Melville is the second studio album by the Canadian rock band Rheostatics, released in 1991.Mitch Potter, "Rheostatics take honest look at their home and native land". Toronto Star, March 15, 1991. This album garnered wide airplay across Canada, and the single "Record Body Count" was a significant hit for the band on Canadian alternative rock stations and MuchMusic in 1991.Bill Reynolds, "Rheostatics show they know how to throw a good party". The Globe and Mail, August 3, 1991.
The album's title was a complex, multilayered reference, meant to simultaneously evoke both writer Herman Melville and the town of Melville, Saskatchewan, as well as Lewis Melville, a frequent collaborator with the band who appeared as a session musician on the album.Roch Parisien, "Alternative rockers produce a uniquely Canadian musical form". Ottawa Citizen, April 5, 1991.
The song “You Are Very Star”, a bonus track on the CD release, ends with a hockey announcer’s narration in which the band is presented as a hockey team competing for the league’s top ranking against 13 Engines, Scott B. Sympathy and Tom Cochrane.
In 1996, the Canadian music magazine Chart conducted a reader poll to determine the best Canadian albums of all time. Melville placed 16th in that poll. When the magazine conducted a follow-up poll in 2000, Melville placed fifth, behind only Joni Mitchell, Neil Young, Sloan and Rheostatics’ 1992 album Whale Music. In the magazine’s third poll in 2005, Melville placed 44th, but was one of only 25 albums to have placed in the Top 50 in all three polls.
Track listing All songs are credited to the Rheostatics, except where noted.
The last two songs are bonus tracks available only on the CD version of the album.
Personnel Personnel taken from Melville liner notes. Dave Bidini – rhythm guitar, bass, vocals Martin Tielli – lead guitar, vocals Dave Clark – drums, bodhrán, vocals Tim Vesely – bass, piano, acoustic guitar, vocals
References