Big Sexy Land
Big Sexy Land is the debut studio album by industrial rock band Revolting Cocks, released through Wax Trax! Records in 1986. This is the only album to feature the group's founding lineup of Luc van Acker, Richard 23 and Alain Jourgensen.
| Big Sexy Land | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | November 1986 | |||
| Recorded | 1985, Chicago Recording Co. | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | 37:50 | |||
| Label | Wax Trax! | |||
| Producer | Alain Jourgensen | |||
| Revolting Cocks chronology | ||||
| ||||
Background
The album's title is a reference to a strip club in West Berlin. Jourgensen said that the club's large, neon sign was "the biggest capitalistic tease" for citizens in East Germany. The album was recorded in 1985 at ICP Studios in Brussels.[3] Van Acker attributed the album's mixing to Jourgensen's sessions with Adrian Sherwood on Twitch. Van Acker said Jourgensen surreptitiously took notes on Sherwood's settings, but, without any context for the numbers, they had to later guess at what the settings were for, such as reverb and delay time.[4] According to van Acker, Jourgensen did not appear as a musician on the album because he was still under contract by Sire. After Jourgensen released a dub remix of "You Often Forget" without the band's input, Richard 23 quit.[3]
Additional information
The track "We Shall Cleanse the World" includes a sample of the title phrase taken from the film The Omega Man starring Charlton Heston.
The title of the track "Attack Ships on Fire" is taken from dialog in the film Blade Runner.
"38" is a reference to the victims of the Heysel Stadium Disaster which occurred on May 29, 1985. Although the final death toll in the disaster was actually 39.
Reception
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [5] |
| MusicHound Rock |  [6] |
The Rough Guide to Rock described the album as a "more fluid Nitzer Ebb" evocative of current trends in electronic music.[2] AllMusic wrote that it is "a distinguished debut from a 'side project' that occasionally surpasses the day-job work that its members became famous for".[5]
Track listing
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "38" | 4:07 |
| 2. | "We Shall Cleanse the World" | 5:32 |
| 3. | "Attack Ships on Fire" | 4:52 |
| 4. | "Big Sexy Land" | 3:49 |
| 5. | "Union Carbide" (West Virginia Version) | 3:24 |
| 6. | "T. V. Mind" | 5:39 |
| 7. | "No Devotion" | 6:48 |
| 8. | "Union Carbide" (Bhopal Version) | 3:39 |
| Total length: | 37:50 | |
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 9. | "You Often Forget" (Malignant) | 8:34 |
| 10. | "Attack Ships…" (12" Version) | 4:44 |
| 11. | "On Fire" (12" Version) | 7:05 |
| 12. | "No Devotion" (12" version) | 10:33 |
| Total length: | 68:47 | |
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "38" | 4:10 |
| 2. | "We Shall Cleanse the World" | 5:35 |
| 3. | "Attack Ships on Fire" | 4:55 |
| 4. | "Big Sexy Land" | 3:58 |
| 5. | "Union Carbide" (West Virginia) | 3:17 |
| 6. | "T.V. Mind" | 5:42 |
| 7. | "You Often Forget" (Malignant) | 8:30 |
| 8. | "No Devotion" | 6:53 |
| 9. | "Union Carbide" (Bhopal) | 3:37 |
| 10. | "Attack Ships on Fire" (12" Version) | 6:51 |
| 11. | "No Devotion" (12" Version) | 10:33 |
| 12. | "TV Mind Remix" (Alt. Mix) | 4:26 |
| 13. | "On Fire" | 4:46 |
| Total length: | 73:13 | |
Singles
No Devotion (1985)
- "No Devotion"
- "Attack Ships..."
- "...On Fire"
Personnel
Revolting Cocks
- Luc van Acker – vocals, guitars
- Richard 23 – vocals, programming
- Alain Jourgensen – production, engineering
Additional personnel
- Bill Rieflin – drums ("You Often Forget")
- John Mathias – additional engineering
- Patrick Codenys – additional keyboards (2, 4, 6)
- Jim Nash – cover
- Brian Shanley – cover
- Phil Austin – mastering
References
- Jeffries, Vincent (2002). All Music Guide to Rock: The Definitive Guide to Rock, Pop, and Soul. Backbeat Books. p. 938. ISBN 0-87930-653-X.
- Buckley, Peter, ed. (2003). The Rough Guide to Rock. Rough Guides. p. 871. ISBN 1-85828-457-0.
- Jourgensen, Al; Wiederhorn, Josh (2015). Ministry: The Lost Gospels According to Al Jourgensen. Da Capo Press. pp. 66–67, 77. ISBN 9780306824647.
- Reed, S. Alexander (2013). Assimilate: A Critical History of Industrial Music. Oxford University Press. p. 238. ISBN 9780199339624.
- "Big Sexy Land - Revolting Cocks". AllMusic.
- Christensen, Thor (1999). "Ministry". In Graff, Gary; Durchholz, Daniel (eds.). MusicHound Rock: The Essential Album Guide (loan required). Detroit: Visible Ink Press. p. 762. ISBN 978-1-57859-061-2 – via the Internet Archive.