The Psychedelic Furs (album) explained

The Psychedelic Furs
Type:	Studio album
Artist:	the Psychedelic Furs
Cover:	The Psychedelic Furs re-issue cover.jpg
Recorded:	1979
Studio:	RAK, London
Genre:	Post-punk
Label:	Columbia
Producer:	Steve Lillywhite Martin Hannett Howard Thompson Ian Taylor the Psychedelic Furs
Next Title:	Talk Talk Talk
Next Year:	1981

The Psychedelic Furs is the debut studio album by the English rock band the Psychedelic Furs, released on 7 March 1980 by Columbia Records. It was reissued with bonus tracks in 2002 by Columbia/Legacy.^[1] In 2020, Rolling Stone included the band's debut studio album in their "80 Greatest albums of 1980" list, praising the musicians for sounding like "a grand art project".^[2]

The original UK LP had nine tracks. The US LP contained 10 tracks, deleting one track from the UK LP ("Blacks/Radio") and adding two others ("Susan's Strange" and "Soap Commercial"), and changing the order of the tracks significantly. The CD reissue contained 13 tracks, beginning with the original nine UK LP tracks (programmed in their original order), then adding the two additional tracks from the US LP release, plus a version of "Mack the Knife" and a demo of the album track "Flowers".

Lyrics

In both his delivery and content Richard Butler introduces the sarcastic style which would become his signature and makes use of a number of recurring motifs in the album's lyrics (track numbering refers to the CD issue).

• "Stupid" (people, friends, dreams, sea) – tracks 1, 2, 4, 6, 8.
• "Useless" (lives, sound, drivel) – tracks 1, 2, 5, 7, 9.
• "Flowers" – tracks 1, 4, 5, 9.
• "Carpet/Floor" – tracks 1, 2, 3, 9.
• "Dancing/Reeling" – tracks 1, 3, 5, 8.

Track listing

All songs were written and arranged by the Psychedelic Furs, with words by Richard Butler, and produced by Steve Lillywhite, except where noted.

Original UK LP

Side 1

1. "India" – 6:21
2. "Sister Europe" – 5:38
3. "Imitation of Christ" – 5:28
4. "Fall" – 2:40
5. "Pulse" – 2:37 (produced by Howard Thompson, Ian Taylor and the Psychedelic Furs)

Side 2

1. "We Love You" – 3:26 (produced by Howard Thompson, Ian Taylor and the Psychedelic Furs)
2. "Wedding Song" – 4:19
3. "Blacks/Radio" – 6:56
4. "Flowers" – 4:10 (produced by Howard Thompson, Ian Taylor and the Psychedelic Furs)

Original US LP

Side 1

1. "India" – 6:21
2. "Sister Europe" – 5:38
3. "Susan's Strange" – 3:13 (produced by Martin Hannett)
4. "Fall" – 2:40
5. "We Love You" – 3:26 (produced by Howard Thompson, Ian Taylor and the Psychedelic Furs)

Side 2

1. "Soap Commercial" – 2:53 (produced by Martin Hannett)
2. "Imitation of Christ" – 5:28
3. "Pulse" – 2:37 (produced by Howard Thompson, Ian Taylor and the Psychedelic Furs)
4. "Wedding Song" – 4:19
5. "Flowers" – 4:10 (produced by Howard Thompson, Ian Taylor and the Psychedelic Furs)

CD reissue

1. "India" – 6:21
2. "Sister Europe" – 5:38
3. "Imitation of Christ" – 5:28
4. "Fall" – 2:40
5. "Pulse" – 2:37 (produced by Howard Thompson, Ian Taylor and the Psychedelic Furs)
6. "We Love You" – 3:26 (produced by Howard Thompson, Ian Taylor and the Psychedelic Furs)
7. "Wedding Song" – 4:19
8. "Blacks/Radio" – 6:56
9. "Flowers" – 4:10 (produced by Howard Thompson, Ian Taylor and the Psychedelic Furs)
10. "Susan's Strange" – 3:13 (produced by Martin Hannett)
11. "Soap Commercial" – 2:53 (produced by Martin Hannett)
12. "Mack the Knife" (Kurt Weill, Bertolt Brecht, Marc Blitzstein) – 4:18 (produced by the Psychedelic Furs)
13. "Flowers" (Demo) – 5:36 (produced by the Psychedelic Furs)

Personnel

The Psychedelic Furs

• Richard Butler – lead and background vocals
• John Ashton – guitar
• Tim Butler – bass guitar
• Vince Ely – drums
• Roger Morris – guitar
• Duncan Kilburn – saxophones

Technical

• Howard Thompson – executive producer
• Phil Thornalley – engineer
• Steve Lillywhite – producer

Chart performance

Album

Singles

Year	Single	Chart	Position
1980	"India/Pulse/We Love You/Flowers"	Billboard Club Play Singles	36
1980	"We Love You"	Billboard Club Play Singles	77

Notes and References

1. https://www.discogs.com/es/The-Psychedelic-Furs-The-Psychedelic-Furs/release/3953157 Discogs
2. Web site: The 80 Greatest Albums of 1980 What came out of all this was, arguably, the greatest year for great albums ever. Rolling Stone. 11 November 2020 . 12 November 2020.