«It's Great When You're Straight Yeah»: История альбома Black Grape

It's Great When You're Straight Yeah is the debut studio album by the English rock band Black Grape, released on 7 August 1995 through Radioactive Records. Following the breakup of Happy Mondays, frontman Shaun Ryder formed Black Grape with vocalist Paul "Kermit" Leveridge and dancer Bez. They were put in contact with management company Nicholl and Dime, who secured the band a recording contract with Radioactive Records. After demos and the band finalizing their line up, Ryder met with producers Stephen Lironi and Danny Saber. Black Grape recorded their debut studio album in late 1994 and early 1995 at Rockfield Studios in Wales, Chapel Studios in Lincolnshire, and Boundary Row in London. It's Great When You're Straight Yeah is a dance pop and pop funk album, with its title meaning being sober from drugs. Black Grape's existence was made public in 1995; they played a handful of shows in the United Kingdom, as well as festivals in mainland Europe. "Reverend Black Grape" was released as the lead single from It's Great When You're Straight Yeah in May 1995, followed by the second single "In the Name of the Father" in July 1995. A tour of the United States was planned for later in the year but was postponed due to the band members' past convictions. Kermit was diagnosed with sepsis and, as a result, had to miss performances. His role was covered by Carl "Psycho" McCarthy when the band went on a UK tour in early 1996; Bez left shortly after, citing financial disagreements. They embarked on a US tour in April 1996, which was promoted with "Kelly's Heroes", the third single from the album. It's Great When You're Straight Yeah received generally positive reviews from music critics, several of whom saw it as an update to Happy Mondays' sound and highlighted Ryder's lyricism. It topped the UK Albums Chart for two weeks and reached the top 20 in New Zealand, Scotland, and Sweden. The album went on to sell 100,000 copies in the UK, where it was certified platinum, and 600,000 copies worldwide. "Reverend Black Grape" and "In the Name of the Father" reached the top ten in both Scotland and the UK; "In the Name of the Father" reached the top 40 in the US Billboard Alternative Songs chart. "Kelly's Heroes" peaked within the top 20 in Scotland and the UK. It's Great When You're Straight appeared on album of the year and best of decade lists by Melody Maker, NME, and Select.

Happy Mondays released their fourth studio album, Yes Please!, in September 1992. The band's label, Factory Records, went into administration two months later. Their manager had secured a contract with EMI; in February 1993, the band met a representative from the label. Frontman Shaun Ryder bailed on an interview with the rep; after a band meeting, where they realised it would be difficult to revive interest with the label, they decided to break up. Following this, Ryder lived in Cheshire, left his long term girlfriend, and started to date Donovan's daughter, Oriole Leitch; dancer Mark "Bez" Berry became a local celebrity around Manchester. Despite Ryder saying he left the music industry, he guested on an Intastella B side. Ryder formed a band with his brother, bassist Paul Ryder, who would leave shortly after to start a band with his girlfriend. Bez and Ruthless Rap Assassins member Paul "Kermit" Leveridge then joined Shaun Ryder's act, which was now named Black Grape. Ryder previously worked with Kermit when recording his vocals for Yes Please!, where Kermit guested on "Cut 'Em Loose Bruce". The pair bonded while on Happy Mondays' final tour and would appear on stage with them during several performances. A&R member Gary Kurfirst, who was friends with Yes Please! producers Chris Frantz and Tina Weymouth and was aware of Happy Mondays, contacted Ryder about his future plans. He recruited Intastella bassist Martin Mittler and guitarist Martin Wright for a demo session at Drone Studios in Chorlton cum Hardy, where they laid down versions of "Kelly's Heroes", "Reverend Black Grape", and "Yeah Yeah Brother". The band were put in touch with management company Nicholl and Dime, which consisted of Nik and Gloria Nicholls, by Frantz and Weymouth. Kurfirst