So You'd Like to Save the World explained

So You'd Like to Save the World
Cover:Lloyd Cole So You'd Like to Save the World 1993 single cover.jpg
Type:single
Artist:Lloyd Cole
Album:Bad Vibes
B-Side:For the Pleasure of Your Company
Released:13 September 1993[1]
Length:3:33
Label:Fontana
Producer:Adam Peters
Prev Title:Butterfly
Prev Year:1992
Next Title:Morning Is Broken
Next Year:1993

"So You'd Like to Save the World" is a song by English singer, songwriter and musician Lloyd Cole, released in 1993 as the lead single from his third studio album Bad Vibes. The song was written by Cole and produced by Adam Peters. It peaked at number 72 in the UK Singles Chart and remained in the top 75 for two weeks.

Background

Like the rest of the Bad Vibes album, "So You'd Like to Save the World" was recorded in Cole's home studio in New York. Speaking of the song's message, which takes a swipe at po-faced environmentalists, Cole told the Daily Record in 1993, "I'm having a gentle go at people like Sting and Peter Gabriel. Both of these guys have a sense of humour, so why don't they use it more? If you believe in helping the environment, it doesn't mean you can't make fun of it, too. The song is very self-mocking. I recycle products as much as the next guy, and I'm all for these environmental issues. If people take my song too literally, I don't care. I'm sick of worrying what people make of my lyrics."[2]

Critical reception

Upon its release, Stuart Bailie of NME commented, "Sounds a bit like '70s Lennon, which is handy, since Lloyd has already done the pastiche of Lou and Dylan and we need a change. Still, you feel cheerful, because there are jokey lines about star signs and eco freaks and his mates all clap fondly at the end."[3] Peter Kinghorn of the Newcastle Evening Chronicle noted that "despite the plodding beat it bubbles along nice and brightly".[4] Taylor Parkes of Melody Maker commented on how he felt Cole's career had been on a continuous downward spiral since Lloyd Cole and the Commotions' 1984 debut album Rattlesnakes, on which Cole had the lyrical ability to "pump out rough nuggets of eloquent, pretend-bohemian beauty". Parkes continued, "By the second album, it was shrinking fast, carried on shrinking... shrinking... Until finally: 'So You'd Like to Save the World'. Piss off, Lloyd."[5]

Track listing

7–inch single (UK and Europe) and CD single (Australia)[6] [7]

  1. "So You'd Like to Save the World" – 3:33
  2. "For the Pleasure of Your Company" – 3:41

CD single (UK and Europe)[8]

  1. "So You'd Like to Save the World" – 3:33
  2. "For the Pleasure of Your Company" – 3:41
  3. "4 M.B." – 4:46

Limited edition CD single (UK and Europe)[9]

  1. "So You'd Like to Save the World" – 3:33
  2. "Vicious" – 3:51
  3. "Mystic Lady" – 3:03

Personnel

Production

Other

Notes and References

  1. Single Releases . . 11 September 1993 . 23 . 0265-1548 . World Radio History . 24 February 2023.
  2. News: Sloan . Billy . Lloyd's down to earth . . . 4 September 1993 . 27 . . subscription . 24 February 2023.
  3. Bailie . Stuart . 18 September 1993 . Singles . . 21.
  4. News: Kinghorn . Peter . Choices/Listings - Singles & Albums . . . 25 August 1993 . 9 . . subscription . 24 February 2023.
  5. Parkes . Taylor . 21 August 1993 . Singles . . 31.
  6. So You'd Like to Save the World . . 1993 . UK and European 7-inch single sleeve . . VIBE 1, 862 724-7.
  7. So You'd Like to Save the World . . 1993 . Australian CD single sleeve . . 862 724-2.
  8. So You'd Like to Save the World . . 1993 . UK and European CD single sleeve . . VIBED 1, 862 725-2.
  9. So You'd Like to Save the World . . 1993 . UK and European limited edition CD single sleeve . . VIBES1, 862 727-2.

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