Tiger Bay (album)
| Tiger Bay | ||||
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Original album cover
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| Studio album by Saint Etienne | ||||
| Released | 28 June 1994 | |||
| Recorded | Summer – Autumn 1993 | |||
| Genre | Alternative dance, House, techno, ambient, electronica, folk | |||
| Length | 46:16 | |||
| Label | Heavenly – HVNLP8 | |||
| Producer | Saint Etienne | |||
| Saint Etienne chronology | ||||
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| Singles from Tiger Bay | ||||
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| Reissue album art (1996) | ||||
featuring Giuditta del Vecchio (from the film Léolo)
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| Professional ratings | |
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| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| Allmusic |   |
| Pitchfork Media | (8.7/10) |
| Select |  |
Tiger Bay is the third studio album by English indie dance band Saint Etienne. It was released 28 June 1994 by Heavenly Records. In an interview with Record Collector, band member Bob Stanley stated that the title is a reference to the 1959 film Tiger Bay.
The album is described by Bob Stanley as "an album of modern folk songs done in twentieth century styles like techno and dub". "Like a Motorway", for example, blends Kraftwerk-style techno with the melody from the nineteenth century folk song "Silver Dagger". Some of the songs, such as "Marble Lions" and "Former Lover" forsake electronics for classical folk instrumentation and orchestral arrangements. One, "Western Wind", is a traditional English folk song.
The band wrote most of the songs in the Forest of Dean, in the hope that the countryside would inspire folk ideas. The original intention was for all the songs to be about death.
Tiger Bay was released in the UK in June 1994. The original cover art is James Clarke Hook's "Welcome Bonny Boat", doctored to include the band members.
The American edition of the album replaced the UK cover art with a photograph of the band smartly dressed at a table. It does not include the "Western Wind"/"Tankerville" suite. In place of the cut songs is the single "I Was Born On Christmas Day" and remixes by Daniel Abraham of "Hug My Soul" and "Like a Motorway".
Tiger Bay was reissued in 1996 by Creation Records, in part because of Saint Etienne's absence from the music scene, but also because of their formal move to Creation Records. The reissue featured another new cover, this time showing Giuditta del Vecchio (from the film Léolo); the back shows a picture of the group. The inner sleeve was updated, and includes a short commentary on the album by journalist and friend of the group Simon Price, as well as a new selection of photographs with a summery theme. The album itself features a slightly shuffled track listing. "Marble Lions" is moved to appear after "Pale Movie". The second occurrence of "Western Wind" is removed completely; instead "Tankerville" fades into "Boy Scouts of America". "Former Lover" is also edited, although less noticeably, with only the opening guitar chords being removed. The reissue also features four extra tracks – "I Buy American Records", "Grovely Road", "Hate your Drug" and the single edit of "He's on the Phone".
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