Razorblade Suitcase

Razorblade Suitcase
Studio album by Bush
Released	November 19, 1996
Recorded	1996, Sarm Hook End, Berks, England and Abbey Road Studios, London, England
Genre	Post-grunge
Length	61:43
Label	Trauma/Interscope
Producer	Steve Albini
Professional reviews
Allmusic [1] Entertainment Weekly (C)[2] Rolling Stone [3] Select [4] The Independent (Negative)[5]
Bush chronology
Sixteen Stone (1994) Razorblade Suitcase (1996) Deconstructed (1997)

Razorblade Suitcase is the second album by the British post-grunge band Bush, released in November 1996 via Trauma Records.

Background

The album's working title was Ghost Medicine, but was changed for unknown reasons. The title is a line from the lyrics of the song "Synapse". It has a slightly darker tone than Bush's previous album, Sixteen Stone, which led to comparisons between Razorblade Suitcase and Nirvana's album In Utero, because some believed Bush sounded similar to Nirvana, and Steve Albini recorded both albums. Albini had also recorded the Pixies' breakthrough LP Surfer Rosa, and was co-art directed by Vaughan Oliver and Adrian Philpott. Vaughan Oliver had also done the artwork for Surfer Rosa. Gavin Rossdale made statements around the time of the release that he only hoped that Bush would be one day as successful as the Pixies were in England.

Sixteen Stone was a radio-friendly grunge rock album that sold millions of copies. Razorblade Suitcase, however, was more abrasive than the past album and as a result did not sell as well. However, Razorblade Suitcase reached the number-one spot on the Billboard 200, while Sixteen Stone peaked at the number-four spot.

Despite the album selling fewer copies than Sixteen Stone in the US, it marked a commercial peak for the band in their native Britain - it reached number four on the UK Albums Chart, whilst "Swallowed" and "Greedy Fly" both peaked in the Top 20 of the UK Singles Chart.

Singles

Bush released the first single from the album, "Swallowed," in late 1996, and it was a big hit in America, poising the band for a successful album. "Swallowed" was number one on the Modern Rock Tracks chart for 7 weeks, the band's longest charting number 1 single. The second single, "Greedy Fly", was released after the two week long number one stay for Razorblade Suitcase in America, and reached number three. "Bonedriven" and "Cold Contagious" followed and did not make an impact on the charts. "Mouth" was remixed and released on the album Deconstructed and reached the Top 5 on the Modern Rock Tracks chart. However, in spite of the success of the remix of "Mouth," the original album version was not very popular.

Track listing

1. "Personal Holloway" – 3:23
2. "Greedy Fly" – 4:29
3. "Swallowed" – 4:53
4. "Insect Kin" – 4:27
5. "Cold Contagious" – 6:01
6. "A Tendency to Start Fires" – 4:04
7. "Mouth" – 5:46
8. "Straight No Chaser" – 4:02
9. "History" – 4:17
10. "Synapse" – 4:52
11. "Communicator" – 4:25
12. "Bonedriven" – 4:32
13. "Distant Voices" – 6:20

Chart positions

References

External links

• Bush Fansite