic. 21 October 2023.
7. Smart. Sleeper. 1995. booklet. Indolent Records. SLEEPCD 007.