They Might Be Giants – Record-facts…

posted by albums-update

Flood is the third studio album by Brooklyn-based alternative rock duo They Might Be Giants, released in January 1990. Flood was the duo’s first album on the major label Elektra Records. It generated three singles: “Birdhouse in Your Soul“, “Istanbul (Not Constantinople)“, and the domestic promotional track “Twisting”. The album is generally considered to be the band’s definitive release, as it is their best-selling and most recognizable album.
Despite minimal stylistic and instrumental differences from previous releases, Flood is distinguished by contributions from seasoned producers Clive Langer and Alan Winstanley. John Linnell and John Flansburgh also took advantage of new equipment and recording techniques, including unconventional, home-recorded samples, which were programmed through Casio FZ-1 synthesizers.
The album was recorded in New York City at Skyline Studios, which was better equipped than studios the band had worked in previously.

Flood was They Might Be Giants’ first release on a major label. Elektra Records approached the band in 1989 following the unexpected success of their second album, Lincoln, which was released on the independent Bar/None label.
The record deal that Elektra presented was largely due to the work of Susan Drew, an A&R worker who had been following the band since 1986.
Because of her confidence, the band was given an extensive level of creative control over their projects, in addition to the ability to take advantage of the label’s resources. Although They Might Be Giants recorded the album as a duo, they were joined by several guest musicians on brass and string instruments. The band also enlisted Alan Bezozi to help program some of the electronic drums for the album.

Tracklist

1. Theme from Flood – 0:28
2. Birdhouse in Your Soul – 3:20
3. Lucky Ball & Chain – 2:46
4. Istanbul (Not Constantinople) (Jimmy Kennedy, Nat Simon) – 2:38
5. Dead – 2:58
6. Your Racist Friend – 2:54
7. Particle Man – 1:59
8. Twisting – 1:56
9. We Want a Rock – 2:47
10. Someone Keeps Moving My Chair – 2:23
11. Hearing Aid – 3:26
12. Minimum Wage – 0:47
13. Letterbox – 1:25
14. Whistling in the Dark – 3:25
15. Hot Cha – 1:34
16. Women & Men – 1:46
17. Sapphire Bullets of Pure Love – 1:36
18. They Might Be Giants – 2:46
19. Road Movie to Berlin – 2:22

All tracks are written by John Flansburgh and John Linnell, except where noted.

They Might Be Giants:

John Flansburgh – songwriting, vocals, guitar, programming, mandolin, trumpet
John Linnell – songwriting, vocals, accordion, keyboards, saxophones, programming, melodica

Additional musicians:

Alan Bezozi – drum programming
Mark Feldman – violin on “Birdhouse in Your Soul”, “Istanbul”, and “We Want a Rock”
Rick McRae – trombone on “Theme from Flood” and “Whistling in the Dark”
Frank London – trumpet on “Birdhouse in Your Soul”, “Whistling in the Dark”, and “They Might Be Giants”
Charlie Sepulveda – trumpet on “Istanbul” and “Your Racist Friend”
Marion Beckenstein – vocals on “Theme From Flood”
Joel Mitchell – vocals on “Theme From Flood”
The Skyline Staff – handclaps on “Particle Man”
Arto Lindsay – guitar on “Hearing Aid”
Roger Moutenot – whip on “Minimum Wage”