helped to orchestrate a signing with them; the pair, though officially tour managers, were used to appear as the band's management to avoid looking like a conflict of interest for Kurfirst. Nicholl and Dime paid for the band to record home demos; they were unsuccessfully shopped around to multiple labels, many of whom felt it unwise to spend money on Ryder. Brendan Bourke, the label's general manager, was a fan of Happy Mondays and was planned to be that band's American manager prior to them breaking up. The contract advance allowed Black Grape to buy equipment and book time in a recording studio. Bourke suggested one producer, former Altered Images member Stephen Lironi, who would help shape Black Grape's song structures. Bourke then suggested producer Danny Saber, who worked with artists that appealed to Ryder's music taste, such as Cypress Hill, House of Pain, and Bobby Womack. Saber went to London, where he was put in touch with a member of EMI, who connected him with Shannon O'Shea. O'Shea had the management company SOS Management, whose clients consisted of producers, such as Butch Vig. Someone in Black Grape's camp contacted O'Shea with the aim of getting Vig. O'Shea had worked with Saber on a couple of projects and felt he was a better fit for the band. Kurfirst subsequently put Ryder in contact with Saber. Bourke said that since Lironi and Saber were multi instrumentalists, they would be key in helping form Black Grape's debut. Shortly before starting the recording sessions, Saber flew to the UK again, but the label would not acquire him a work visa. His cousin was getting married; the customer service officer at the airport allowed him to stay one night for the wedding before he returned to Los Angeles, California. He was worried the band would start recording without him until Ryder called him and reassured him that they would wait. A demo session was held with Saber at Spirit Studio in Manchester, where the band and Saber wrote two songs. It's Great When You're Straight Yeah was recorded over the course of seven weeks in late 1994 and early 1995 with Saber, Lironi, and Ryder as producers. Ryder said Lironi's involvement as a co producer came from Radioactive wanting the album to have a rock element to it so as to avoid leaning too heavily into hip hop territory. The sessions began at Rockfield Studios in Monmouth, Wales; they wanted to record in Ireland until they found it too expensive of a venture. At the same studio, Happy Mondays' contemporaries, the Stone Roses, were working on their second and final studio album, Second Coming (1994). Black Grape would stay in pubs until late afternoon and start recording in the evenings. Across three separate sessions at Rockfield, they came up with guitar based rock tracks and sample driven dance songs. Recording moved to Boundary Row in London and then to Chapel Studios in Alford, Lincolnshire, for three weeks. Phil Auklt, Saber, Jim Spencer, and Eawn Davis acted as engineers, with additional engineering from Michael Scherchen. Tom Lord Alge mixed the recordings at Encore Studios in Los Angeles before they were mastered by Ted Jensen at Sterling Sound in New York. Ryder compared the writing process to that of Happy Mondays' third studio album Pills 'n' Thrills and Bellyaches (1990), which was partially written in the studio. He and Kermit would come up with lyrics by vocally sparring with each other; any lines they thought would work in a song were kept. Ryder attributed the various religious imagery across the album to Samuel L. Jackson's character Jules in the 1994 film Pulp Fiction, in the way he would recite Bible passages as well as his own Irish Catholic upbringing. In addition to the band, other musicians contributed to the recordings: Saber with guitars, bass, keyboards, Hammond organ, and programming; Anthony Guarderas with bass; Lironi with keyboards, Hammond organ, and programming; Dahni Birihani with sitar; and Michael Scherchen with programming. Part of its chorus section is borrowed from the hymn "O Come, All Ye Faithful". Saber suggested replacing it with a harmonica and had Bledynn Richards, who was found in a local pub, play the part. "In the Name of the Father" alludes to Ryder leaving school at an