Love and Rockets (album)

Background

Love and Rockets dismissed Earth, Sun, Moon's folk sound in favour of a stronger rock sound. Hints of the band's former psychedelic and gothic rock sound remains. Chief songwriters Daniel Ash and David J had begun concentrating strictly on their own material (rather than writing together) on Earth, Sun, Moon.

The album featured Love and Rockets' biggest hit, the Ash-penned "So Alive". The song was a surprising number 3 hit on the Billboard Hot 100, and stayed at number 1 for five weeks on the US Modern Rock chart. Because of the popularity of the single in the US, Love and Rockets became the band's best-selling album in America.

After the release of the album, the band embarked on a long worldwide tour. Afterwards, instead of recording a new album and a follow-up single to "So Alive", J and Ash both focused on their solo careers, continuing in the directions represented on this album. They each released two solo albums in the break (with drummer Kevin Haskins working primarily with Ash) before returning as a band to record Hot Trip to Heaven in 1994.

In 2002, the album was remastered and expanded into a double album. The bonus tracks featured a single remix, three b-sides, all five songs from the aborted Swing! EP, and a radio session. The Swing! project was to be an outlet for some of the band's stranger output, but the material was never released, except for "Bad Monkey", which ended up on the Glittering Darkness EP in 1996.

"The Purest Blue" is a radical reworking of "Waiting for the Flood" from Earth, Sun, Moon, and "**** (Jungle Law)" was later reworked as "Bad Monkey", recorded as part of the Swing! project.

Original release

1. "**** (Jungle Law)" – 4:32 (David J.)
2. "No Big Deal" – 4:56 (Daniel Ash)
3. "The Purest Blue" – 3:43 (J.)
4. "Motorcycle" – 3:31 (Ash)
5. "I Feel Speed" – 3:24 (Ash)
6. "Bound for Hell" – 6:01 (J./Traditional)
7. "The Teardrop Collector" – 4:09 (Ash)
8. "So Alive" – 4:16 (Ash)
9. "Rock and Roll Babylon" – 3:22 (J.)
10. "No Words No More" – 3:50 (Ash, Gary Ash)

2002 reissue

1. "**** (Jungle Law)" – 4:32
2. "No Big Deal" – 4:56
3. "The Purest Blue" – 3:43
4. "Motorcycle" – 3:31
5. "I Feel Speed" – 3:24
6. "Bound for Hell" – 6:01
7. "The Teardrop Collector" – 4:09
8. "So Alive" – 4:16
9. "Rock and Roll Babylon" – 3:22
10. "No Words No More" – 3:50
11. "Bike" – 3:54
12. "Bikedance" – 7:07
13. "No Big Deal (Remix)" – 7:11
14. "Dreamtime" – 8:41

1. "Wake Up!" – 3:58
2. "Cuckoo Land" – 2:48
3. "The Early Worm" – 2:13
4. "1000 Watts of Your Love" – 2:48
5. "Bad Monkey" – 4:20
6. "Intro" (Radio Session) – 0:58
7. "1000 Watts of Your Love" (Radio Session) – 3:08
8. "No Words No More" (Radio Session) – 4:11
9. "Interview" (Radio Session) – 34:19

Love and Rockets

Additional Personnel

Production