Suicide (1977 album)
Suicide is the debut studio album from the American rock band Suicide. It was released in 1977 on Red Star Records and produced by Craig Leon and Marty Thau. The album was recorded in four days at Ultima Sound Studios in New York and featured Martin Rev's minimalist electronics and harsh, repetitive rhythms paired with Alan Vega's rock and roll-inspired vocals and depictions of urban life.
Suicide
Upon its initial release, Suicide was greeted with some favorable reception from the UK press, but was universally panned in the United States, where it failed to chart. However, the album would soon be regarded as a milestone in electronic and rock music. In 2013, Pitchfork named Suicide one of the greatest albums of the 1970s, while in 2012 and 2020, Rolling Stone ranked it as one of the 500 greatest albums of all time.[1] The album also influenced artists in various genres, including Bruce Springsteen, the Fleshtones, Spacemen 3,[2] and Peaches.
Style[edit]
Musically, Suicide has been described as synth-punk,[7] electronic rock,[7] and synth-pop,[8] while also being labeled electronic[9] and minimalist.[10] All the songs on the album have a "stripped down" sound with Martin Rev providing a backing combining "harshly hypnotic organs" and "dense, unnerving electronics".[11] The vocals on the album provided by Alan Vega have been described as similar to Gene Vincent.[11] In 2012, Vega stated that "originally I was a rock'n'roll kid; I was born into the rock'n'roll era of 45s in the late fifties" and that "Elvis Presley to me is like God, and Roy Orbison and Jerry Lee Lewis, they're my triumvirate."[12][13] "Johnny" was described by the online music database AllMusic as a showcase for the band's "affinity for '50s melodies and images, as well as their pop leanings."[11]
Martin Rev described the songs "Frankie Teardrop", "Johnny" and "Cheree" as being about street people.[5] "Frankie Teardrop" was influenced by a story Alan Vega read in a newspaper about a factory worker who lost his job and resorted to murdering his wife and child before committing suicide.[5] The lyrics of the song were improvised by Vega, who attempted to get into the mindset of both the factory worker and his family.[5] "Cheree" was about a girlfriend of Martin Rev.[7]
Release[edit]
Suicide was first released in December 1977. Howard Thompson of Bronze Records in the United Kingdom received a copy of the album from the United States. After listening to it he went to New York to see the group perform live and negotiate a deal to license their music for Bronze.[14][15] The album failed to chart in both the United States and the United Kingdom.[7] A single for the song "Cheree" was released in May 1978 on both 7-inch and 12-inch vinyl formats.[16][17] The single featured a remixed version of "Cheree" with the B-side "I Remember".[16] John Lydon reviewed the single for the NME, referring to it as "'Je t'aime' with tape hiss".[16]
The album was re-issued by Red Star Records in 1980.[18] The album has been re-released on other labels including Mute Records in 1998 and Blast First Records on compact disc and digital download formats with varying bonus tracks.[19][20]
In popular culture[edit]
The album was influential in the development of many musical genres, including post-punk, synth-pop and industrial rock.[11] Tony Fletcher wrote in All Hopped Up and Ready to Go: Music from the Streets of New York 1927–77 that it would "in its own way", become as influential as other acclaimed punk albums such as Horses, Ramones and Marquee Moon.[30] In 2017, Henry Rollins, singer for Black Flag and Rollins Band, described "Frankie Teardrop" as "the single most intense song I've ever heard in my life".[37]
Songs from the album have been featured in various forms of media since the album's initial release. Director Rainer Werner Fassbinder contacted Red Star to get the rights for "Frankie Teardrop" for his film In a Year of 13 Moons.[33] The song is featured during a party scene.[33] "Cheree" was used by director Edo Bertoglio for his film Downtown 81, a film shot in the early 1980s but not completed until 1999.[38][39]
Several music artists and groups have covered songs from Suicide. Fellow New Yorkers the Fleshtones recorded a cover of "Rocket U.S.A." for their debut album Blast Off!. The album was produced by Marty Thau and when Alan Vega visited him when he was recording the album at Blank Studios, he was invited to sing while the group performed the song.[40][41] Question Mark and the Mysterians recorded a cover of "Cheree" in 1996. English rapper M.I.A.'s song "Born Free" was based on a sample of "Ghost Rider". Bruce Springsteen stated that his song "State Trooper" from the album Nebraska was heavily influenced by "Frankie Teardrop".[13] He frequently covered "Dream Baby Dream" live. In 2008, a series of EPs were released in tribute to Suicide by various recording artists to celebrate Alan Vega's 70th birthday.[42][43] Songs from the album that were part of the series included "Johnny" covered by Peaches, "Frankie Teardrop" covered by Lydia Lunch, "Che" by Sunn O))), Spacemen 3 and Pan Sonic, and "Rocket U.S.A." covered by Nik Void.[42][44][45][46]
Credits adapted from liner notes.[47]