| Megatop Phoenix | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | 4 September 1989[1] | |||
| Studio | Konk Studios (Hornsey, London) | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | 59:05 | |||
| Label | CBS | |||
| Producer | ||||
| Big Audio Dynamite chronology | ||||
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| Singles from Megatop Phoenix | ||||
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| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |    [2] |
| Christgau's Record Guide | C+[3] |
Megatop Phoenix is the fourth and final studio album by the original line-up of the English band Big Audio Dynamite, released on 4 September 1989 by CBS Records. Mick Jones and Bill Price produced the album. It was recorded at the Kinks' Konk Studios in Hornsey, London, who were considered an inspiration in the album's liner notes.
Megatop Phoenix was the last album to be released under the name of Big Audio Dynamite for six years (until 1995's F-Punk). A year after this album's release Mick Jones formed Big Audio Dynamite II with totally different members. The phoenix in the title is a reference to a near-death experience of Jones, who had developed chickenpox and pneumonia, and spent several months in hospital prior to recording this album.[4][5]
The album reached #26 on the UK album chart and #85 on the Billboard 200 albums in the USA.
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Start" | Big Audio Dynamite | 0:14 |
| 2. | "Rewind" | Big Audio Dynamite | 4:35 |
| 3. | "All Mink & No Manners" | Big Audio Dynamite | 0:41 |
| 4. | "Union, Jack" | Jones, Letts, Williams | 6:04 |
| 5. | "Contact" | Jones, Donovan | 4:42 |
| 6. | "Dragon Town" | Jones, Letts, Roberts, Williams | 4:46 |
| 7. | "Baby, Don't Apologise" | Jones, Letts | 4:51 |
| 8. | "Is Yours Working Yet?" | Big Audio Dynamite | 1:03 |
| 9. | "Around the Girl in 80 Ways" | Jones, Letts | 3:30 |
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10. | "James Brown" | Jones, Letts | 5:08 |
| 11. | "Everybody Needs a Holiday" | Jones, Letts | 5:33 |
| 12. | "Mick's a Hippie Burning" | Big Audio Dynamite | 2:31 |
| 13. | "House Arrest" | Jones, Letts, Roberts, Donovan | 3:59 |
| 14. | "The Green Lady" | Jones, Letts, Roberts | 3:43 |
| 15. | "London Bridge" | Jones, Letts, Roberts | 3:50 |
| 16. | "Stalag 123" | Jones, Letts, Roberts | 3:11 |
| 17. | "End" | Big Audio Dynamite | 0:34 |
| Total length: | 59:05 | ||
The album makes copious use of sampling from various musical and other sources. Many of the tracks listed are created mainly from samples. Some of the samples are identified with their source below.
According to the NME review of 2/9/1989 there are also samples of Arthur Scargill and BAD interviews.
The disappointing Tighten Up Vol. 88 reaches no such peaks and now sounds like a fairly brazen attempt to get hip commercial airplay. The fault is seldom with Jones' songwriting but more with the slick sheen laid over the leaner, less aggressive beats. The LP yielded "Just Play Music" and "Other 99," but a pall was thrown on the release as Jones fell deathly ill shortly after its appearance; having contracted pneumonia, he was hospitalized for months.
