Fruit of Life

Fruit of Life is an album by the Wild Colonials, released in 1994.[3][4] "Spark" was released as a single and was a radio hit.[5][6] The band supported the album with a North American tour, including shows with Toad the Wet Sprocket and Grant Lee Buffalo.[7][8]

Fruit of Life
Studio album by
Wild Colonials
Released1994
Recorded1993 at Real World Studios, Box, Wiltshire, England and at Sunset Sound Factory, Hollywood, California, U.S.
GenreFolk rock[1]
Length56:01
LabelDGC[2]
ProducerTchad Blake
Wild Colonials chronology
Fruit of Life
(1994)		 This Can't Be Life
(1996)

Production

Recorded partly at Real World Studios, the album was produced by Tchad Blake.[9][10] Chad Smith and Pete Thomas contributed to the album.[11][12] Frontwoman Angela McCluskey wrote or cowrote nine of the album's 10 songs.[13] "Dear Mike" is a homage to Mike Scott.[14] "Don't Explain" is a cover of the Billie Holidays song.[15] "Rainbow" borrows from Carmen.[16]

Critical reception
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[17]
Los Angeles Daily News[1]
Los Angeles Times[18]
The Republican[19]
The Tampa Tribune[16]

The Los Angeles Times praised McCluskey's "throaty Scotswoman vocals, and a violin-dominated, Celtic-friendly sound that's warm even by coffeehouse standards."[18] The Record wrote that "the restrained musical backdrop—mostly piano, acoustic guitar and occasional horns—serves McCluskey's rich voice perfectly."[20] The Tampa Tribune deemed Fruit of Life "the freshest debut album since last year's Everybody Else Is Doing It, So Why Can't We? by the Cranberries."[16]

The News Tribune stated that "Irish chanteys, American R&B and folk styles are merged with Middle Eastern and even African rhythms."[21] The State advised: "Call it world folk, more compelling than a cowboy junkie, more tantalizing than 10,000 maniacs."[22] The Republican noted that "much of the lyrical content here is dark, and the music ranges from the deeply brooding to undeniably uplifting."[19]

AllMusic called the album "an inventive pastiche of a variety of folk and pop influences."[17]

Track listing

All songs written by various members of the Wild Colonials except for the Billie Holiday cover "Don't Explain".

  1. "Girl" (McCluskey/Shark/Cantelon/Roewe) – 6:28
  2. "Spark" (McCluskey/Shark) – 4:20
  3. "Heaven & Hell" (McCluskey/Roewe) – 5:20
  4. "Philadelphia Story" (McCluskey/Shark/Cantelon) – 4:52
  5. "Mission" (McCluskey/Shark/Cantelon/Roewe/Bernard) – 6:05
  6. "Alice" (McCluskey/Shark/Cantelon/Roewe) – 4:58
  7. "Rainbow" (McCluskey/Shark/Cantelon) – 5:12
  8. "Don't Explain" (Holiday/Herzog) – 6:46
  9. "Victim" (McCluskey/Shark/Cantelon/Roewe) – 5:59
  10. "Dear Mike" (McCluskey/Shark/Cantelon/Roewe) – 6:13

Personnel
  • Angela McCluskey - vocals
  • Shark - guitars, vocals, percussion
  • Paul Cantelon - violin, piano, harmonium
  • Scott Roewe - piano, organ, bass, sax, chanter, didgeridoo, tin whistle

With
  • Matt Chamberlain - drums, percussion
  • Pete Thomas - drums, percussion
  • Joel Virgel Vierset - percussion
  • Glen C. Holmon - bass
  • Martin Tillmann - cello
  • Chad Smith - drums on "Dear Mike"
  • Julio "Jimmy" Ledezma - drums on "Philadelphia Story"
  • Pandit Dinesh - tablas on "Victim
  • Guy Pratt - bass on "Heaven & Hell"
  • Erik G. Hanson - percussion on "Heaven & Hell"

Production
  • Producer: Tchad Blake
  • Recorded by: Tchad Blake
  • Additional engineering: John Paterno, James Cadsky, Richard Evans

References
  1. Shuster, Fred (June 3, 1994). "ROCK: WILD COLONIALS/'FRUIT OF LIFE'". Los Angeles Daily News. p. L33.
  2. "Wild Colonials Biography, Songs, & Albums". AllMusic.
  3. "Picks & pans – Fruit of Life by the Wild Colonials". People. 41 (15): 23. Apr 25, 1994.
  4. Everett, Maria (Aug 1994). "Now, elegant sounds — Fruit of Life by Wild Colonials". Glamour. 92 (8): 154.
  5. "A 'Wild' Party". Billboard. 106 (27): 80. July 2, 1994.
  6. "WILD COLONIALS WOO CAFEGOERS WITH PLAYFUL INTIMACY". Rhythm. Wisconsin State Journal. November 3, 1994. p. 4.
  7. Daley, David (21 Nov 1994). "TOAD BLAND AND POLITELY PREDICTABLE". Hartford Courant. p. A4.
  8. Outerbridge, Laura (May 26, 1994). "Colonials settle on variety of styles". The Washington Times. p. M8.
  9. Agassi, Tirzah (November 15, 1994). "THE WILD COLONIALS' debut Fruit of Life...". Arts. The Jerusalem Post. p. 7.
  10. Maestri, Cathy (June 7, 1994). "Wild Colonials emerges uncontrived". The Press-Enterprise. p. C4.
  11. Bogosian, Dan (May 15, 2020). "Red Hot Chili Peppers FAQ: All That's Left to Know About the World's Best-Selling Alternative Band". Rowman & Littlefield – via Google Books.
  12. Whepley, Brian (April 18, 1994). "SCOTTISH-BORN SINGER GIVES MEANING TO WILD COLONIALS' SONGS". The Wichita Eagle. p. 6A.
  13. Levesque, Roger (12 June 1994). "WILD COLONIALS: Fruit of Life". Edmonton Journal. p. E7.
  14. Roos, John (9 Dec 1995). "Adventures in Music". Los Angeles Times. p. F4.
  15. Arp, Dennis (April 8, 1994). "HOT ALBUM". Orange County Register. p. P46.
  16. Schafer, Mitch (April 29, 1994). "WILD COLONIALS, Fruit of Life". FRIDAY EXTRA!. The Tampa Tribune. p. 21.
  17. "Wild Colonials - Fruit of Life Album Reviews, Songs & More | AllMusic" – via www.allmusic.com.
  18. Willman, Chris (17 July 1994). "Wild Colonials, 'Fruit of Life'". Calendar. Los Angeles Times. p. 68.
  19. O'Hare, Kevin (May 15, 1994). "Wild Colonials, 'Fruit of Life'". The Republican. p. E1.
  20. Weiler, Derek (28 Apr 1994). "Fruit of Life". The Record. p. D7.
  21. Nelson, Rick (10 June 1994). "The Crocodile Cafe has a super show...". The News Tribune. p. F2.
  22. Miller, Michael (April 1, 1994). "Wild Colonials, 'Fruit of Life'". The State. p. D10.
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