The Boy with the X-Ray Eyes
| The Boy with the X-Ray Eyes | ||||
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| Studio album by Babylon Zoo | ||||
| Released | 5 February 1996 | |||
| Recorded | 1995 | |||
| Genre | Alternative rock, space rock | |||
| Length | 54:47 | |||
| Label | EMI | |||
| Producer |
Jas Mann Steve Power |
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| Babylon Zoo chronology | ||||
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| Singles from The Boy with the X-Ray Eyes | ||||
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| Alternative cover | ||||
US edition cover
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| Professional ratings | |
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| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   |
| Alternative Press | |
| The Irish Times | (unfavourable) |
| The Michigan Daily | |
| The New York Times | (mixed) |
| Select | 2/5 |
The Boy with the X-Ray Eyes is the debut album by British alternative rock band Babylon Zoo, released in February 1996. The album features the single, "Spaceman", which charted at number one in the UK Singles Chart after being featured in a popular Levi's jeans TV advertisement in late 1995. The album failed to match the success of the single "Spaceman"; it peaked at number 6 in the UK Albums Chart on 17 February, and cascaded out of the Top 40, lasting only a further two weeks on the chart.
Other singles released from the album were "Animal Army", which reached number 17 in the UK Singles Chart, and "The Boy with the X-Ray Eyes", which reached number 32.
The album's title comes from a moniker singer Jas Mann was given at school.
An Irish Times reviewer called The Boy with the X-Ray Eyes an "outmoded melange of distorted guitars, washed out synthesisers and pseudo sociological sci fi lyrics", listening to which is "not a pleasant experience".Michigan Daily journalist Heather Phares described the album's content as "bad", adding that "it's hard to tell which is worse about Babylon Zoo—the turgid music or the dogmatic lyrics."Select writer Ian Harrison dismissed the record as "a mime troupe unable to keep quiet".
Some critics were less harsh. An Alternative Press reviewer awarded the album four stars out of five – equating to "well done" – and wrote that it "sounds like [David] Bowie's Ziggy Stardust, remixed by the guys from the Underworld". Neil Strauss of the The New York Times described it as "wonderful and satisfying in the short term but ultimately disposable".Martin C. Strong found the album to be "mediocre".
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