Gideon Gaye

Gideon Gaye
Gideon Gaye
Studio album by the High Llamas
Released	1994
Recorded	Late 1993 – early 1994
Genre	Experimental pop; art pop;
Length	54:48
Label	Target
Producer	Charles Francis; Sean O'Hagan;
The High Llamas chronology
Singles from Gideon Gaye
	"Checking in, Checking Out"; Released: 5 October 1995;

Gideon Gaye is the second studio album by the Anglo-Irish avant-pop band the High Llamas, released in 1994 on the Brighton-based Target label.^[1] Notable for anticipating the mid 1990s easy-listening revivalism,^[4] the album's music was influenced by Brian Wilson, Steely Dan, Brazilian bossa nova and European film soundtracks,^[5] and was recorded with a £4000 budget.^[6] It was met with high praise by the British press.^[7] Q dubbed the LP "the best Beach Boys album since 1968's Friends".^[8]^[9] In the US, the album was indifferently promoted.^[7]

Background

Upon release, bandleader Sean O'Hagan responded to Beach Boys comparisons: "There are aspects that are blatantly Brian-esque, because I've always been a huge Brian [Wilson] fan. He has been the biggest influence in my career to date. I was always shy [about] how much I liked him, but this time I decided to be blatant about it. But then I'm also a huge John Cale fan."^[10] The album's sleeve art is a homage to Van Dyke Parks' 1967 album Song Cycle, which uses the same Torino Italic Flair typeface.^[11]

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	^[12]
The Guardian	^[13]
Select	4/5^[14]

Scott Schinder of Trouser Press reviewed: "The result is a homespun, heartfelt art-pop masterpiece, with airy arrangements and gorgeous melodies in richly detailed tunes — 'The Dutchman,' 'Checking In, Checking Out,' 'The Goat Looks On' and the fourteen-minute 'Track Goes By' — that liberally quote Brian Wilson's lost classic [Smile] without sacrificing O'Hagan's purposefully playful point of view."^[3] Writer Tim Page called the album "suffused throughout with a gentle wistfulness that is never made quite explicit ... [the album] is also intriguing on a purely formal level. The album's centerpiece is 'The Goat Looks On,' yet the entire disc might be described as a study of the creation of a song called 'The Goat Looks On.'"^[1]

Critic Richie Unterberger opined: "It's an impressive outing that sounds like little else in the alternative rock world of the mid-'90s. But it only establishes O'Hagan and his various pals as charming emulators, rather than true innovators.^[12] CMJ New Music Monthly's Steve McGuirl wrote of the album: "A tad academic, perhaps; but to dismiss Gideon Gaye as merely retro cheapens a beautiful record and the music that inspired it."^[15]

Track listing

All tracks are written by Sean O'Hagan.

No.	Title	Length
1.	"Giddy Strings"	0:27
2.	"The Dutchman"	4:41
3.	"Giddy and Gay"	4:55
4.	"Easy Rod"	2:04
5.	"Checking in, Checking Out"	5:45
6.	"The Goat Strings"	2:06
7.	"Up in the Hills"	4:57
8.	"The Goat Looks On"	6:13
9.	"Taog Skool No"	1:36
10.	"Little Collie"	0:44
11.	"Track Goes By"	14:13
12.	"Let's Have Another Look"	0:50
13.	"The Goat (Instrumental)" (CD only)	6:17
Total length:		54:48

Personnel

Per AllMusic.^[16]

The High Llamas

Rob Allum – drums, percussion
John Fell – bass
Marcus Holdaway – cello, harpsichord, organ, piano, upright piano, string arrangements, vibe master, vibraphone, vocals, background vocals, Vox organ
Sean O'Hagan – composer, glockenspiel, guitar, Moog bass, Moog synthesizer, organ, piano, upright piano, producer, string arrangements, vocals, background vocals, Vox organ

Additional staff

Andre – layout design
Charles Francis – engineer, producer
Anthony Lyons – layout design
Jocelyn Pook – viola
Anne Wood – violin

