Lovesongs for Underdogs
Encyclopedia
Lovesongs for Underdogs is the solo debut album
by Tanya Donelly
, who had formerly recorded with Throwing Muses
, The Breeders
, and Belly
. It was released on September 9, 1997. Two singles were released for promotion of the album. "Pretty Deep" was released in July of 1997, while "The Bright Light" was released in October of 1997. In the U.S both 4AD released singles were released in two parts, each including 2 newly released B-Sides. "Pretty Deep" featured "Spaghetti", "Morna", "These Days" and "Influenza". "The Bright Light" featured "Bury Me", "How Can You Sleep?", "Life On Sirius" and "Moon Over Boston". A music video for each single was produced and aired on Vh1 and MTV2. Both videos differed highly in creative and artistic direction from previous Belly videos and exclusively featured Tanya solo, in movie like settings. "Pretty Deep" and "The Bright Light" enjoyed heavy airplay on Triple A radiostations in the U.S Northeast.
The album was very popular in the Northeast, hitting Billboard's Northeast Heatseekers chart, and remaining for 4 weeks.
Album
An album is a collection of recordings, released as a single package on gramophone record, cassette, compact disc, or via digital distribution. The word derives from the Latin word for list .Vinyl LP records have two sides, each comprising one half of the album...
by Tanya Donelly
Tanya Donelly
Tanya Donelly is an American Grammy-nominated singer songwriter and guitarist based in New England who co-founded Throwing Muses with her stepsister Kristin Hersh. She then went on to work in The Breeders and Belly in the 1990s...
, who had formerly recorded with Throwing Muses
Throwing Muses
Throwing Muses is an alternative rock band formed in 1981 in Newport, Rhode Island, that toured and recorded extensively until 1997, when its members began concentrating more on other projects. The group was originally fronted by two lead singers, Kristin Hersh and Tanya Donelly, who both wrote the...
, The Breeders
The Breeders
The Breeders are an American alternative rock band formed in 1988 by Kim Deal of the Pixies and Tanya Donelly of Throwing Muses. The band has experienced a number of line-up changes; the current line-up consists of Kim Deal , her twin sister Kelley Deal , Jose Medeles , Mando Lopez Todd the Fox...
, and Belly
Belly (band)
Belly was an alternative rock band formed in 1991 by former Throwing Muses members Tanya Donelly and Fred Abong. The band was based in Boston, Massachusetts, though all of the original members grew up in Newport, Rhode Island. The band consisted of Donelly on lead vocals and guitar, Abong on bass,...
. It was released on September 9, 1997. Two singles were released for promotion of the album. "Pretty Deep" was released in July of 1997, while "The Bright Light" was released in October of 1997. In the U.S both 4AD released singles were released in two parts, each including 2 newly released B-Sides. "Pretty Deep" featured "Spaghetti", "Morna", "These Days" and "Influenza". "The Bright Light" featured "Bury Me", "How Can You Sleep?", "Life On Sirius" and "Moon Over Boston". A music video for each single was produced and aired on Vh1 and MTV2. Both videos differed highly in creative and artistic direction from previous Belly videos and exclusively featured Tanya solo, in movie like settings. "Pretty Deep" and "The Bright Light" enjoyed heavy airplay on Triple A radiostations in the U.S Northeast.
Track listing
All songs by Tanya Donelly except where noted.- "Pretty Deep" – 4:22
- "The Bright Light" – 3:21
- "Landspeed Song" – 3:34
- "Mysteries of the Unexplained" – 4:52
- "Lantern" – 3:10
- "Acrobat" (Donelly, Dean Fisher) – 3:30
- "Breathe Around You" – 2:56
- "Bum" – 3:09
- "Clipped" – 4:01
- "Goat Girl" – 2:16
- "Manna" – 5:26
- "Swoon" – 4:27
Personnel
- Tanya DonellyTanya DonellyTanya Donelly is an American Grammy-nominated singer songwriter and guitarist based in New England who co-founded Throwing Muses with her stepsister Kristin Hersh. She then went on to work in The Breeders and Belly in the 1990s...
– guitarGuitarThe guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
, keyboardsKeyboard instrumentA keyboard instrument is a musical instrument which is played using a musical keyboard. The most common of these is the piano. Other widely used keyboard instruments include organs of various types as well as other mechanical, electromechanical and electronic instruments...
, vocals - Dean Fisher – acoustic guitar, bass guitarBass guitarThe bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
, percussionPercussion instrumentA percussion instrument is any object which produces a sound when hit with an implement or when it is shaken, rubbed, scraped, or otherwise acted upon in a way that sets the object into vibration...
, accordionAccordionThe accordion is a box-shaped musical instrument of the bellows-driven free-reed aerophone family, sometimes referred to as a squeezebox. A person who plays the accordion is called an accordionist....
, keyboards - Wally Gagel – bass, percussion, keyboards, drum machineDrum machineA drum machine is an electronic musical instrument designed to imitate the sound of drums or other percussion instruments. They are used in a variety of musical genres, not just purely electronic music...
- Rich Gilbert – guitar, accordionAccordionThe accordion is a box-shaped musical instrument of the bellows-driven free-reed aerophone family, sometimes referred to as a squeezebox. A person who plays the accordion is called an accordionist....
, bass, keyboards, saw - Stacy Jones – drumsDrum kitA drum kit is a collection of drums, cymbals and often other percussion instruments, such as cowbells, wood blocks, triangles, chimes, or tambourines, arranged for convenient playing by a single person ....
- David Lovering – drums
- Hilken Mancini – background vocals
- David NarcizoDavid NarcizoDavid Narcizo, born May 6, 1966, in Newport, Rhode Island, United States, is primarily known for his work as the longtime drummer for Throwing Muses....
– drums - Chris Toppin – background vocals
- Jonathan Williams – electric guitarElectric guitarAn electric guitar is a guitar that uses the principle of direct electromagnetic induction to convert vibrations of its metal strings into electric audio signals. The signal generated by an electric guitar is too weak to drive a loudspeaker, so it is amplified before sending it to a loudspeaker...
Production
- Producers: Tanya Donelly, Wally Gagel, Gary Smith
- Engineers: Matthew Ellard, Wally Gagel, Dan McLoughlin
- Assistant engineers: Jesse Henderson, Suzanne Kapa, Kelly Wohlford
- Mixing: Wally Gagel, Paul Q. KolderiePaul Q. KolderiePaul Q. Kolderie is a record producer, engineer, and mixer. He has worked with Pixies, Radiohead, Orangutang, Hole, Dinosaur Jr., Juliana Hatfield, Wax, Warren Zevon, Uncle Tupelo, Throwing Muses, Morphine, The Mighty Mighty Bosstones, Abandoned Pools, and The Go-Go's...
, Sean SladeSean SladeSean Slade is a record producer, engineer, and mixer. He has worked with artists including Hole, Radiohead, Warren Zevon, Juliana Hatfield, Dinosaur Jr., Uncle Tupelo, the Mighty Mighty Bosstones, The Boo Radleys, Sebadoh, Lush, the Go-Go's, and The Dictators among others. In 2005 he produced The... - Mixing assistant: Dave Kirkpatrick
- Mastering: Brian Lee
- Drum Technician: Carl Plaster
- Arrangers: Tanya Donelly, Wally Gagel
- Design: Chris Bigg
- Photography: Andrew Catlin
Charts
Album – Billboard (North America)| Year | Chart | Position |
|---|---|---|
| 1997 | Heatseekers | 20 |
The album was very popular in the Northeast, hitting Billboard's Northeast Heatseekers chart, and remaining for 4 weeks.