Flex is the second studio album by English-American singer-songwriter Lene Lovich, released in January 1980 by Stiff Records. The album is produced by Lovich and Les Chappell with additional production by Roger Bechirian and Alan Winstanley. It was recorded at the Wisseloord Studios in Hilversum, Netherlands. She worked with Chappell and Judge Smith on writing the songs.
The cover sleeve depicts Lovich wearing a wedding dress and playing with hockey pucks on a string. It was taken inside a stainless steel fermentation tank at a Guinness brewery, after it had been emptied prior to cleaning. It caused controversy and few members of the Baptist church tried to get the album banned in the United States, saying it depicted an act of witchcraft.
Lovich described Flex as her more introverted album. After its release, it received relatively positive reviews praising album's enhanced production compared to her previous album Stateless' rough sound. It was also more successful in charts, peaking at number 94 on the Billboard 200 and number 19 on the UK Albums Chart.[5] The lead single "Bird Song" peaked at number 39 on the UK Singles Chart. The following singles were "Angels" and "What Will I Do Without You?", of which the latter peaked at number 58.[5]
The release of the album was followed by Lovich's first sold-out tour in the United States and a three-month tour within Europe, the highlight of which was a sold-out show in front of 10,000 fans in Belgrade.[6]
After the release of her successful debut album Stateless in 1978, Lovich embarked on the Be Stiff '78 tour along with four other artists from the recording label. In the middle of 1979, she had two top 20 hits, "Lucky Number" and "Say When", and was voted "Top Female Recording Artist of the Year" by Music Week.[6] She went on to record her second more improved album and enhance the quality of productions by using modern technology and instruments to achieve a better sound than her previous record.[7] She again collaborated with Les Chappell and also brought Judge Smith, who wrote two songs on the album. Flex was recorded at the Wisseloord Studios in Hilversum, Netherlands.
Compositionedit
"I’m quite happy for people to read in many different stories to my music. It always interests me when people come up and say, 'I know what that song is about' and they tell me a new story that I haven’t ever heard of before. I feel very strongly in people exercising their own imaginations."
Described as Lovich's more introverted album, Flex deals with subjects that include more of emotional and mental activity, and are often inspired by dream images. The opening track "Bird Song" was written by Lovich and Les Chappell. When Lovich woke up in the night from a dream, she recorded different sounds on a tape recorder. The recording later served as an inspiration for the song, where at the beginning she mimics the sounds of birds. "What Will I Do Without You?" is a song written especially for the album by Judge Smith. Another song written by him appears on the album, "You Can't Kill Me", which he had already written in 1972. It deals with reincarnation. "Angels" is a song dedicated to people who like to live dangerously. Lovich spoke on people who do dangerous jobs and that they serve as an inspiration to other people. She also said, working in the music industry can be sometimes mentally damaging, but is also a good recreation. "The Night" is a cover of The Four Seasons' song. Lovich picked up the record in a second hand shop out of curiosity, since she had been interested in the band's music and later decided to record it for the album.
In "Egghead", Lovich sings about people constantly learning a lot of facts, but not understanding life and practical things. In "Wonderful One", she expresses her feelings about music and how blessed she feels being able to create it. "Monkey Talk" was allegedly inspired by two books, one by Charles Darwin and Planet of the Apes by Pierre Boulle. It points out the transience of success. Using the image of Joan of Arc, "Joan" speaks about the necessity of self-confidence to trust your own ideas.[7]
^ ab"Lene Lovich - Press material", Epic, October 29, 1982.
^ abcLene Lovich - Interview (Promotional LP). Greg Torrington. Epic / Stiff Records. 1 January 1980. CDN 26.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
^Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 (illustrated ed.). St Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. p. 182. ISBN0-646-11917-6.
