Friendly as a Hand Grenade
Studio album by
Tackhead
Released1989
RecordedUnique Recording, NYC and Matrix and Southern Studios, London
GenreFunk, industrial
Length36:12
LabelTVT, World
ProducerTackhead
Tackhead chronology
Tackhead Tape Time
(1987)		 Friendly as a Hand Grenade
(1989)		 Strange Things
(1990)
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[1]
Chicago Tribune[2]
The Encyclopedia of Popular Music[3]
Houston Chronicle[4]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide[5]
Spin Alternative Record Guide7/10[6]

Friendly as a Hand Grenade is an album by the American band Tackhead.[7] It was released in 1989 through TVT Records.[8]

Production

The band added Bernard Fowler on vocals, and changed its name from Gary Clail's Tackhead Sound System.[9] The album cover art is by Gee Vaucher.[10]

Critical reception

The New York Times wrote that Tackhead "draw deep, swampy grooves from funk, rap, house music and dub reggae, then add a paranoid overlay."[11]

Trouser Press wrote: "Opening and closing with the jaunty 'Ska Trek', living up to the title of 'Demolition House' and pursuing the by-now-familiar sardonic comments on the military with the infectious 'Airborne Ranger', the album captures Tackhead at its most coherent."[9] The Spin Alternative Record Guide declared that "at its best, the group melded deeply psychedelic rock and funk in a way that the Red Hot Chili Peppers could only dream of."[6]

Track listing

All tracks are written by Bernard Fowler, Keith LeBlanc, Skip McDonald, Adrian Sherwood and Doug Wimbish, except "Ska Trek" by Prince Buster

No.TitleLength
1."Ska Trek"0:48
2."Tell Me the Hurt"5:16
3."Mind and Movement"5:23
4."Stealing"6:32
5."Airborne Ranger"5:01
6."Body to Burn"1:04
7."Demolition House"4:08
8."Free South Africa"1:56
9."Ticking Time Bomb"4:23
10."Ska Trek"1:34

Personnel

Tackhead
Additional musicians and production

Charts

Charts (1989) Peak
position
UK Indie Chart[12] 3

Release history

Region Date Label Format Catalog
United Kingdom 1989 World CD, LP WR013
United States 1989 TVT CD, LP TVT 4060
Japan 1989 Alfa Records, Inc CD ALCA-553

References

  1. ↑ Bush, John. "Friendly as a Hand Grenade". AllMusic. Retrieved 4 December 2012.
  2. ↑ Popson, Tom (6 April 1990). "'Friendly as a Hand Grenade', Tackhead". Chicago Tribune. Friday. p. R.
  3. ↑ Larkin, Colin (2006). The Encyclopedia of Popular Music. Vol. 8. MUZE. p. 23.
  4. ↑ Racine, Marty (22 April 1990). "Records". Houston Chronicle. Zest. p. 10.
  5. ↑ The Rolling Stone Album Guide. Random House. 1992. p. 690.
  6. 1 2 Spin Alternative Record Guide. Vintage Books. 1995. pp. 352–353.
  7. ↑ Danton, Eric R. (6 September 2004). "TACKHEAD BACK TOGETHER: HARTFORD-FORMED QUARTET OF INNOVATIVE ARTISTS PIONEERED SOUNDS THAT BECAME STAPLES OF RAP, POP". The Hartford Courant. p. D1.
  8. ↑ "Tackhead | Biography & History". AllMusic.
  9. 1 2 "Tackhead". Trouser Press. Retrieved 25 June 2021.
  10. ↑ "The Quietus | News | Gee Vaucher Painting Used For Mirror Trump Blaster". The Quietus.
  11. ↑ Pareles, Jon (8 July 1990). "Rock, Rap and Reggae Rolled Into One". The New York Times. p. A28.
  12. ↑ Lazell, Barry (1997). Indie Hits 1980-1989. Cherry Red Books. Archived from the original on 6 October 2008. Retrieved 30 September 2014.
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