Romantic?

Romantic? is the sixth studio album by English synth-pop band the Human League. It was issued by Virgin Records in 1990 and was the band's first album of new material in four years. Romantic? had several producers, most notably Martin Rushent, who worked with the Human League on their biggest commercial success (1981's Dare) and had walked out of the recording sessions for its 1984 follow-up (Hysteria). Also producing several tracks is Mark Brydon, who would be one half of musical duo Moloko several years later.

For the Mannequin Pussy album, see Romantic (album).

Romantic?
Studio album by
the Human League
Released17 September 1990 (1990-09-17)[1]
StudioGenetic Studios, Streatley, Berkshire
Length43:37
LabelVirgin Records (UK)
A&M Records (US)
Producer
The Human League chronology
Crash
(1986)		 Romantic?
(1990)		 Octopus
(1995)
Singles from Romantic?
  1. "Heart Like a Wheel"
    Released: 6 August 1990
  2. "Soundtrack to a Generation"
    Released: 12 November 1990
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[2]
Chicago Tribune[3]
Entertainment WeeklyB+[4]
NME3/10[5]
Ottawa Citizen[6]
Q[7]
Record Mirror1.5/5[8]
Rolling Stone[9]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide[10]
Smash Hits6/10[11]

At the time of the album's release, the Human League had reached the nadir of a decline in popularity following the success of Dare nine years prior; this fall from grace was reflected in the song "The Stars Are Going Out," in which the band reflects upon their loss of fame and its impact on them. The song one writer called a "pointless and bland filler,"[12] was ditched as a potential third single.

The album signalled a critical and commercial low point for the band, which led to their long-standing contract with Virgin Records being terminated.[13] The only significant success came from the album's first single "Heart Like a Wheel", which peaked at No. 29 on the UK Singles Chart and No. 32 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100. The second single "Soundtrack to a Generation" charted at No. 77 in the UK. The album itself peaked at No. 24 on the UK Albums Chart, and as a result the band moved to East West Records to release their next album, 1995's Octopus.

The Human League's live performance of "The Stars Are Going Out" on Later... with Jools Holland in 1995 was included on their 2003 The Very Best of the Human League DVD.

Track listing

All tracks are written by Philip Oakey and Neil Sutton, except where noted

Side one
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Kiss the Future" 4:13
2."A Doorway?"
  • Russell Dennett
  • Philip Oakey
  • Neil Sutton
4:21
3."Heart Like a Wheel"
4:30
4."Men Are Dreamers"
  • Dennett
  • Oakey
3:54
5."Mister Moon and Mister Sun" 4:42
Side two
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
6."Soundtrack to a Generation" 4:35
7."Rebound" 3:54
8."The Stars Are Going Out" 4:05
9."Let's Get Together Again"
  • Gerry Shephard
  • John Rossall
5:01
10."Get It Right This Time"
4:12
Total length:43:37

Charts
Chart (1990) Peak
position
Australian Albums (ARIA Charts)[14] 115
UK Albums Chart[15] 24

References
  1. Smith, Robin (15 September 1990). "This Week: The Next Seven Days in View - Releases". Record Mirror. p. 32. ISSN 0144-5804.
  2. https://www.allmusic.com/album/r9614
  3. DeKnock, Jan (27 September 1990). "Home Entertainment....Recordings". Chicago Tribune. p. 7.
  4. Sandow, Greg (21 September 1990). "Music Review: Romantic? (1990)". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved 23 June 2013.
  5. Williams, Simon (22 September 1990). "Beezer Homes League". NME. p. 43.
  6. Erskine, Evelyn (21 September 1990). "Liberty; Duran Duran incites dancing with sassy funk". Ottawa Citizen. p. D6.
  7. Bradley, Lloyd (September 1990). "The Human League: Romantic?". Q. No. 48.
  8. Stanton, Peter (22 September 1990). "Albums". Record Mirror. p. 16. ISSN 0144-5804.
  9. Wild, David (4 October 1990). "Good Effort by Singer With a Bad Attitude". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on 4 April 2020 – via News & Record.
  10. Considine, J. D. (2004). "The Human League". In Brackett, Nathan; Hoard, Christian (eds.). The New Rolling Stone Album Guide (4th ed.). Simon & Schuster. pp. 397–98. ISBN 0-7432-0169-8.
  11. Soutar, Mike (19 September 1990). "The Human League: Romantic? (Virgin)". Smash Hits. No. 308.
  12. Semon, Craig S (27 January 1991). "Is it enough that Human League gets 'Romantic?'". Telegram & Gazette. p. 10.
  13. "The sound of the crowd (hopefully)". The List (266): 36. 3 November 1995. Retrieved 25 April 2019.
  14. "Bubbling Down Under Week commencing 17 December 1990". www.bubblingdownunder.com. 17 December 2021. Retrieved 17 December 2021.
  15. "Artist Chart History - The Human League". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 22 June 2013.



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