Oedipus Schmoedipus

Oedipus Schmoedipus is an album by the English musician Barry Adamson, released in 1996.^[3][4] Like Adamson's previous albums, Oedipus Schmoedipus was conceived as a soundtrack to an imaginary film.^[5] The album peaked at No. 51 on the UK Albums Chart.^[6]

Oedipus Schmoedipus
Studio album by Barry Adamson
Released	1996
Studio	GT Eden; Worldwide Studios, London
Genre	Art rock[1]
Label	Mute[2]
Producer	Barry Adamson
Barry Adamson chronology
Soul Murder (1992) Oedipus Schmoedipus (1996) As Above, So Below (1998)

"Something Wicked This Way Comes" appears in the David Lynch film Lost Highway.^[7]

Production

The album was produced by Adamson.^[8] Nick Cave cowrote and contributed vocals to "The Sweetest Embrace", while Jarvis Cocker cowrote and sang on "Set the Controls for the Heart of the Pelvis".^[9][10] Billy Mackenzie sang on "Achieved in the Valley of Dolls".^[11]

Critical reception

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[12]
The Encyclopedia of Popular Music	[2]
MusicHound Rock: The Essential Album Guide	[8]
Muzik	[13]
NME	7/10[14]
Pitchfork	8.1/10[15]

NME called the album "too cool to be cringingly kitsch, too deep to be flaky."^[14] Pitchfork stated that, "with 13 tracks that sound like they could take form and commit acts of homicide on their own, the former Bad Seed's creation is undeniably ... alive."^[15]

The Guardian determined that "Adamson's psychogeographical soundtracks snag your head and won't let go: he's made a (bad) dream of a music that simulates mainstream accessibility but is drenched with the maker's own terrors, memories, fixations."^[16] Rolling Stone thought that "Adamson can brilliantly—and without words—suggest entire movie scenes with dizzying combinations of dance beats, jazz phrases, finger-snapping big-band arrangements, luscious strings and even references to '60s French pop."^[17]

AllMusic wrote that "Adamson's skill in layering and devising unusual sound textures still qualifies him as one of experimental rock's more imaginative composers and producers."^[12] Dave Thompson referred to the album as a "supreme slab of disturbance-with-a-(bit of a)-beat."^[18]

Track listing

All tracks composed by Barry Adamson, except where noted.

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"Set the Controls for the Heart of the Pelvis"	Adamson, Jarvis Cocker	5:37
2.	"Something Wicked This Way Comes"	Adamson, Adrian Thaws, Andrew Vowles, Charles Blackwell, Grant Marshall, Harry Middlebrooks, Jacques Datin, Maurice Vidalin, Mike Shapiro, Robert Del Naja	4:32
3.	"The Vibes Ain't Nothin' but the Vibes"		4:48
4.	"It's Business as Usual"	Adamson, Carla Bozulich, John Napier	4:28
5.	"Miles"	Miles Davis	5:26
6.	"Dirty Barry"		7:25
7.	"In a Moment of Clarity"		4:12
8.	"Achieved in the Valley of Dolls"	Adamson, Billy Mackenzie	4:26
9.	"Vermillion Kisses"		3:02
10.	"The Big Bamboozle"		3:33
11.	"State of Contraction"		1:37
12.	"The Sweetest Embrace"	Adamson, Nick Cave	4:46
13.	"Set the Controls Again"		1:32

Personnel

• Barry Adamson - lead vocals
• Mark De Lane Lea, Ken Low - guitar
• Richard Hand - classical guitar
• Jarvis Cocker - vocals on "Set the Controls for the Heart of the Pelvis"
• Billy Mackenzie - vocals on "Achieved in the Valley of Dolls"
• Nick Cave - vocals on "The Sweetest Embrace"
• Seamus Beaghen - Hammond organ, piano
• Pete Wyman - saxophone, clarinet
• Ileana Ruhemann - alto flute
• Carla Bozulich, John Napier - voice overs on "It's Business As Usual"
• Miranda Gooch - storyteller on "Vermillion Kisses"
• Beverley Skeete, Chantel Mapp, Roy Hamilton, Zeeteah Massiah - backing vocals
• Atticus Ross - programming and sounds on tracks 1-6
• Ivor Wimborne - additional programming
• Audrey Riley, Billy McGee - string arrangements

Technical

• Kevin Petrie - recording
• Barry Adamson, Simon Henwood - sleeve concept
• Steve Gullick - cover photography, still from Philippe Garrel's Le Révélateur