i (sometimes stylized as "i") is the second album by A.R. Kane, released in 1989 on One Little Indian.Colin Larkin The Encyclopedia of Popular Music article on A.R. Kane 0857125958 2011 edition p.2006Buckley The Rough Guide to Rock article on A.R. Kane 2003 edition p39 The album engaged more overtly with pop, dance and electronic styles following the group's debut Sixty Nine. Like its predecessor, it was released to moderate sales figures and topped the UK independent charts.
Reviews
In a mixed 1990 review for Artforum, critic Greg Tate stated that the album "seems both more rudimentary and more calculating by comparison with the organic and uncontrived otherness of 69," noting their incorporation of "various received rock, reggae, and house song-forms" and opining that "the results are spotty." In 2004, Chris Ott of Pitchfork called i "a stylistically incontinent album" fragmented by "unchecked ambition," noting a "drastic shift toward clearer production and pop choruses" but concluding that only the album's final quarter would be capable of "convincing anyone A.R. Kane's genius." The AllMusic review by Jason Ankeny stated that the album "now seems like a crystal ball prophesying virtually every major musical development of the 1990s" and concluded that, "largely overlooked upon its original release, i is still an underappreciated masterpiece."
Track listing
Personnel
A.R. Kane – arranger, audio production, engineer, guitar, multi instruments, producer, string arrangements, vocals Gini Ball, Sally Herbert, Jeremy Metcalfe – violin Benny Di Massa – drums Colin Cairns – bass Sue Dench, Jocelyn Pook – viola John Dent – cut, cutting engineer The False Harmonies – strings Lincoln Fong, Gerard Johnson, Paul Kendall, Nigel Kennedy, Gail Lambourne, Mick Roasty, Sam Smith, Ken Thomas, Jeff Ward – engineer Girl, Lorna – vocals Bonjo Iyabinghi Noah – percussion Art Kane – arranger, engineer, instrumentation, producer, string arrangements Maggie Tambala – bass, vocals Martin McCarrick, Audrey Riley – cello Billy McGee – string arrangements Ray Shulman – bass, producer Chris Tombling – balloon, violin Halpin Grey Vermeir – cover design, design
References