Envy (Ambitious Lovers album)

Envy is the debut album by Ambitious Lovers.[6][7] It was released in 1984 through E.G. Records.[4] The album marked the first entry in what, at one point, was supposed to be a seven-album series on the seven deadly sins.[5]

Envy
Studio album by
Released1984 (1984)
RecordedBC Studio, Brooklyn, NY
GenreNew wave
Length32:46
LabelE.G.
ProducerArto Lindsay, M. E. Miller and Peter Scherer[1]
Ambitious Lovers chronology
Envy
(1984)
Greed
(1988)
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[2]
Robert ChristgauA[3]
The Encyclopedia of Popular Music[4]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide[5]

Production

Arto Lindsay, who grew up in Brazil, incorporates on the album many elements of that country's heritage.[8] Most of the music was written by keyboardist Peter Scherer.[9]

Critical reception

Trouser Press wrote that "Lindsay’s words are tantalizingly oblique, but there’s nothing oblique about his record’s lusty cry for recognition."[10] Maximum Rocknroll called the album "slick and subdued," writing that Lindsey is "one of the few improv dudes who can make you laugh."[11] MusicHound Rock: The Essential Album Guide called it "shocking in its juxtapositions."[1]

John Leland of Spin called it, "the most generous and appealing work Lindsay has ever done. He brings his formerly anti-pop trademarks — demented, chicken-scratch guitar, fragmented lyrics, idiosyncratic compositions, choppy rhythms — intact into a contemporary pop format."[12]

Track listing

Side one
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Cross Your Legs"Lindsay, Miller, Scherer5:05
2."Trouble Maker"Lindsay, Miller, Scherer2:25
3."Pagode Americano"Fernandes, Nogueira, Silva2:12
4."Nothing's Monstered"Lindsay, Miller, Moss1:00
5."Crowning Roar"Lindsay, Miller1:00
6."Too Many Mansions"Lindsay, Miller, Scherer3:52
Side two
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Let's Be Adult"Lindsay, Scherer4:18
2."Venus Lost Her Shirt"Fernandes, Lindsay, Miller, Nogueira, Scherer, Silva1:55
3."My Competition"Lindsay, Miller0:45
4."Badú"Nogueira, Silva, Silva1:06
5."Dora"Caymmi2:55
6."Beberibe"Lindsay, Nogueira1:00
7."Locus Coruleus"Fier, Lindsay, Scherer5:06

Sampling

The hook in "Let's Be Adult" is also in the song "Song 4 Mutya (Out of Control)" by Groove Armada.

Personnel

Ambitious Lovers
Additional musicians and production

References

  1. MusicHound Rock: The Essential Album Guide. Visible Ink Press. 1999. p. 24.
  2. Dougan, John. "Envy". AllMusic. Retrieved November 8, 2012.
  3. Christgau, Robert. "Arto Lindsay/Ambitious Lovers". Robert Christgau.com. Retrieved November 8, 2012.
  4. Larkin, Colin (2006). The Encyclopedia of Popular Music. Vol. 5. MUZE. p. 249.
  5. The Rolling Stone Album Guide. Random House. 1992. p. 13.
  6. "Ambitious Lovers | Biography & History". AllMusic.
  7. The Rough Guide to Rock. Rough Guides. February 18, 2003. ISBN 9781858284576 via Google Books.
  8. Spins. June 18, 1985. ISBN 9780674443181 via Google Books. {{cite book}}: |work= ignored (help)
  9. Christgau, Robert (February 18, 1998). Grown Up All Wrong: 75 Great Rock and Pop Artists from Vaudeville to Techno. Harvard University Press. ISBN 9780674443181 via Google Books.
  10. "Arto Lindsey". Trouser Press. Retrieved 18 February 2021.
  11. "Envy LP".
  12. John Leland (June 1985). "Spins". Spin. No. 2. p. 31.
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