Mind Bomb

Mind Bomb is the third studio album by English post-punk band The The, released by Some Bizzare/Epic on 11 July 1989 and recorded between October 1988 and May 1989.

Mind Bomb
Studio album by The The
Released	11 July 1989
Genre	Alternative rock, dance-rock, college rock
Length	46:11
Label	Epic
Producer	Warne Livesey, Roli Mosimann, Matt Johnson
The The chronology
Infected (1986) Mind Bomb (1989) Dusk (1992)

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[1]
Chicago Tribune	[2]
Rolling Stone	[3]

Overview

For this album Matt Johnson assembled a full band version of The The, retaining his role as singer, primary songwriter, frontman and guitarist (and playing keyboards and other instruments in the studio), but bringing in former Smiths guitarist Johnny Marr (whom he had known since the early 1980s, and whom he had attempted to entice into an earlier version of The The prior to Marr forming The Smiths). Completing the lineup was former Julian Cope band bass guitarist James Eller and session drummer David Palmer (while D.C. Collard provided live keyboards). Additional instrumentation on Mind Bomb was provided by sessioneers, most notably keyboard player Wix.

Instead of the darkly polished dance-pop styling of earlier albums Soul Mining and Infected, Mind Bomb opens up the music to reveal a slow, winding textured world of sound, thanks in no small means to ex-Smiths guitarist Johnny Marr. Lyrical subjects include politics, religion, and romance. The band would also play a world tour and record a follow-up, Dusk. After that, Johnson dissolved it and went about his business alone again. A remastered version of the album was released in 2002.

Track listing

Tracks written by Matt Johnson, except where noted.

1. "Good Morning, Beautiful" – 7:28
2. "Armageddon Days Are Here (Again)" – 5:40
3. "The Violence of Truth" – 5:40
4. "Kingdom of Rain" – 5:51
5. "The Beat(en) Generation" – 3:04
6. "August & September" – 5:45
7. "Gravitate to Me" – 8:09 (Johnson, Johnny Marr)
8. "Beyond Love" – 4:22

Personnel

The band

• Matt Johnson – vocals, guitar, keyboards
• Johnny Marr – guitar, harmonica
• James Eller – bass guitar
• David Palmer – drums

Additional musicians

• Sinéad O'Connor – female vocal on "Kingdom of Rain"
• Wix – piano, keyboards, Hammond organ, accordion
• Warne Livesey – keyboards, banjo, acoustic guitar
• Pandit Dinesh – percussion
• Danny Cummings – percussion
• Pedro Haldermann – percussion
• Chris White – saxophone
• Philip Todd – saxophone
• Ashley Slater – trombone
• John Eacott – flugel horn
• Mark Feltham – harmonica
• Danny Thompson – upright bass on "August & September"
• Sarah Homer – clarinet
• Dai Pritchard – bass clarinet
• Hilary Storer – oboe
• Gavyn Wright – Arabian fiddle
• Astarti String Section – strings

Artwork

Artwork and typography by Fiona Skinner. Photography Andrew MacPherson. Back cover image was created to reference photomontagist John Heartfield Der Sinn von Genf The Meaning of Geneva AIZ Cover, Berlin, Germany, 1932

References

1. Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "Mind Bomb – The The". AllMusic. Retrieved 26 September 2017.
2. Heim, Chris (10 August 1989). "The The: Mind Bomb (Epic)". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved 26 September 2017.
3. Mack, Bob (7 September 1989). "The The: Mind Bomb". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on 15 May 2009. Retrieved 26 September 2017.