Life in One Chord
Life in One Chord is an EP by New Zealand band Straitjacket Fits, released in 1987. It was the band's debut release. All of the tracks from the EP were included as part of an extended version of their first full album, Hail. The songs are credited to Shayne Carter/Straitjacket Fits except for "Sparkle That Shines" (Andrew Brough/Straitjacket Fits). "Sparkle That Shines" was released as a single in 1989. The EP spent 10 weeks on the New Zealand charts.
| Life in One Chord | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| EP by | ||||
| Released | 1987 | |||
| Recorded | The Lab Studios, Auckland, April 1987 | |||
| Genre | Alternative Rock, Dunedin sound | |||
| Length | 16:12 | |||
| Label | Flying Nun Records[1] | |||
| Producer | Terry Moore | |||
| Straitjacket Fits chronology | ||||
| ||||
Life in One Chord is an EP by New Zealand band Straitjacket Fits, released in 1987.[2][3] It was the band's debut release.[4] All of the tracks from the EP were included as part of an extended version of their first full album, Hail.[5] The songs are credited to Shayne Carter/Straitjacket Fits except for "Sparkle That Shines" (Andrew Brough/Straitjacket Fits). "Sparkle That Shines" was released as a single in 1989.
The EP spent 10 weeks on the New Zealand charts.[6]
Production
[edit]The EP, produced by Terry Moore, was recorded at The Lab, in Auckland, New Zealand.[7][8]
Critical reception
[edit]Trouser Press wrote that the EP "occasionally trips over its own ambition but dazzles on the wild 'Dialing a Prayer'."[9] Melody Maker called the EP "one psychotic straitlaced feline mutha of a record."[10] In a retrospective article, the Sunday Star-Times wrote: "Right from the first note of their first EP, Life in One Chord (1987), Shayne Carter made up his own world, a personalised gothic opera, with Carter playing the rebel rock star in the grand, sneering tradition of early Elvis, John Lennon and Sid Vicious."[11]
Track listing
[edit]All tracks are written by Shayne Carter/Straitjacket Fits except where noted.
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Dialling A Prayer" | 3:53 |
| 2. | "She Speeds" | 4:05 |
| 3. | "Sparkle That Shines" (Andrew Brough/Straitjacket Fits) | 3:57 |
| 4. | "All That That Brings" | 4:17 |
References
[edit]- ^ "FN080 Straitjacket Fits - Life In One Chord (1987)". Flying Nun.
- ^ "Straitjacket Fits | Biography & History". AllMusic.
- ^ "The story of Straitjacket Fits". NZ Herald. 6 October 2023.
- ^ Meyer, Bill (5 August 1993). "Straitjacket Fits". Chicago Reader.
- ^ "Straitjacket Fits To Reissue Classic Album 'Hail'". UnderTheRadarNZ.
- ^ "Kiwi singer performs on first solo tour". Bay of Plenty Times: B2. 14 December 2017.
- ^ "Straitjacket Fits part 1 - Story | AudioCulture". www.audioculture.co.nz.
- ^ Carter, Shayne (1 November 2019). Dead People I Have Known. Victoria University Press. ISBN 9781776562534 – via Google Books.
- ^ "Straitjacket Fits". Trouser Press. Retrieved 28 February 2021.
- ^ Mueller, Andrew (1 August 2013). It's Too Late to Die Young Now. Picador Australia. ISBN 9781743289235 – via Google Books.
- ^ Steel, Gary (13 December 1998). "Anger not angst". Sunday Star-Times: F2.
