Raise the Pressure | ||||
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Studio album by | ||||
Released | 8 July 1996 | |||
Recorded | 1994–1996 | |||
Genre | Alternative rock, alternative dance, house | |||
Length | 62:25 | |||
Label |
Parlophone (United Kingdom) Virgin (Europe) Warner Bros. (Australia, Japan, United States) | |||
Producer | Bernard Sumner, Johnny Marr | |||
Electronic chronology | ||||
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Raise the Pressure is Electronic's second studio album, released in July 1996.
Seven of the thirteen tracks were composed by full-time members Johnny Marr and Bernard Sumner, and the other six co-written with former Kraftwerk member Karl Bartos. [1] He was recommended to Electronic via a friend of Sumner's, [2] and commuted to Manchester throughout 1995 during the recording sessions, [3] which stretched from late 1994 to late 1995.
The protracted sessions resulted in a dense, thick production that was later acknowledged by both Sumner and Marr [4] and criticised in professional reviews; [3] [5] they consequently spent much less time on their next album Twisted Tenderness. [1]
Raise the Pressure was also remarked upon for Bernard Sumner's impressionistic lyrics, which some saw as the result of his use of Prozac during this period, [1] following an appearance on the BBC 2 programme The Late Show, which explored the effects of the antidepressant on creativity. [6] According to Sumner, however, he only wrote one lyric whilst under the influence of Prozac. [3] Musically the album comprises guitar pop/rock songs ("One Day", "Out of My League") and more dance oriented tracks ("Until the End of Time", "If You've Got Love").
The album cover is a painting of a cherub by Johannes Handschin, which echoes the sleeve of New Order's 1989 album Technique. The title of the album appears on the inner inlay sleeve of most CD releases; the Australian CD and cassette editions are two which have Raise the Pressure placed on the cover. This was the last Electronic album to be released on vinyl.
Review scores | |
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Source | Rating |
Allmusic | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
Unlike its predecessor Electronic, Raise the Pressure received mixed reviews [2] [5] [6] and did not perform as well commercially, with the first two singles " Forbidden City" and " For You" charting modestly in the UK Top 20, and the third, " Second Nature", barely making the Top 40. In the US no commercial singles were released, with "Forbidden City" and "Second Nature" issued only as promotional radio-play discs. Four mixes of " Until the End of Time" were released through the Electronic mailing list in October 1997; this item and a maxi single of "Second Nature" remixes are among the most sought-after recordings by the band.
In 2007 a download-only edition of Raise the Pressure was released on the iTunes Store, adding all five B-sides from the single releases. The remixes of "Until the End of Time" were also released on iTunes at this time.
Chart | Peak position |
---|---|
Australian Albums Chart [8] | 94 |
UK Albums Chart | 8 |
Billboard 200 | 143 [9] |
US Top Heatseekers | 7 [9] |
Raise the Pressure | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
![]() | ||||
Studio album by | ||||
Released | 8 July 1996 | |||
Recorded | 1994–1996 | |||
Genre | Alternative rock, alternative dance, house | |||
Length | 62:25 | |||
Label |
Parlophone (United Kingdom) Virgin (Europe) Warner Bros. (Australia, Japan, United States) | |||
Producer | Bernard Sumner, Johnny Marr | |||
Electronic chronology | ||||
|
Raise the Pressure is Electronic's second studio album, released in July 1996.
Seven of the thirteen tracks were composed by full-time members Johnny Marr and Bernard Sumner, and the other six co-written with former Kraftwerk member Karl Bartos. [1] He was recommended to Electronic via a friend of Sumner's, [2] and commuted to Manchester throughout 1995 during the recording sessions, [3] which stretched from late 1994 to late 1995.
The protracted sessions resulted in a dense, thick production that was later acknowledged by both Sumner and Marr [4] and criticised in professional reviews; [3] [5] they consequently spent much less time on their next album Twisted Tenderness. [1]
Raise the Pressure was also remarked upon for Bernard Sumner's impressionistic lyrics, which some saw as the result of his use of Prozac during this period, [1] following an appearance on the BBC 2 programme The Late Show, which explored the effects of the antidepressant on creativity. [6] According to Sumner, however, he only wrote one lyric whilst under the influence of Prozac. [3] Musically the album comprises guitar pop/rock songs ("One Day", "Out of My League") and more dance oriented tracks ("Until the End of Time", "If You've Got Love").
The album cover is a painting of a cherub by Johannes Handschin, which echoes the sleeve of New Order's 1989 album Technique. The title of the album appears on the inner inlay sleeve of most CD releases; the Australian CD and cassette editions are two which have Raise the Pressure placed on the cover. This was the last Electronic album to be released on vinyl.
Review scores | |
---|---|
Source | Rating |
Allmusic | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
Unlike its predecessor Electronic, Raise the Pressure received mixed reviews [2] [5] [6] and did not perform as well commercially, with the first two singles " Forbidden City" and " For You" charting modestly in the UK Top 20, and the third, " Second Nature", barely making the Top 40. In the US no commercial singles were released, with "Forbidden City" and "Second Nature" issued only as promotional radio-play discs. Four mixes of " Until the End of Time" were released through the Electronic mailing list in October 1997; this item and a maxi single of "Second Nature" remixes are among the most sought-after recordings by the band.
In 2007 a download-only edition of Raise the Pressure was released on the iTunes Store, adding all five B-sides from the single releases. The remixes of "Until the End of Time" were also released on iTunes at this time.
Chart | Peak position |
---|---|
Australian Albums Chart [8] | 94 |
UK Albums Chart | 8 |
Billboard 200 | 143 [9] |
US Top Heatseekers | 7 [9] |