GRRR! It's Betty Boo
| GRRR! It's Betty Boo | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by Betty Boo | ||||
| Released | 12 October 1992 | |||
| Recorded | October, 1992 | |||
| Genre | Dance, pop | |||
| Length | 38:44 | |||
| Label | WEA | |||
| Producer | Betty Boo, John Coxon, Paul Myers, Dean Ross | |||
| Betty Boo chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Singles from GRRR! It's Betty Boo | ||||
|
||||
| Professional ratings | |
|---|---|
| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| Allmusic |   [1] |
| The Guardian | (Mixed)[2] |
Grrr! It's Betty Boo is the second album by Betty Boo, released on 12 October 1992 via WEA Records.[2] This album failed to match the success of her debut, Boomania, stalling at No.62 in the UK Albums Chart. The album did however garner one hit single with "Let Me Take You There", which peaked at No.12 in the UK Singles Chart. Further singles from the album were "I'm On My Way" Catch Me, Thing Goin On and "Hangover". The record is dedicated to her father. The cover art is based on the iconic package of Tigra cigarettes. After this, Betty Boo retired from the music industry for several years.
Critical reception
Writing for The Guardian in October 1992, Adam Sweeting thought that the album contained "more than its fair share of garish artificial charm", surmising that although Boo's songs "hang on a thread of absurdity", presenting critics with an easy target, "her kittenish raps – usually about boys and boy-trouble – bristle with winningly daft rhymes".[2] Allmusic's William Ruhlmann noted that "Boo raps through the verses and sings the choruses (...) in an engaging enough manner, but she never threatens to be more than a cartoon".[1] Speaking to Q Magazine in 1994, Madonna made a surprising mention of this album by saying it was "sadly overlooked" and was keen to sign Betty Boo to her new record label, Maverick.[3]
Track listing
All tracks written by Alison Clarkson/John Coxon, unless otherwise noted.
- "I'm On My Way" (Alison Clarkson, John Coxon, John Lennon, Paul McCartney) – 3:22
- "Thing Goin' On" (Alison Clarkson, John Coxon, McCauley, Larry Young, L. Logan, P. Saunders) – 3:41
- "Hangover" – 3:49
- "Curly & Girly" – 4:22
- "Wish You Were Here" – 4:17
- "Let Me Take You There" (Alison Clarkson, John Coxon, Charles Dawes, Carl Sigman) – 3:58
- "Gave You The Boo" – 4:00
- "Skin Tight" (Alison Clarkson, Paul Myers, Dean Ross) – 3:38
- "Catch Me" (Alison Clarkson, Paul Myers, Dean Ross) – 3:47
- "Close The Door" – 3:38
- Track 1 contains a portion of "Lady Madonna", written by John Lennon and Paul McCartney. The saxophone "sample" is not taken directly from The Beatles' original version, but is a re-creation featuring the same session players (Ronnie Scott, Harry Klein, Bill Povey and Bill Jackman).
- Track 2 contains a sample of "Turn Off the Lights", written by Young, Logan & Saunders and performed by Larry Young's Fuel.
- Track 6 contains a sample of "It's All in the Game", written by Charles Dawes & Carl Sigman, as performed by The Four Tops. It peaked at #12 in the UK Singles Chart, where it stayed for 8 weeks.
- Track 6 at the instrumental break contains Brian Wilson's "Summer Means New Love" (B-Side to "Caroline, No").
- Track 10 begins with a bass arrangement bearing strong similarities to Barry White's "I'm Gonna Love You Just a Little More Baby".
Personnel
Additional musicians
- Ronnie Scott – saxophone on track 1
- Harry Klein – saxophone on track 1
- Bill Povey – saxophone on track 1
- Bill Jackman – saxophone on track 1
- Gary Plumbley – saxophone on track 8
- Guy Barker – flumpet on track 2
- Richard Niles – string arrangement on track 3
- Roger Rettig – pedal steel on track 3
- Frank Ton Ton – drums on track 6
- Michael Rosenberg – guitar on track 8
- Sweet Paulino – percussion on track 8
- Fenella Barton – strings on track 9
- Sian Bell – strings on track 9
- Sonia Shany – strings on track 9
- Jocelyn Pook – strings on track 9
Technical personnel
- John Coxon – producer, pre-production "Done Upstairs"
- Mads Bjerke – recording, engineer on tracks 1–7 & 10 at The Strongroom
- Streets Ahead – producer on track 2
- Dean Ross – producer on tracks 8–9
- Sweet Paulino – producer on tracks 8–9
- Jim Abyss – recording on track 8 at Metropolis Studios, mix engineer on track 1 at Olympic Studios
- Ren Swan – recording on track 9 at Sarm East Studios
- Gregg Jackman – mix engineer on tracks 2–10 at Sarm West Studios
References
- 1 2 Ruhlmann, William. "Review: Grrr! It's Betty Boo - Betty Boo". Allmusic. Retrieved 16 July 2009.
- 1 2 3 Adam Sweeting. "Review: BETTY BOO - Grrr! It's Betty Boo". The Guardian 2. Guardian News and Media Limited (October 16, 1992): 6.
- ↑ Madonna interview, Q Magazine, October 1994