Aurora Gory Alice

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Aurora Gory Alice
Studio album by
Released1993
Recorded1992–1993
GenreAlternative rock
Length38:03
LabelCherryDisc, Giant
ProducerMike Denneen
Letters to Cleo chronology
Aurora Gory Alice
(1993)
Wholesale Meats and Fish
(1995)
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[1]
Robert Christgau(dud)[2]
The Encyclopedia of Popular Music[3]

Aurora Gory Alice is the first studio album by Letters to Cleo.[4] It was released in 1993 on CherryDisc Records and re-released in 1994 on Giant Records.[5] The first single from the album was "I See," which got little exposure (although it was later used as the music that plays during the closing credits of Daria episode "Through a Lens Darkly"). However, the second single, "Here & Now", received much exposure when it was featured on the Melrose Place soundtrack a year later.[3]

The re-released version of the album contains different versions of "Rim Shak" and "Here & Now" than the original release. The difference between the two versions was that the second version had Scott Riebling playing bass, while the first release featured Brian Karp, who originally played bass and wrote music for the band. A demo version of "I See" is available on the 1998 release Sister.

Critical reception[edit]

Trouser Press wrote that "the record’s airy sonics, Kay Hanley’s soaring vocals and the band’s smart pop-rock songwriting make for a solid, if not especially challenging, effort."[6]

Track listing[edit]

All songs by Letters to Cleo

  1. "Big Star" - 4:05
  2. "I See" - 3:49
  3. "Rim Shak" - 5:21
  4. "Wasted" - 4:24
  5. "Get on With It" - 4:17
  6. "Here & Now" - 3:42
  7. "From Under the Dust" - 3:26
  8. "Mellie's Comin' Over" - 2:12
  9. "Come Around" - 4:11
  10. "Step Back" - 2:33

Chart positions[edit]

Album[edit]

  • 1995 Aurora Gory Alice The Billboard 200 No. 123
  • 1995 Aurora Gory Alice Heatseekers No. 3[7]

Singles[edit]

  • 1995 Here & Now The Billboard Hot 100 No. 56
  • 1995 Here & Now Modern Rock Tracks No. 10[8]

Credits[edit]

  • Chris Gorman - Photography
  • Letters to Cleo - Photography
  • Mike Denneen - Producer, Mixing
  • Henk Kooistra - Mastering
  • Michael Eisenstein - Guitar, Keyboards, Backing Vocals
  • Kay Hanley - Guitar, Lead Vocals
  • Stacy Jones - Drums
  • Greg McKenna - Guitar, Backing Vocals
  • Scott Riebling - Bass, Backing Vocals
  • Antonio Oliart Ros - Mastering
  • John Egan - Graphic Design
  • Jeff Kellem - Photography
  • Rose LeBeau - Photography, cover photo
  • Pam Berry - Photography
  • Eric Antoniou - Photography
  • Brian Karp - Bass

See also[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ Carpenter, Troy. Aurora Gory Alice at AllMusic
  2. ^ "Robert Christgau: CG: Letters to Cleo". www.robertchristgau.com.
  3. ^ a b Larkin, Colin (2006). The Encyclopedia of Popular Music. Vol. 5. MUZE. pp. 190–191.
  4. ^ "Letters to Cleo Biography". September 21, 2007.
  5. ^ "Letters to Cleo | Biography & History". AllMusic.
  6. ^ "Letters to Cleo". Trouser Press. Retrieved 2 November 2020.
  7. ^ "Letters to Cleo". Billboard.
  8. ^ "Letters To Cleo 'Go!' For A Breakthrough". Billboard. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. September 6, 1997 – via Google Books.