Released 20 May 1996 Studio Rockfield Studios Fuzzy Logic
(1996) Radiator
(1997) Release date 20 May 1996 | Recorded 1996 Length 41:47 Artist Super Furry Animals Label Creation Records | |
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Producer Gorwel Owen, Super Furry Animals Genres Rock music, Britpop, Pop music, Alternative rock Similar Super Furry Animals albums, Britpop albums, Other albums | ||
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Fuzzy Logic is the debut album by the Welsh rock band Super Furry Animals. Recorded at Rockfield Studios in Wales, and released on the Creation label in May 1996, it was positively received by critics, who felt it was an eclectic if inconsistent mix of psychedelic music and glam rock, and was included in Q Magazine's list of recordings of the year. It has retained a modest respect among some critics; it was listed in Q's "Best British Albums Ever" in July 2004, and is included in the book 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die. It contains two top 20 hits in "If You Don't Want Me to Destroy You" and "Something 4 the Weekend"; it also contains the singles "God! Show Me Magic" and "Hometown Unicorn". It reached number 23 in the UK Albums Chart on release.
Contents
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Recording
In a 2008 interview with Uncut Gruff Rhys described the process of making the album:
Although the album was conceived as a reaction to Britpop which the band felt represented a "conservative backwards movement in music" they soon realised that they were in an "old 70's studio making [a] 70's rock album". Former members Rhys Ifans and Dic Ben contributed to the track "Long Gone" by leaving an answerphone message which plays as the song comes to a close.
The album cover is a montage of photos of Welsh-born drug smuggler Howard Marks, the subject of the song "Hangin' with Howard Marks". Marks visited Rockfield during the making of the album at the band's request.
Reception
Jon Wiederhorn in an October 1996 review in Rolling Stone felt the album was "rich in hallucinogenic spirit and shimmering guitars", and invoked the spirit of early 70s pop. Stephen Thomas Erlewine of AllMusic commented that the band combined psychedelia and art rock with pop melodies in an intoxicating manner, but that he thought the album didn't quite hold together because of its eclectic nature. James Delingpole in a January 1997 review in The Daily Telegraph felt the band had a "strange mix of Bowie-esque glam rock, school-of-Syd-Barrett psychedelia and DIY kitsch", which resulted in a "delightfully skewed" album. The album was included in Q magazine's list of recordings of the year.
It reached number 23 in the UK Albums Chart on release.
Legacy
In a June 2005 Pitchfork Media review of the 2005 reissue, Marc Hogan felt the album was a good introduction to the band's "candy-factory chameleon act" with music styles including "synth-laced punk-pop", "slanted pop" and "Pipers-era Floyd", though the album wasn't fully consistent. Rod Stanley in the 2005 book 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die felt that the band would go on to record better albums, but that the inventiveness of the album's blend of "Sixties pop, punk rock, and psychedelia, with an underlying Nineties dance sensibility", made it both joyful and exciting.
It was listed at 42 in Q's 2004 list, "50 Best British Albums Ever". In 1999, critic Ned Raggett ranked the album at number 74 on his list of "The Top 136 or So Albums of the Nineties".
Track listing
All tracks written by Super Furry Animals.
Personnel
Songs
1God! Show Me Magic1:50
2Fuzzy Birds2:28
3Something 4 the Weekend2:51