Cloudcuckooland (album)


Cloudcuckooland is the debut album by British band the Lightning Seeds, released in 1990. "Pure" was the band's first hit in the United Kingdom, and their only top 40 entry in the United States.
Liverpool scene peers Andy McCluskey and Ian McNabb – frontmen of OMD and the Icicle Works, respectively – appeared in guest roles.

Reception and legacy

Dean Carlson of AllMusic awarded the album 4/5 stars, and wrote: "Even in these early days, with singles like "Pure" and "All I Want", you can hear why comparisons to a less burlesque Pet Shop Boys or a Matthew Sweet synth tribute band didn't have to be unpleasant criticisms."
"All I Want" was covered by Susanna Hoffs, formerly of the Bangles, on her 1996 album Susanna Hoffs. It was a minor US hit and a UK hit at No. 33 for two weeks.

Track listing

The CD version of Cloudcuckooland included an extra track, "God Help Them", which was originally a B-side and not on the LP version. The US track listing differs from the UK version with "God Help Them" replaced by two other B-sides, "Fools" and "Frenzy", and it was released on the MCA label rather than the indie label Ghetto. The re-release of the US album includes a new recording of "All I Want".
All songs written by Ian Broudie.
  1. "All I Want" – 2:50
  2. "Bound in a Nutshell" – 4:29
  3. "Pure" – 3:45
  4. "Sweet Dreams" – 4:25
  5. "The Nearly Man" – 3:06
  6. "Joy" – 4:13
  7. "Love Explosion" – 4:10
  8. "Don't Let Go" – 3:54
  9. "Control the Flame" – 3:22
  10. "The Price" – 4:20
The track "Sweet Dreams" was released in the US as a promo single on MCA Records which included a cover of Tim Hardin's "Hang Onto a Dream" and a version of "Flaming Sword" originally by Care, a former band of Broudie.

Bonus tracks

;UK CD bonus track
  2. "God Help Them" – 3:44
;U.S. bonus tracks
  2. "Fools" – 4:08
  4. "Frenzy" – 3:56

    Personnel

;The Lightning Seeds
;Production
;Additional musicians
;Other personnel