Gorgeous George is the third solo studio album by Scottish musician Edwyn Collins. The album was recorded at New River in London, with Collins acting as the producer. It was released on 1 July 1994 and features guest musician Paul Cook of the Sex Pistols.
Background Over a decade, Edwyn Collins had found a cult following as the lead singer and guitarist of post-punk band Orange Juice and on his debut solo studio album, Hope and Despair (1989). However, he had little mainstream success apart from the top 10 single, "Rip It Up," and his second solo studio album, Hellbent on Compromise (1990), failed to impress even indie audiences. Collins parted ways with his label, Demon, and took a break from music.
Composition Gorgeous George has been described as alternative rock, Britpop, glam rock, jangle pop, folk rock and blue-eyed soul. Anna Glen, in the book MusicHound Rock, noted that that this album "…is Collins at his best–cynical, honest, ironic, and funny."
Track listing "The Campaign for Real Rock" – 6:35 "A Girl Like You" – 3:58 "Low Expectations" – 3:58 "Out of This World" – 5:37 "If You Could Love Me" – 5:30 "North of Heaven" – 3:39 "Gorgeous George" – 4:08 "It's Right in Front of You" – 6:26 "Make Me Feel Again" – 4:22 "I've Got It Bad" – 4:40 "Subsidence" – 5:44 "Moron" – 3:26
Personnel Personnel per booklet.
Main musicians Edwyn Collins – vocals, guitar, keyboards; bass and drums on track 10 Paul Cook – drums, percussion Clare Kenny – bass guitar
Additional musicians Vic Godard – backing vocals on tracks 1–2 Sean Read – backing vocals on tracks 1–2, 4, 6–8 and 11 Dennis Bovell – bass on track 5 Martin Drover – flugelhorn on track 5 Patrick Arbuthnot – pedal steel on track 6 Sebastian Lewsley – ARP synthesizer on tracks 8 and 11
Production Edwyn Collins – producer, arranger, engineer Sebastian Lewsley – engineer Duncan Cowell – mastering Gavin Evans – photography Rob Crane – sleeve art
Charts + Chart performance for Gorgeous George Chart (1994–1995) Peakposition
References