Life in One Chord is an EP by New Zealand band Straitjacket Fits, released in 1987.[2][3] It was the band's debut release.[4] All of the tracks from the EP were included as part of an extended version of their first full album, Hail.[5] The songs are credited to Shayne Carter/Straitjacket Fits except for "Sparkle That Shines" (Andrew Brough/Straitjacket Fits). "Sparkle That Shines" was released as a single in 1989.
| Life in One Chord | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| EP by | ||||
| Released | 1987 | |||
| Recorded | The Lab Studios, Auckland, April 1987 | |||
| Genre | Alternative Rock, Dunedin sound | |||
| Length | 16:12 | |||
| Label | Flying Nun Records[1] | |||
| Producer | Terry Moore | |||
| Straitjacket Fits chronology | ||||
| ||||
The EP spent 10 weeks on the New Zealand charts.[6]
Production
editThe EP, produced by Terry Moore, was recorded at The Lab, in Auckland, New Zealand.[7][8]
Critical reception
editTrouser Press wrote that the EP "occasionally trips over its own ambition but dazzles on the wild 'Dialing a Prayer'."[9] Melody Maker called the EP "one psychotic straitlaced feline mutha of a record."[10] In a retrospective article, the Sunday Star-Times wrote: "Right from the first note of their first EP, Life in One Chord (1987), Shayne Carter made up his own world, a personalised gothic opera, with Carter playing the rebel rock star in the grand, sneering tradition of early Elvis, John Lennon and Sid Vicious."[11]
Track listing
editAll tracks are written by Shayne Carter/Straitjacket Fits except where noted
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Dialling A Prayer" | 3:53 |
| 2. | "She Speeds" | 4:05 |
| 3. | "Sparkle That Shines" (Andrew Brough/Straitjacket Fits) | 3:57 |
| 4. | "All That That Brings" | 4:17 |
References
edit- ^ "FN080 Straitjacket Fits - Life In One Chord (1987)". Flying Nun.
- ^ "Straitjacket Fits | Biography & History". AllMusic.
- ^ "The story of Straitjacket Fits". NZ Herald. 6 October 2023.
- ^ Meyer, Bill (5 August 1993). "Straitjacket Fits". Chicago Reader.
- ^ "Straitjacket Fits To Reissue Classic Album 'Hail'". UnderTheRadarNZ.
- ^ "Kiwi singer performs on first solo tour". Bay of Plenty Times: B2. 14 December 2017.
- ^ "Straitjacket Fits part 1 - Story | AudioCulture". www.audioculture.co.nz.
- ^ Carter, Shayne (1 November 2019). Dead People I Have Known. Victoria University Press. ISBN 9781776562534 – via Google Books.
- ^ "Straitjacket Fits". Trouser Press. Retrieved 28 February 2021.
- ^ Mueller, Andrew (1 August 2013). It's Too Late to Die Young Now. Picador Australia. ISBN 9781743289235 – via Google Books.
- ^ Steel, Gary (13 December 1998). "Anger not angst". Sunday Star-Times: F2.