Cruel Inventions

1991 studio album by Sam Phillips
Cruel Inventions
Studio album by
Sam Phillips
ReleasedMay 28, 1991 (1991-05-28)
Studio
  • Eagle Audio, Fort Worth, Texas
  • Ocean Way, Los Angeles, California
  • Sunset Sound Factory, Hollywood, California
  • Reggie Fisher's, Los Angeles, California
GenreAlternative rock
Length36:19
LabelVirgin
ProducerT Bone Burnett
Sam Phillips chronology
The Indescribable Wow
(1988)
Cruel Inventions
(1991)
Martinis & Bikinis
(1994)

Cruel Inventions is the sixth studio album by American singer and songwriter Sam Phillips.

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[1]
Chicago Tribune[2]
Christgau's Consumer Guide(choice cut)[3]
The Encyclopedia of Popular Music[4]
Entertainment WeeklyA[5]

Cruel Inventions received mostly favorable reviews from critics. At Entertainment Weekly, David Browne gave the album an A, writing that it "...is fraught with both beauty and tension, making it one of the year's most beguiling records."[5] Browne named it his sixth favorite album of 1991.[6]

Track listing

All tracks are written by Sam Phillips

No.TitleLength
1."Lying"3:52
2."Go Down"3:38
3."Cruel Inventions"3:00
4."Standing Still"3:10
5."Tripping Over Gravity"5:21
6."Now I Can't Find the Door"3:36
7."Private Storm"4:10
8."Raised on Promises"3:11
9."Hole in Time"3:19
10."Where the Colors Don't Go"3:02

Personnel

  • Sam Phillips – vocals, Chamberlin, guitars
  • T Bone Burnett – Chamberlin, guitars
  • Van Dyke Parks – Chamberlin, string arrangements
  • Jim Goodwin – acoustic piano
  • Elvis Costello – guitars
  • Marc Ribot – guitars
  • Jerry Scheff – bass
  • Alex Acuña – drums, percussion
  • Michael Blair – drums, percussion
  • Mickey Curry – drums, percussion
  • Ralph Forbes – drums, percussion
  • David Kemper – drums, percussion
  • Scott Musick – drums, percussion
  • Sandy Bulloud
  • The Sid Page Strings – string quartet

Production

  • T Bone Burnett – producer
  • Stacy Baird – recording
  • Rik Pekkonen – recording
  • Joe Schiff – recording
  • Tchad Blake – mixing
  • Kevin Killen – mixing
  • Max Garcia – assistant engineer
  • Mark Guilbeault – assistant engineer
  • Julie Last – assistant engineer
  • Tom Nellen – assistant engineer
  • Chris Niswander – assistant engineer
  • Eric Rudd – assistant engineer
  • Brian Soucy – assistant engineer
  • Jeff Ward – assistant engineer
  • Bob Ludwig – mastering at Masterdisk (New York City, New York)
  • Melanie Nissen – art direction
  • Inge Schapp – design
  • Kathleen Philpott – design
  • Anton Corbijn – photography
  • Borman Entertainment – management

References

  1. ^ McCartney, Kelly. "Review: Cruel Inventions". AllMusic. Retrieved 24 November 2011.
  2. ^ Kot, Greg (27 June 1991). "Sam Phillips Cruel Inventions (Virgin)". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved 9 July 2014.
  3. ^ Christgau, Robert (2000-10-15). "Sam Phillips: Cruel Inventions". Christgau's Consumer Guide: Albums of the '90s. Macmillan Publishing. ISBN 9780312245603.
  4. ^ Larkin, Colin (2006). The encyclopedia of popular music: Indexes. Oxford University Press. p. 522. ISBN 9780195313734.
  5. ^ a b Browne, David (31 May 1991). "Cruel Inventions (1991)". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved 9 July 2014.
  6. ^ "1991's best (and worst) music". Entertainment Weekly. 1991-12-27.
  • v
  • t
  • e
Sam Phillips
Studio albums
As Leslie Phillips
As Sam Phillips
Compilations
  • Recollection
  • Zero Zero Zero
See also
  • T Bone Burnett
  • Our Little Corner of the World: Music from Gilmore Girls
Authority control databases Edit this at Wikidata
  • MusicBrainz release group