^"Offizielle Deutsche Charts > Lene Lovich - Flex (in German)". GfK Entertainment. Retrieved 26 December 2021.
flex, album, flex, second, studio, album, english, american, singer, songwriter, lene, lovich, released, january, 1980, stiff, records, album, produced, lovich, chappell, with, additional, production, roger, bechirian, alan, winstanley, recorded, wisseloord, s. Flex is the second studio album by English American singer songwriter Lene Lovich released in January 1980 by Stiff Records The album is produced by Lovich and Les Chappell with additional production by Roger Bechirian and Alan Winstanley It was recorded at the Wisseloord Studios in Hilversum Netherlands She worked with Chappell and Judge Smith on writing the songs FlexStudio album by Lene LovichReleased18 January 1980 1 Recorded1979StudioWisseloord Studios Hilversum NetherlandsGenreNew waveLength37 38LabelStiffProducerLene Lovich Les Chappell Roger Bechirian Alan WinstanleyLene Lovich chronologyStateless 1978 Flex 1980 No Man s Land 1982 Singles from Flex Bird Song Released September 28 1979 Angels Released January 1980 What Will I Do Without You Released March 1980Professional ratingsReview scoresSourceRatingAllMusic 2 Record Mirror 3 Smash Hits6 10 4 The cover sleeve depicts Lovich wearing a wedding dress and playing with hockey pucks on a string It was taken inside a stainless steel fermentation tank at a Guinness brewery after it had been emptied prior to cleaning It caused controversy and few members of the Baptist church tried to get the album banned in the United States saying it depicted an act of witchcraft Lovich described Flex as her more introverted album After its release it received relatively positive reviews praising album s enhanced production compared to her previous album Stateless rough sound It was also more successful in charts peaking at number 94 on the Billboard 200 and number 19 on the UK Albums Chart 5 The lead single Bird Song peaked at number 39 on the UK Singles Chart The following singles were Angels and What Will I Do Without You of which the latter peaked at number 58 5 The release of the album was followed by Lovich s first sold out tour in the United States and a three month tour within Europe the highlight of which was a sold out show in front of 10 000 fans in Belgrade 6 Contents 1 Background and recording 2 Composition 3 Track listings 4 Charts 5 Credits and personnel 6 References 7 External linksBackground and recording editAfter the release of her successful debut album Stateless in 1978 Lovich embarked on the Be Stiff 78 tour along with four other artists from the recording label In the middle of 1979 she had two top 20 hits Lucky Number and Say When and was voted Top Female Recording Artist of the Year by Music Week 6 She went on to record her second more improved album and enhance the quality of productions by using modern technology and instruments to achieve a better sound than her previous record 7 She again collaborated with Les Chappell and also brought Judge Smith who wrote two songs on the album Flex was recorded at the Wisseloord Studios in Hilversum Netherlands Composition edit I m quite happy for people to read in many different stories to my music It always interests me when people come up and say I know what that song is about and they tell me a new story that I haven t ever heard of before I feel very strongly in people exercising their own imaginations Lene Lovich about the meanings of her songs 7 Described as Lovich s more introverted album Flex deals with subjects that include more of emotional and mental activity and are often inspired by dream images The opening track Bird Song was written by Lovich and Les Chappell When Lovich woke up in the night from a dream she recorded different sounds on a tape recorder The recording later served as an inspiration for the song where at the beginning she mimics the sounds of birds What Will I Do Without You is a song written especially for the album by Judge Smith Another song written by him appears on the album You Can t Kill Me which he had already written in 1972 It deals with reincarnation Angels is a song dedicated to people who like to live dangerously Lovich spoke on people who do dangerous jobs and that they serve as an inspiration to other people She also said working in the music industry can be sometimes mentally damaging but is also a good recreation The Night is a cover of The Four Seasons song Lovich picked up the record in a second hand shop out of curiosity since she had been interested in the band