The Fine Art of Surfacing
Studio album by
the Boomtown Rats
ReleasedJune 1979 (1979-06)
RecordedNovember 1978 – February 1979
StudioPhonogram, Hilversum, Netherlands
GenreNew wave[1]
Length40:13
Label
Producer
The Boomtown Rats chronology
A Tonic for the Troops
(1978)		 The Fine Art of Surfacing
(1979)		 Mondo Bongo
(1981)

The Fine Art of Surfacing is the third album by Irish rock band the Boomtown Rats, released in June 1979.[1] The album peaked at No. 7 on the UK Albums Chart in 1979.[2]

"I Don't Like Mondays" was released as the album's first single in July 1979 and reached No. 1 on the UK Singles Chart.[2] The song refers to Brenda Ann Spencer's killing spree, which occurred on Monday, 29 January 1979 in San Diego, California. The album also produced the singles "Diamond Smiles" and "Someone's Looking at You".

The Boomtown Rats travelled around the United States leading up to The Fine Art of Surfacing, drumming up publicity in the country. During this time the band learned much about both American life and breaking into the American music market. The album takes a serious approach in looking at American society in songs like "I Don't Like Mondays" and "Diamond Smiles", while other times looking at it in a downright silly and mocking manner, as in songs like "Nothing Happened Today" and "Having My Picture Taken".

In 2005, the album was re-released (it had previously been released but fell out of print quickly), digitally remastered by Bob Geldof and Pete Briquette with bonus tracks, mostly B-sides from various eras, that delve more deeply into the Rats' musical influences.

Reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[1]
Christgau's Record GuideB−[3]
The Irish Times[4]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide[5]
Smash Hits3/10[6]

David Fricke of Rolling Stone highlighted the album's musical diversity, writing that "much of the Boomtown Rats' smarmy charm comes from an elusiveness that defies categorization because it draws from dozens of sources but embraces none."[7]

Track listing

All songs written by Bob Geldof unless otherwise indicated.

1979 Vinyl Release

Side A

  1. "Someone's Looking at You" – 4:22
  2. "Diamond Smiles" – 3:49
  3. "Wind Chill Factor (Minus Zero)" – 4:35
  4. "Having My Picture Taken" (Geldof, Pete Briquette) – 3:18
  5. "Sleep (Fingers' Lullaby)" (Johnnie Fingers) – 5:30

* A hidden track (with lyrics including "that's not funny, I'm not laughing"), on the original LP playing through to the run-out groove.

Side B

  1. "I Don't Like Mondays" (Geldof, Johnnie Fingers) – 4:16
  2. "Nothing Happened Today" – 3:18
  3. "Keep It Up" (Geldof, Gerry Cott) – 3:39
  4. "Nice N Neat" – 2:50
  5. "When the Night Comes" – 5:00

* A hidden track of a warped voice saying "That concludes episode 3. We will return..."

2005 re-release bonus tracks

  1. "Episode 3" (a combination of both hidden tracks on the vinyl release) –1:10 [1]
  2. "Real Different" (B-side of "Elephant's Graveyard") – 2:39
  3. "How Do You Do?" (B-side of "Like Clockwork") – 2:39
  4. "Late Last Night" (B-side of "Diamond Smiles") – 2:43
  5. "Nothing Happened Today" (Live in Cardiff) – 3:44

Personnel

Credits adapted from album liner notes[8] and AllMusic.[9]

The Boomtown Rats

Additional musicians

Technical

Charts

Chart (1979–80) Peak
position
Australian Albums (Kent Music Report)[10] 11
Canada Top Albums/CDs (RPM)[11] 6
Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)[12] 33
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[13] 35
New Zealand Albums (RMNZ)[14] 10
Norwegian Albums (VG-lista)[15] 7
Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan)[16] 10
UK Albums (OCC)[17] 7
US Billboard 200[18] 103

Certifications

Region CertificationCertified units/sales
Canada (Music Canada)[19] Platinum 100,000^
United Kingdom (BPI)[20] Gold 100,000^

^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 DeGagne, Mike. "The Fine Art of Surfacing – The Boomtown Rats". AllMusic. Retrieved 9 April 2014.
  2. 1 2 Roberts, David, ed. (2006). British Hit Singles & Albums (19th ed.). Guinness World Records Limited. p. 71. ISBN 1-904994-10-5.
  3. ↑ Christgau, Robert (1981). "B". Christgau's Record Guide: Rock Albums of the Seventies. Ticknor and Fields. ISBN 0-89919-026-X. Retrieved 22 February 2019 – via robertchristgau.com.
  4. ↑ Boyd, Brian (11 February 2005). "Reissues". The Irish Times. Retrieved 7 November 2020.
  5. ↑ The Rolling Stone Album Guide. Random House. 1992. p. 75.
  6. ↑ Starr, Red (1–14 November 1979). "Albums". Smash Hits. Vol. 1, no. 24. p. 29.
  7. ↑ Fricke, David (21 February 1980). "The Boomtown Rats: The Fine Art Of Surfacing". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on 28 March 2006. Retrieved 7 November 2020.
  8. ↑ The Fine Art of Surfacing (liner notes). The Boomtown Rats. Ensign Records. 1979. ENROX 11.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  9. ↑ "The Fine Art of Surfacing – The Boomtown Rats | Credits". AllMusic. Retrieved 9 April 2014.
  10. ↑ Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 (illustrated ed.). Australian Chart Book. p. 42. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
  11. ↑ "Top RPM Albums: Issue 9495a". RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved 7 November 2020.
  12. ↑ "Dutchcharts.nl – The Boomtown Rats – The Fine Art of Surfacing" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 7 November 2020.
  13. ↑ "Offiziellecharts.de – The Boomtown Rats – The Fine Art of Surfacing" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved 7 November 2020.
  14. ↑ "Charts.nz – The Boomtown Rats – The Fine Art of Surfacing". Hung Medien. Retrieved 7 November 2020.
  15. ↑ "Norwegiancharts.com – The Boomtown Rats – The Fine Art of Surfacing". Hung Medien. Retrieved 7 November 2020.
  16. ↑ "Swedishcharts.com – The Boomtown Rats – The Fine Art of Surfacing". Hung Medien. Retrieved 7 November 2020.
  17. ↑ "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 7 November 2020.
  18. ↑ "Billboard 200". Billboard. 15 February 1980. Retrieved 7 November 2020.
  19. ↑ "Canadian album certifications – The Boomtown Rats – The Fine Art of Surfacing". Music Canada. Retrieved 7 November 2020.
  20. ↑ "British album certifications – The Boomtown Rats – The Fine Art of Surfacing". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 7 November 2020. Select albums in the Format field. Select Gold in the Certification field. Type The Fine Art of Surfacing in the "Search BPI Awards" field and then press Enter.
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