Friendly as a Hand Grenade

Friendly as a Hand Grenade is an album by the American band Tackhead.^[7] It was released in 1989 through TVT Records.^[8]

Friendly as a Hand Grenade
Studio album by Tackhead
Released	1989
Recorded	Unique Recording, NYC and Matrix and Southern Studios, London
Genre	Funk, industrial
Length	36:12
Label	TVT, World
Producer	Tackhead
Tackhead chronology
Tackhead Tape Time (1987) Friendly as a Hand Grenade (1989) Strange Things (1990)

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[1]
Chicago Tribune	[2]
The Encyclopedia of Popular Music	[3]
Houston Chronicle	[4]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide	[5]
Spin Alternative Record Guide	7/10[6]

Production

The band added Bernard Fowler on vocals, and changed its name from Gary Clail's Tackhead Sound System.^[9] The album cover art is by Gee Vaucher.^[10]

Critical reception

The New York Times wrote that Tackhead "draw deep, swampy grooves from funk, rap, house music and dub reggae, then add a paranoid overlay."^[11]

Trouser Press wrote: "Opening and closing with the jaunty 'Ska Trek', living up to the title of 'Demolition House' and pursuing the by-now-familiar sardonic comments on the military with the infectious 'Airborne Ranger', the album captures Tackhead at its most coherent."^[9] The Spin Alternative Record Guide declared that "at its best, the group melded deeply psychedelic rock and funk in a way that the Red Hot Chili Peppers could only dream of."^[6]

Track listing

All tracks are written by Bernard Fowler, Keith LeBlanc, Skip McDonald, Adrian Sherwood and Doug Wimbish, except "Ska Trek" by Prince Buster.

No.	Title	Length
1.	"Ska Trek"	0:48
2.	"Tell Me the Hurt"	5:16
3.	"Mind and Movement"	5:23
4.	"Stealing"	6:32
5.	"Airborne Ranger"	5:01
6.	"Body to Burn"	1:04
7.	"Demolition House"	4:08
8.	"Free South Africa"	1:56
9.	"Ticking Time Bomb"	4:23
10.	"Ska Trek"	1:34

Personnel

Tackhead

• Bernard Fowler – keyboards, vocals
• Keith LeBlanc – drums, percussion, drum programming, sampler
• Skip McDonald – engineering, guitar, keyboards, synthesizer, vocals
• Doug Wimbish – bass guitar, guitar, keyboards, vocals

Additional musicians and production

• Dave Pine – engineering
• Adrian Sherwood – engineering, mixing
• Tackhead – producer

Charts

Chart (1989)	Peak position
UK Indie Chart[12]	3

Release history

Region	Date	Label	Format	Catalog
United Kingdom	1989	World	CD, LP	WR013
United States	1989	TVT	CD, LP	TVT 4060
Japan	1989	Alfa Records, Inc	CD	ALCA-553