Charts

Chart (1995)	Peak position
UK Albums (OCC)^[17]	94

References

^ ^a ^b ^c Page, Tim (10 January 1999). "The High Llamas: A Different Breed". The Washington Post.
^ "Electronic Musician". Electronic Musician. Vol. 16. 2000.
^ ^a ^b Schinder, Scott (1997). "Hawaii". In Robbins, Ira A.; Sprague, David (eds.). The Trouser Press Guide to '90s Rock: The All-New Fifth Edition of The Trouser Press Record Guide. Simon & Schuster. p. 345. ISBN 978-0-684-81437-7.
^ Kamp, David; Daly, Steven (2005). The Rock Snob's Dictionary: An Essential Lexicon of Rockological Knowledge. Broadway Books. p. 52. ISBN 978-0-7679-1873-2.
^ Mason, Stewart. "Checking In, Checking Out – The High Llamas". AllMusic.
^ Buckley, Peter, ed. (2003). The Rough Guide to Rock. Rough Guides. p. 494. ISBN 978-1-85828-457-6.
^ ^a ^b Unterberger, Richie. "The High Llamas". AllMusic.
^ Harrington, Richard (20 February 2004). "High Llamas Keeping It Simple". The Washington Post.
^ Lester, Paul (June 1998). "The High Llamas: Hump Up the Volume". Uncut. No. 13.
^ Sexton, Paul (23 September 1995). "High Llamas Hope to Scale U.S. Market". Billboard. Vol. 107, no. 38. p. 22.
^ Henderson, Richard (2010). Van Dyke Parks' Song Cycle. Bloomsbury Publishing. p. 104. ISBN 978-1-4411-9619-4.
^ ^a ^b Unterberger, Richie. "Gideon Gaye – The High Llamas". AllMusic.
^ Sullivan, Caroline (7 July 1995). "The High Llamas: Gideon Gaye (Alpaca)". The Guardian.
^ Cavanagh, David (May 1994). "The High Llamas: Gideon Gaye". Select. No. 47. p. 87.
^ McGuirl, Steve (February 1996). "High Llamas: Gideon Gaye". CMJ New Music Monthly. No. 30. p. 13.
^ "Gideon Gaye – The High Llamas – Credits". AllMusic.
^ "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 7 November 2017.

External links

Gideon Gaye at Discogs (list of releases)

[Page2002-1] Page, Tim (10 January 1999). "The High Llamas: A Different Breed". The Washington Post.

[2] "Electronic Musician". Electronic Musician. Vol. 16. 2000.

[Trouser-3] Schinder, Scott (1997). "Hawaii". In Robbins, Ira A.; Sprague, David (eds.). The Trouser Press Guide to '90s Rock: The All-New Fifth Edition of The Trouser Press Record Guide. Simon & Schuster. p. 345. ISBN 978-0-684-81437-7.

[4] Kamp, David; Daly, Steven (2005). The Rock Snob's Dictionary: An Essential Lexicon of Rockological Knowledge. Broadway Books. p. 52. ISBN 978-0-7679-1873-2.

[5] Mason, Stewart. "Checking In, Checking Out – The High Llamas". AllMusic.

[6] Buckley, Peter, ed. (2003). The Rough Guide to Rock. Rough Guides. p. 494. ISBN 978-1-85828-457-6.

[ambio-7] Unterberger, Richie. "The High Llamas". AllMusic.

[8] Harrington, Richard (20 February 2004). "High Llamas Keeping It Simple". The Washington Post.

[9] Lester, Paul (June 1998). "The High Llamas: Hump Up the Volume". Uncut. No. 13.

[10] Sexton, Paul (23 September 1995). "High Llamas Hope to Scale U.S. Market". Billboard. Vol. 107, no. 38. p. 22.

[11] Henderson, Richard (2010). Van Dyke Parks' Song Cycle. Bloomsbury Publishing. p. 104. ISBN 978-1-4411-9619-4.

[AMreview-12] Unterberger, Richie. "Gideon Gaye – The High Llamas". AllMusic.

[13] Sullivan, Caroline (7 July 1995). "The High Llamas: Gideon Gaye (Alpaca)". The Guardian.

[14] Cavanagh, David (May 1994). "The High Llamas: Gideon Gaye". Select. No. 47. p. 87.

[15] McGuirl, Steve (February 1996). "High Llamas: Gideon Gaye". CMJ New Music Monthly. No. 30. p. 13.

[16] "Gideon Gaye – The High Llamas – Credits". AllMusic.

[ac_UK2_-17] "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 7 November 2017.

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v t e The High Llamas
Rob Allum Pete Aves John Fell Marcus Holdaway Dominic Murcott Sean O'Hagan John Burnett Anita Visser
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