Velveteen (album)

Velveteen is the second studio album by English rock band Transvision Vamp, released in June 1989 by MCA Records. The album includes the single "Baby I Don't Care", which reached number 3 in the United Kingdom and Australia. Velveteen reached number 1 on the UK Albums Chart and number 2 in Australia, where it became the 39th best-selling album of the year.^[4]

Velveteen
Studio album by Transvision Vamp
Released	June 1989
Recorded	1989
Studio	Moody Studios, Acton, London; Eastcote Studios, Kensal Road, London; The Town House, London
Genre	Rock[1] bubblegum[1]
Length	50:10
Label	MCA
Producer	Duncan Bridgeman Zeus B. Held[2]
Transvision Vamp chronology
Pop Art (1988) Velveteen (1989) The Complete 12"ers Collection Vol. 1 (1990)
Singles from Velveteen
"Baby I Don't Care" Released: 1989 "The Only One" Released: 28 August 1989[3] "Landslide of Love" Released: 1989 "Born to Be Sold" Released: 1989

An accompanying video album, titled The Velveteen Singles, features the videos for all four singles released from the album, as well as behind-the-scenes footage.

Critical reception

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[5]
Chicago Tribune	[6]
Hi-Fi News & Record Review	A:1[7]
NME	3/10[8]
Number One	[9]
Record Mirror	4/5[10]
The Village Voice	B+[11]

Hi-Fi News & Record Review praised Velveteen as "some of the best pure pop of any type in the UK today",^[7] while David Martin of Number One declared it "the best album of the year" and Transvision Vamp as "one of our most precocious young bands".^[9] Music Week reviewer Jeff Clark-Meads found the band more successful with "fast and loud" material, while noting that "there are enough tracks here with pace and raunch to carry the casual listener through the slower, limits-of-ability-defining tracks", and summarising: "Indeed, as a package the album has life, verve and muscle and will appeal to anybody who finds the band's singles attractive."^[12] David Quantick, however, panned Velveteen in NME as "a heartless, brainless rummage through pop music's pockets", accusing Transvision Vamp of lacking "imagination, wit, or fun."^[8]

In the United States, Chicago Tribune critic Tom Popson wrote that "the vocal dipsy-doodle edges into overkill more than once, but just as often the band delivers arresting moments of fast-paced, trashy-toned music."^[6] The Village Voice's Robert Christgau commented that lead singer Wendy James "does love-versus-sex and tragedy-of-fame almost as good as Patti now" and "should create enduring art for the next two–three years or as long as her attitude holds, whichever comes first."^[11]

Track listing

All tracks written by Nick Christian Sayer, except where noted.^[2]

1. "Baby I Don't Care" – 4:37
2. "The Only One" – 4:19
3. "Landslide of Love" – 3:48
4. "Falling for a Goldmine" (Sayer, Marcus Myers) – 4:28
5. "Down on You" – 4:20
6. "Song to the Stars" – 1:50
7. "Kiss Their Sons" – 4:16
8. "Born to Be Sold" – 3:44
9. "Pay the Ghosts" – 4:37
10. "Bad Valentine" – 3:45
11. "Velveteen" – 9:51

Personnel

Transvision Vamp

• Wendy James – vocals
• Nick Christian Sayer – guitar
• Dave Parsons – bass
• Tex Axile – keyboards
• Kevin Armstrong – guitar

with:

• Richard Niles – string arrangements on "Landslide of Love" and "Velveteen"

Technical

• Ben Kape, Philip Bagenal – engineer
• Peter Ashworth – photography

Charts

Weekly charts Weekly chart performance for Velveteen Chart (1989) Peak position Australian Albums (ARIA)[13] 2 European Albums (Music & Media)[14] 10 Finnish Albums (Suomen virallinen lista)[15] 6 German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[16] 25 New Zealand Albums (RMNZ)[17] 12 Norwegian Albums (VG-lista)[18] 20 Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan)[19] 37 Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[20] 16 UK Albums (OCC)[21] 1

Year-end charts Year-end chart performance for Velveteen Chart (1989) Position Australian Albums (ARIA)[4] 39 European Albums (Music & Media)[22] 77 UK Albums (Gallup)[23] 31