Expecting to Fly (album)

Expecting to Fly is the debut studio album by the Bluetones. It was released on 12 February 1996, knocking Oasis's (What's the Story) Morning Glory? off the number-one spot in the UK Albums Chart for a week. The album is currently certified Platinum by the BPI. Its singles were "Bluetonic", "Slight Return" and "Cut Some Rug".

Expecting to Fly
Studio album by
the Bluetones
Released12 February 1996 (UK)
Recorded1995
StudioRidge Farm
GenreBritpop, indie pop, jangle pop
Length53:45
LabelSuperior Quality, A&M
ProducerHugh Jones
The Bluetones chronology
A Bluetones Companion
(1995)		 Expecting to Fly
(1996)		 Return to the Last Chance Saloon
(1998)
Singles from Expecting to Fly
  1. "Bluetonic"
    Released: 2 October 1995
  2. "Slight Return"
    Released: 22 January 1996
  3. "Cut Some Rug" / "Castle Rock"
    Released: 29 April 1996

A 2 CD Expanded Edition of the album was released on 9 March 2009.

Production

The majority of Expecting to Fly was recorded at Ridge Farm Studios in mid 1995, except for "Talking to Clarry", which was done in late 1995. Hugh Jones produced the sessions, and mixed the recordings with engineer Helen Woodward. The album was later mastered by Geoff Pesche.[1]

Reception
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[2]
Encyclopedia of Popular Music[3]
NME8/10[4]
The Philadelphia Inquirer[5]
Q[6]
Rolling Stone[7]

Sam Taylor in Q wrote, "Perhaps the most accomplished rock debut album since The Stone Roses in 1989, Expecting to Fly avoids the usual primitive drive of first recordings, in favour of technical brilliance and adventurous songwriting... a classic rock album."[6] List journalist Brian Donaldson likened The Bluetones to "a Squeeze for the 90s", and noted that the record has "excellence exhibited throughout".[8] David Sinclair of Rolling Stone called the album "an accomplished and varied collection of guitar-based tunes with a solid charm rooted in the best traditions of English alternative pop—no more, but certainly no less."[7]

Melody Maker placed it at no. 19 on their list of 1996's Albums of the Year. NME ranked the LP at no. 11 in their 1996 critic poll.

Commercial performance

Expecting to Fly entered the UK Albums Chart at number one on first-week sales of 82,000.[9] The album was certified platinum by the BPI in March 1998 for sales of 300,000.[10]

Track listing

All tracks written by Morriss, Chesters, Devlin, Morriss, except where noted.[1]

  1. "Talking to Clarry" – 6:52
  2. "Bluetonic" – 4:08 (Morriss, Chesters, Devlin, Morriss, Mitchell)
  3. "Cut Some Rug" – 4:32
  4. "Things Change" – 5:38
  5. "The Fountainhead" – 4:35
  6. "Carnt Be Trusted" – 3:50
  7. "Slight Return" – 3:21
  8. "Putting Out Fires" – 6:22
  9. "Vampire" – 4:32
  10. "A Parting Gesture" – 4:40
  11. "Time & Again" – 5:09

Collector's edition disc 2

  1. "A Parting Guesture" (R1 The John Peel Show, 1994)
  2. "Cut Some Rug" (R1 The John Peel Show, 1994)
  3. "Bluetonic" (R1 The Mark Radcliffe Show, May 1995)
  4. "Are You Blue or Are You Blind?" (R1 The Mark Radcliffe Show, May 1995)
  5. "Fountainhead" (R1 The Mark Radcliffe Show, May 1995)
  6. "Time & Again" (R1 The Mark Radcliffe Show, May 1995)
  7. "Driftwood" (R1 The Evening Session, July 1995)
  8. "Can't Be Trusted" (R1 The Evening Session, July 1995)
  9. "Are You Blue or Are You Blind?" (Sound City 1995 Bristol)
  10. "Cut Some Rug" (Sound City 1995 Bristol)
  11. "Can't Be Trusted" (Sound City 1995 Bristol)
  12. "Bluetonic" (Sound City 1995 Bristol)
  13. "Time & Again" (Sound City 1995 Bristol)

Personnel

Personnel per booklet.[1]

Charts

References
  1. Expecting to Fly (booklet). The Bluetones. Superior Quality Recordings. 1996. BLUECD 004/540 475-2.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  2. AllMusic review
  3. Larkin, Colin (2007). Encyclopedia of Popular Music (4th ed.). Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0195313734.
  4. Robinson, John (10 February 1996). "The Bluetones: Expecting to Fly". NME.
  5. DeLuca, Dan (4 August 1996). "A guide to the explosion in pop music that's got the British all excited". The Philadelphia Inquirer.
  6. Taylor, Sam (April 1996). "The Bluetones: Expecting to Fly". Q. p. 105.
  7. Sinclair, David (5 September 1996). "The Bluetones: Expecting to Fly". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on 10 May 2008.
  8. Donaldson, Brian (23 February 1996). "Bluetones: Expecting to Fly". The List (273): 46. Retrieved 24 April 2019.
  9. Sexton, Paul (16 March 1996). "A&M's Bluetones 'Expecting To Fly'". Billboard. Vol. 108, no. 11. p. 117. Retrieved 20 October 2020.
  10. "Newsfile: Robbie Goes Twice Platinum". Music Week. 14 March 1998. p. 5.
  11. "Charts.nz – The Bluetones – Expecting to Fly". Hung Medien. Retrieved 6 May 2021.
  12. "Official Scottish Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 6 May 2021.
  13. "Swedishcharts.com – The Bluetones – Expecting to Fly". Hung Medien. Retrieved 6 May 2021.
  14. "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 6 May 2021.
  15. "End of Year Album Chart Top 100 – 1996". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 6 May 2021.
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