early age and Neil Armstrong walking on the Moon. It includes additional vocals from Emma Day and Carl "Psycho" McCarthy, the latter of whom Kermit knew from the band Moss Side and would later make remixes of "Revered Black Grape". It features slide guitar from Lironi and a saxophone part from Martin Slattery. The song had its origins during the last Happy Monday rehearsal session, when they met the EMI representative. Kurfirst wanted a crossover hit, and after hearing "Kelly's Heroes", had the band add a big guitar riff to appeal to rock fans. Nicholl contributed slide guitar to it. "Yeah Yeah Brother" is about how the rest of Happy Mondays expressed wishes of never wanting to work with Ryder again and the demise of the band. Ryder wrote the song for Yes Please! but was rejected by the other members of Happy Mondays and theorised that he had "sort of ripped it off some reggae song". Saber created the beat for the track, which initially had a French flavour to it; Ryder had him change it to a "northern English take" on Gainsbourg. Saber's wife spoke French, so Ryder had her translate some of its lyrics into that language, selecting the lines he felt worked best in the song. "Shake Well Before Opening" discusses violent crime in Manchester. "Submarine" talks about a person taking wrong decisions in their life; its chorus section attempts to emulate the one in "Fool to Cry" (1976) by the Rolling Stones, while the second verse borrows the melody from "A Day in the Life" (1967) by the Beatles. Alongside this, the UK saw the rise of lad culture and magazines such as Loaded. After a small series of UK shows, they played a variety of UK and mainland European festivals, including Féile and T in the Park. The band's live line up was augmented by Slattery and bassist Danny Williams. It's Great When You're Straight Yeah was released in the UK on 7 August 1995, and in the United States on 10 October 1995. The cover art, made by Central Station Design, is a pop art photo of Carlos the Jackal. Pat and Matt Carroll of the company liked one particular image of Carlos, though they were unaware of his terrorist activities. It received criticism from the Anti Defamation League (ADL), which was claiming the band were using it to promote him as a role model amongst a younger demographic. The band said they picked it because he was known for using a variety of disguises. In October 1995, Black Grape appeared on Later with Jools Holland, where they played "In the Name of the Father", "Reverend Black Grape", and "Tramazi Parti". On 23 October 1995, "In the Name of the Father" was released to modern rock radio stations in the US. Kermit went into a coma for four days and subsequently lost several stones in weight over the next few weeks. It would take him ten months to fully recover from the illness. As the band were unable to enter the US, Ryder went on holiday with his wife to various locations, including Jamaica, before landing in Cuba in December 1995. American journalists were invited to visit and interview the band; it went unsuccessful due to Bez missing his flight, Kermit still recovering, and Ryder falling ill after being in Jamaica. At the tour's conclusion, he joined the band on a permanent basis. Bez departed from the band in March 1996, citing disagreements over finances with the band's label. Bez had slowly increased his drug consumption from three ecstasy pills a night to ten. The band were also frequently spending £100 per night on the energy drink Ultrafuel for Bez, which he would give to multiple hangers on. Ryder was tired of losing the band's money through these activities and had a fight with Bez around it. Following an assault on the Nicholls', Bez left the band. Later in March 1996, Kermit appeared with the band for a performance on TFI Friday. Kermit had to miss the trek as a result of a lung infection. In 2015, Black Grape went on a celebratory 20th anniversary tour for It's Great When You're Straight Yeah. It was reissued in 2016 and promoted with another tour that same year. Ryder said various footage of the band shot throughout their career was left off the reissue due to all of it being recorded on various video formats that had not been transferred to a modern format.

