Laugh? I Nearly Bought One!

Laugh? I Nearly Bought One! is the first major compilation album by English post-punk band Killing Joke, released in September 1992 by Caroline Records in the U.S. and in October by Virgin Records in the U.K. and Europe.[1]

Laugh? I Nearly Bought One!
Compilation album by
Released18 September 1992
Recorded1979–1990
Genre
Length79:19
Label
ProducerKilling Joke, Conny Plank, Chris Kimsey, Martin Rex
Killing Joke compilation album chronology
Laugh? I Nearly Bought One!
(1992)
Wilful Days
(1995)

Content

edit

Every studio album up to the time of release is represented, except Fire Dances and Outside the Gate. Three non-album tracks are also included, along with the original Chris Kimsey mix of "Wintergardens" from Brighter than a Thousand Suns, which was previously unreleased at the time.

The album's cover image of a priest blessing Nazi soldiers was previously used by the band for a concert poster in the early 1980s. Because of its theme, it caused quite a stir and the band were banned from playing a concert in Glasgow, Scotland.[2][3] Contrary to popular belief, the priest in the picture was not Pope Pius XII, but German Nazi abbot Alban Schachleiter.[4]

Reception

edit
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic     [5]
The Encyclopedia of Popular Music     [6]
MusicHound Rock     [7]
Select     [8]

Ned Raggett of AllMusic wrote, "not the best compilation that could have been assembled [...] Laugh? is still a reasonable overview of the first decade of Killing Joke and its checkered but still important history".[5] Trouser Press called the album "commendable", but "a few obscure tracks take the place of more essential choices".[9]

Track listing

edit
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Turn to Red" (from Turn to Red)Jaz Coleman, Kevin "Geordie" Walker, Martin "Youth" Glover, Paul Ferguson4:01
2."Pssyche (Live)" (from Ha!)Coleman, Walker, Glover, Ferguson4:44
3."Requiem" (from Killing Joke)Coleman, Walker, Glover, Ferguson3:43
4."Wardance" (from Killing Joke)Coleman, Walker, Glover, Ferguson3:45
5."Follow the Leaders" (from What's THIS For...!)Coleman, Walker, Glover, Ferguson4:54
6."Unspeakable" (from What's THIS For...!)Coleman, Walker, Glover, Ferguson5:18
7."Butcher" (from What's THIS For...!)Coleman, Walker, Glover, Ferguson6:10
8."Exit" (from What's THIS For...!)Coleman, Walker, Glover, Ferguson3:39
9."The Hum" (from Revelations)Coleman, Walker, Glover, Ferguson4:56
10."Empire Song" (from Revelations)Coleman, Walker, Glover, Ferguson3:17
11."Chop-Chop" (from Revelations)Coleman, Walker, Glover, Ferguson4:17
12."Sun Goes Down" (from Birds of a Feather EP)Coleman, Walker, Paul Raven, Ferguson4:17
13."Eighties" (from Night Time)Coleman, Walker, Raven, Ferguson3:49
14."Darkness Before Dawn" (from Night Time)Coleman, Walker, Raven, Ferguson5:18
15."Love Like Blood" (from Night Time)Coleman, Walker, Raven, Ferguson4:23
16."Wintergardens (Previously Unreleased Mix)" (original version from Brighter than a Thousand Suns)Coleman, Walker, Raven, Ferguson4:47
17."Age of Greed" (from Extremities, Dirt and Various Repressed Emotions)Coleman, Walker, Martin Atkins7:26

Personnel

edit

References

edit
  1. ^ "Laugh? I Nearly Bought One!". Discogs. Retrieved 21 August 2019.
  2. ^ George-Warren, Holly; Romanowski, Patricia; Pareles, Jon, eds. (2001). The Rolling Stone Encyclopedia of Rock & Roll (Revised and updated for the 21st century ed.). New York: Fireside. p. 524. ISBN 0-7432-0120-5 – via the Internet Archive. Killing Joke was banned from performing a Glasgow, Scotland, gig after a 1980 concert poster depicted Pope Pius XII appearing to bless two columns of Nazi brownshirts.
  3. ^ Larkin, Colin (27 May 2011). The Encyclopedia of Popular Music. Omnibus Press. ISBN 9780857125958 – via Google Books.
  4. ^ MacKenzie, Iain; Francis, Fred; Giappone, Krista Bonello Rutter (13 March 2018). Comedy and Critical Thought: Laughter as Resistance. Rowman & Littlefield. ISBN 9781786604088 – via Google Books.
  5. ^ a b Raggett, Ned. "Laugh? I Nearly Bought One! – Killing Joke | Songs, Reviews, Credits, Awards | AllMusic". AllMusic. Retrieved 26 February 2015.
  6. ^ Larkin, Colin (2007). The Encyclopedia of Popular Music (4th ed.). Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0195313734.
  7. ^ Holtje, Steve (1999). "Killing Joke". In Graff, Gary; Durchholz, Daniel (eds.). MusicHound Rock: The Essential Album Guide (loan required). Detroit: Visible Ink Press. pp. 629–630. ISBN 978-1-57859-061-2 – via the Internet Archive.
  8. ^ Scott, Danny (October 1992). "Killing Joke: Laugh? I Nearly Bought One". Select. p. 90.
  9. ^ Grant, Steven; Sheridan, David; Fasolino, Greg; Robbins, Ira. "TrouserPress.com :: Killing Joke". Trouser Press. Retrieved 26 February 2015.