| "Cut It Out" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Single by The Go-Betweens | ||||
| from the album Tallulah | ||||
| A-side | "Cut It Out" | |||
| B-side | "Time in the Desert" | |||
| Released | 11 May 1987 | |||
| Recorded |
| |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | 3:58 | |||
| Label | Beggars Banquet | |||
| Songwriter(s) | Grant McLennan, Robert Forster [1] | |||
| Producer(s) | Craig Leon | |||
| The Go-Betweens singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
"Cut It Out" is a song by the Australian alternative band The Go-Betweens that was released as the second single their fifth studio album Tallulah. It was released as a 7" and 12" vinyl single on the Beggars Banquet label in the United Kingdom on 11 May 1987, with "Time in the Desert" as the B-side.
"Cut It Out", was recorded with producer Craig Leon in London in late December 1986. [2] "Time in the Desert" was then recorded in the second week in January, with producer Richard Preston. [2]
Details
Forster described the song as, "a riffy thing that we would jam on backstage; it had a choppy, mid-60s R&B feel to it." Unhappy with the recording, Forster wrote that it is, "the worst song in the Go-Betweens catalogue." [3]
Critical reception
Ian Cranna in his review of the song in Smash Hits states "surprise galore with a most un-folky laboured guitar and drum machine "riff", great backing vocalists and swirling organ followed by a contrasting heavenly girlie chorus. It's a wonderful piece of work but doomed as a single because those dullards at Radio One will never play anything so adventurous." [4] John Aizlewood however was less enthusiastic in his review commenting "Poor little Go-Betweens, always searching for the hit in the haystack. Never finding it. This isn't the hit, beautiful, stately and dignified though it is. ' Spring Rain' was the hit and that wasn't, if you follow." [5]
Jason McNeil in Popmatters believes that the song "follows a different path, yet the chorus is pure gold, drawing the listener in again." [6] Sounds felt the single was a "mildly disappointing" follow up to " Right Here, but described it as, "A swaggering stomp that bursts a bouquet of lyrical barbed wire over an expensive sounding bass sound and a sharply punctuating backbeat." [7]
In his review of Tallulah, at Allmusic, Thom Jurek describes "the nearly funky organ and bass swirl of "Cut It Out," is unlike any Go-Betweens song before or since." [8]
In David Nichols' book, The Go-Betweens he describes "Cut It Out" as representing "very neatly what striving for commercial success was doing to the Go-Betweens." He goes on to state "It is disjointed, mechanical, and trite, and while in some cases such attributes can combine to make winning pop music, 'Cut It Out' is just a slender tune battered to death by studio effects." [2]
Track listing
All tracks are written by G. McLennan, R. Forster [1]
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Cut It Out" | 3:58 |
| 2. | "Time in the Desert" | 2:32 |
| Total length: | 6:30 | |
All tracks are written by G. McLennan, R. Forster, except where noted.
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Cut It Out" | 6:23 |
| 2. | "Time in the Desert" | 3:51 |
| 3. | "Doo Wop in 'A' (Bam Boom)" ( A. Brown, G. McLennan, L. Morrison, R. Forster) | 2:53 |
| Total length: | 13:07 | |
Release history
| Region | Date | Label | Format | Catalogue |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| United Kingdom | May 1987 | Beggars Banquet | 7" vinyl | BEG 190 |
| 12" vinyl | BEG 190T |
Credits
- The Go-Betweens
- Amanda Brown — violin, backing vocals
- Grant McLennan — lead vocals, guitar
- Lindy Morrison — drums
- Robert Forster — backing vocals, guitar
- Robert Vickers — bass
- Production
- Producer – Craig Leon ("Cut It Out")
- Assistant Producer – Cassell Webb ("Cut It Out")
- Engineer – Sid Wells ("Cut It Out")
- Producer — Richard Preston ("Time in the Desert")
References
- ^ a b "'Cut It Out' at APRA search engine". Australasian Performing Right Association (APRA). Archived from the original on 17 November 2015. Retrieved 25 July 2015. Note: User may have to click on 'Search again' and provide details at 'Enter a title:', e.g. Cut It Out; or at 'Performer:' The Go-Betweens.
- ^ a b c David, Nichols (2003). The Go-Betweens. Portland, OR: Verse Chorus Press. ISBN 1-891241-16-8. Note: [online] version has limited functionality.
- ^ Robert Forster (2016). Grant & I. Penguin. pp. 173–174. ISBN 978-0-6700782-2-6.
- ^ Cranna, Ian (1987). "The Go-Betweens: Cut It Out (Beggars Banquet Records)". Smash Hits. Retrieved 3 August 2015.
- ^ Aizlewood, John (May 1987). "The Go-Betweens - Cut It Out (Beggars Banquet)". No.1 Review. Retrieved 3 August 2015.
- ^ McNeil, Jason (3 February 2005). "16 Lovers Lane / Tallulah". Popmatters. Retrieved 25 July 2015.
- ^ Roy Wilkinson (16 May 1987). "THE GO-BETWEENS: Cut It Out". Sounds.
- ^ Jurek, Thom. "Tallulah - The Go-Betweens". Allmusic. Retrieved 25 July 2015.