s music and later decided to record it for the album In Egghead Lovich sings about people constantly learning a lot of facts but not understanding life and practical things In Wonderful One she expresses her feelings about music and how blessed she feels being able to create it Monkey Talk was allegedly inspired by two books one by Charles Darwin and Planet of the Apes by Pierre Boulle It points out the transience of success Using the image of Joan of Arc Joan speaks about the necessity of self confidence to trust your own ideas 7 Track listings editFlex 1979 No TitleWriter s Length1 Bird Song Lene LovichLes Chappell4 272 What Will I Do Without You Judge Smith3 353 Angels LovichChappell3 084 The Night Bob GaudioAl Ruzicka4 315 You Can t Kill Me Smith3 456 Egghead LovichChappell2 267 Wonderful One LovichChappell4 288 Monkey Talk LovichChappell3 209 Joan LovichChappell3 1810 The Freeze LovichChappell4 40Total length 37 38 U S CD Reissue bonus tracks Flex Plus 1991 No TitleWriter s NotesLength11 New Toy Thomas DolbyFrom New Toy EP3 1912 Savages LovichChappellFrom New Toy EP3 5213 Special Star LovichChappellFrom New Toy EP3 1114 Never Never Land Jimme O NeillFrom New Toy EP4 0715 Cats Away LovichChappellFrom New Toy EP3 4416 Details LovichChappellFrom New Toy EP3 1217 It s You Only You Mein Schmerz Eric De ZwaanFerdinand BakkerHugo SinzheimerJan VosterJob TarenskeenAke DanielsonFrom No Man s Land album3 3918 Blue Hotel LovichChappellMauro GoldsandFrom No Man s Land album3 46Total length 66 28 U S Cassette Reissue bonus tracks Flex Plus 1991 No TitleWriter s NotesLength11 New Toy Thomas DolbyFrom New Toy EP3 1912 Never Never Land Jimme O NeillFrom New Toy EP4 07Total length 45 04 German CD Reissue bonus tracks 1991 No TitleWriter s NotesLength11 The Fly LovichChappellB side of Angels 7 amp 12 2 5812 One Lonely Heart LovichChappellB side of Say When 12 3 2113 O Seasons O Castles LovichChappellB side of Maria Australian 7 amp Blue Hotel German 7 2 4914 Blue LovichChappellB side of It s You Only You Mein Schmertz 7 amp 12 2 57Total length 49 43 Europe CD Reissue Bonus Tracks 1993 No TitleWriter s NotesLength11 The Fly LovichChappellB side of Angels 7 amp 12 2 5812 One Lonely Heart LovichChappellB side of Say When 7 amp 12 3 1913 O Seasons O Castles LovichChappellB side of Maria Australian 7 amp Blue Hotel German 7 2 4914 Blue LovichChappellB side of It s You Only You Mein Schmertz 7 amp 12 2 5715 Trixi LovichChappellB side of Bird Song 7 amp 12 2 30Total length 52 13Charts editChart 1980 PeakpositionAustralia Kent Music Report 8 81Germany GfK Entertainment Charts 9 39Sweden Sverigetopplistan 10 38UK Official Charts Company 19US Billboard 200 11 94Credits and personnel editPersonnelLene Lovich vocals saxophone backing vocals Les Chappell guitar synthesizer backing vocals Justin Hildreth drums backing vocals Mark Heyward Chaplin bass backing vocals Dean Klevatt keyboards backing vocals Nick Plytas keyboards Chris Judge Smith additional vocalsDesignC More Tone Studios design Brian Griffin photography ProductionRoger Bechirian producer backing vocals Alan Winstanley producer Peter Bord engineer Credits adapted from the album s liner notes 12 References edit New Albums PDF Record Business 14 January 1980 p 28 Retrieved 3 August 2022 Flex at AllMusic Retrieved December 18 2011 Soave Daniela 19 January 1980 Cordless Record Mirror p 15 Starr Red Albums Smash Hits January 24 February 6 1980 21 a b LENE LOVICH Artist Official Charts a b Lene Lovich Press material Epic October 29 1982 a b c Lene Lovich Interview Promotional LP Greg Torrington Epic Stiff Records 1 January 1980 CDN 26 a href Template Cite AV media notes html title Template Cite AV media notes cite AV media notes a CS1 maint others in cite AV media notes link Kent David 1993 Australian Chart Book 1970 1992 illustrated ed St Ives N S W Australian Chart Book p 182 ISBN 0 646 11917 6 Offizielle Deutsche Charts gt Lene Lovich Flex in German GfK Entertainment Retrieved 26 December 2021 swedishcharts com gt Discography Lene Lovich Hung Medien Retrieved 26 December 2021 Lene Lovich gt Chart History gt Billboard 200 Billboard Retrieved 26 December 2021 Flex LP Lene Lovich Stiff Records 1979 SEEZ 19 a href Template Cite AV media notes html title Template Cite AV media notes cite AV media notes a CS1 maint others in cite AV media notes link External links editFlex at AllMusic Flex at Discogs list of releases Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Flex album amp oldid 1182177604, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
