Wings of Joy

Wings of Joy is the debut studio album by English rock band Cranes.^[5] The album was released on 16 September 1991 by Dedicated Records.^[6] It followed the band's mini-album Self-Non-Self, released two years earlier.

Wings of Joy
Studio album by Cranes
Released	16 September 1991 (1991-09-16)
Studio	First Protocol (London)
Genre	Dream pop,[1] Neo-psychedelia[2]
Length	44:09
Label	Dedicated
Producer	Cranes
Cranes chronology
Self-Non-Self (1989) Wings of Joy (1991) Forever (1993)
Singles from Wings of Joy
"Adoration" Released: 13 May 1991[3] "Tomorrow's Tears" Released: 26 August 1991[4]

Critical reception

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[7]
Chicago Tribune	[8]
Los Angeles Times	[9]
NME	7/10[10]
The Philadelphia Inquirer	[11]
Q	[12]
Rolling Stone	[13]
Select	4/5[14]
Vox	8/10[15]

The Washington Post determined that "the Cranes' balladeering may be a little bland, and even irksome when A. Shaw's voice is at its most little-girlish, but it's actually more appealing than the group's harder side".^[2]

Ned Raggett of AllMusic called Wings of Joy "a beautiful, if unsettling, piece of work" and found that in comparison to Cranes' earlier work, "the gripping, chilling atmosphere that Cranes dwell in hasn't moved an inch, but in terms of approach ... the quartet has continued to expand its palette."^[7]

Track listing

All lyrics are written by Alison Shaw; all music is composed by Jim Shaw.

No.	Title	Length
1.	"Watersong"	3:51
2.	"Thursday"	4:23
3.	"Living and Breathing"	3:30
4.	"Leaves of Summer"	3:44
5.	"Starblood"	3:35
6.	"Sixth of May"	4:39
7.	"Wish"	3:58
8.	"Tomorrow's Tears"	3:59
9.	"Beautiful Sadness"	4:04
10.	"Hopes Are High"	2:59
11.	"Adoration"	5:27
Total length:		44:09

UK limited CD edition bonus disc

No.	Title	Length
1.	"Inescapable"	2:45
2.	"Dada 331"	3:11
3.	"I Hope"	4:00
4.	"E.G. Shining"	3:46
Total length:		13:42

UK limited LP edition bonus disc

No.	Title	Length
1.	"Starblood" (remix)	3:38
2.	"Fuse" (original version)	3:32
3.	"Self Non Self"	2:15
Total length:		9:25

Personnel

Credits are adapted from the album's liner notes.^[16]

Cranes

• Matt Cope – guitar
• Mark Francombe – guitar
• Alison Shaw – vocals, bass
• Jim Shaw – drums, guitar, piano

Production

• Cranes – production
• Gail Lambourne – engineering

Design

• Robert Coleman – design

Charts

Chart (1991)	Peak position
UK Albums (OCC)[17]	52
UK Independent Albums (OCC)[18]	4