"Reverend Black Grape" was released as a single in May 1995, with "Straight Out of Trumpton" and a remix of "Reverend Black Grape" as its B sides. It was sent to modern rock radio stations in the US in August 1996. The music video for "Reverend Black Grape" was filmed in Ancoats, Manchester, with some interior shots at a bar in the same city, with director Don Letts. Kurfirst selected him as he used to manage Big Audio Dynamite, of which Letts was a member. Ryder took a liking to Letts because of his musical style with that band, going as far as to say that the video was highly influenced by Big Audio Dynamite in its religious imagery and cowboy atmosphere. It stars Ryder and Kermit dressed as American preachers, intended to tie in with the song's religious references. The video was banned from TV airings due to part of the lyrics accusing the Pope of war crimes, which angered the Catholic Church. They performed "Reverend Black Grape" on Top of the Pops around this time. "In the Name of the Father" was released as a single in July 1995, with "Land of 1000 Karma Sutra Babes" and a remix of "In the Name of the Father" as its B sides. It was sent to mainstream rock and modern rock radio stations in the US in October 1995. The music video for "In the Name of the Father" was filmed over the course of a week in Ocho Rios, Jamaica, at Letts' suggestion, who returned to direct it. Letts portrayed the band members as missionaries, with Ryder seen floating down a river on a raft and being baptized. coinciding with their US tour the following month. Two versions were released on CD: the first with a live version of "Little Bob" and remixes of "Kelly's Heroes", while the second featured live versions of "Kelly's Heroes", "In the Name of the Father", and "Fat Neck". Two music videos were filmed for "Kelly's Heroes": the first saw Bez dressed as Batman and Ryder wearing a wig, filmed in a club in London. The label did not like this one, prompting a second one to be done, revolving around a bank robbery. As Kermit was ill during this second shoot, Psycho filled his role. Prior to the release of the single, a writ was issued by Intastella, who said they had partially written "Kelly's Heroes" and other songs on the album. That band had registered the material, claiming they were owed royalties for the album and its singles. Ryder retorted that Mittler and Wright had only spent 30 minutes at most in a studio with him and settled out of court.

It's Great When You're Straight Yeah was met with generally positive reviews from music critics. Verrico said that some reviewers saw it as an update to Happy Mondays' sound, aided by Saber's beats and Kermit's vocals. Vox Stephen Dalton said the band "buzz with the life affirming, innovative, fuck you spirit of true rock'n'roll". He praised the album for mixing several styles into the band's sound, Ted Kessler of NME expanded on this, saying that it was a "record drenched in so many different styles and influences that it puts the recent achievements of Blur and Oasis in sharp perspective." The Times writer Caitlin Moran agreed, stating that "for such an eclectic record," the results were "staggering". Dirty Tapper of Record Collector felt that the album "seems to get bored with itself halfway through." Several reviewers commented on Ryder's vocals and lyrics. Rolling Stone writer Jason Cohen wrote that Ryder's "ranting – crisply phrased if somewhat slurry – melds in vibrant harmony with Leveridge's raps, toasts and croons." The Guardian critic Caroline Sullivan wrote that Ryder was "fantastically coarse on parts of this LP, shouting, swearing and, undoubtedly, elbowing his mates as he sings". The Times David Sinclair said Ryder and Kermit spar "each other in a series of loutish bawling matches, the two vocalists lead the troupe [ ] although it tends to be Ryder who has the last word"; The Sun Herald writer Peter Holmes found that Ryder's "daggy Mancurian swagger is intact and as enjoyable as ever". It ranked at number 41 and 100 on the 1995 and 1996 UK year end charts, respectively. "Reverend Black Grape" reached number five in Scotland and number nine in the UK. "In the Name of the Father" reached number 5 in Scotland, number 8 in the UK, and number 31 on the US Billboard Alternative Songs chart. "Kelly's Heroes" reached number 13 in Scotland and number 17 in the UK. It's Great When You're Straight Yeah was short listed for the 1996 Mercury Prize, losing to Different Class by Pulp. "Reverend Black Grape" won the 1995 NME award for Single of the Year. Select ranked "In the Name of the Father" as the 35th best single of 1995. Ryder felt the album's success was the result of contemporary albums having a dated sound to them: "Britpop was just building to a peak, and there were so many boring guitar bands, playing their dads' type of music", making it stand out in comparison. In a retrospective article on big beat, Dave McGonigle of Stylus Magazine asserted that "no one exemplifies the core kudos of big beat better" than Black Grape. He explained that they had "managed to project the spirit of P Funk firmly into the mid 90s. The partyed up ethos of old funk and new beats was perfectly exemplified by The Grape".

+ Chart performance for It's Great When You're Straight Yeah Chart (1995) Peak position

+ Year end chart performance for It's Great When You're Straight Yeah Chart (1995) Position UK Albums (OCC) 41 Chart (1996) Position UK Albums (OCC) 100