So Tough
| So Tough | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
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| Studio album by Saint Etienne | ||||
| Released | 9 March 1993 | |||
| Recorded | Summer – Autumn 1992 at RMS, London | |||
| Genre | Alternative dance, ambient house, synthpop, electronica | |||
| Length |
48:29 (UK version) 55:40 (US version) |
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| Label |
Heavenly (UK) – HVNLP 6 Warners (US)- 9 45166 |
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| Producer | Saint Etienne | |||
| Saint Etienne chronology | ||||
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| Singles from So Tough | ||||
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| Professional ratings | |
|---|---|
| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| Allmusic |   |
| BBC | (favourable) |
| Robert Christgau | A– |
| Rolling Stone |  |
| Pitchfork Media | (8.9/10) |
| The Village Voice | favourable |
48:29 (UK version)
So Tough (1993) is the second studio album by British band Saint Etienne. It is their highest-charting album to date, reaching No. 7 on the UK Album Chart. The album takes its title from the Beach Boys album Carl and the Passions – "So Tough".
The album was indebted to sixties classics, The Who Sell Out by The Who, Smile by The Beach Boys and Head by The Monkees. The album was originally intended as a concept album which starts at Mario's Cafe in London then travels around the world, however it came to be viewed as a solely London album.
One of the distinctive features of the album is the use of samples between the songs. The band were keen to use linking dialogue, similar to that used in The Who Sell Out or on contemporary hip-hop albums. They are taken from a variety of sources including dialogue from film and television. The original sources include the films Peeping Tom, Billy Liar, The Picture of Dorian Gray, Lord of the Flies and That'll Be the Day, as well as the television series The Family and the 1958 stereo demonstration album A Journey into Stereophonic Sound. Additionally, the track "Conchita Martinez" features a recurring sample from the opening riff of Rush's 1980 hit "The Spirit of Radio".
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Wikipedia