Cruel Inventions

1991 studio album by Sam Phillips

Cruel Inventions

Studio album by

Sam Phillips

Released| May 28, 1991 (1991-05-28)
Studio|

* Eagle Audio, Fort Worth, Texas
* Ocean Way, Los Angeles, California
* Sunset Sound Factory, Hollywood, California
* Reggie Fisher's, Los Angeles, California

Genre| Alternative rock
Length| 36:19
Label| Virgin
Producer| T Bone Burnett
Sam Phillips chronology
| The Indescribable Wow
(1988)  | Cruel Inventions
(1991)  | Martinis & Bikinis
(1994)

|
|

Cruel Inventions is the sixth studio album by American singer and songwriter Sam Phillips.

## Critical reception

[edit]

Professional ratingsReview scores

Source| Rating
AllMusic| [1]
Chicago Tribune| [2]
Christgau's Consumer Guide| [3]
The Encyclopedia of Popular Music| [4]
Entertainment Weekly| A[5]

Cruel Inventions received mostly favorable reviews from critics. At Entertainment Weekly, David Browne gave the album an A, writing that it "...is fraught with both beauty and tension, making it one of the year's most beguiling records."[5] Browne named it his sixth favorite album of 1991.[6]

## Track listing

[edit]

All tracks are written by Sam Phillips.

No.| Title| Length

|
|

1.| "Lying"| 3:52
2.| "Go Down"| 3:38
3.| "Cruel Inventions"| 3:00
4.| "Standing Still"| 3:10
5.| "Tripping Over Gravity"| 5:21
6.| "Now I Can't Find the Door"| 3:36
7.| "Private Storm"| 4:10
8.| "Raised on Promises"| 3:11
9.| "Hole in Time"| 3:19
10.| "Where the Colors Don't Go"| 3:02

## Personnel

[edit]

* Sam Phillips – vocals, Chamberlin, guitars
* T Bone Burnett – Chamberlin, guitars
* Van Dyke Parks – Chamberlin, string arrangements
* Jim Goodwin – acoustic piano
* Elvis Costello – guitars
* Marc Ribot – guitars
* Jerry Scheff – bass
* Alex Acuña – drums, percussion
* Michael Blair – drums, percussion
* Mickey Curry – drums, percussion
* Ralph Forbes – drums, percussion
* David Kemper – drums, percussion
* Scott Musick – drums, percussion
* Sandy Bull – oud
* The Sid Page Strings – string quartet
* Larry Corbett – cello
* John Acevedo – viola
* Sid Page – violin
* Joel Derouin – violin

## Production

[edit]

* T Bone Burnett – producer
* Stacy Baird – recording
* Rik Pekkonen – recording
* Joe Schiff – recording
* Tchad Blake – mixing
* Kevin Killen – mixing
* Max Garcia – assistant engineer
* Mark Guilbeault – assistant engineer
* Julie Last – assistant engineer
* Tom Nellen – assistant engineer
* Chris Niswander – assistant engineer
* Eric Rudd – assistant engineer
* Brian Soucy – assistant engineer
* Jeff Ward – assistant engineer
* Bob Ludwig – mastering at Masterdisk (New York City, New York)
* Melanie Nissen – art direction
* Inge Schapp – design
* Kathleen Philpott – design
* Anton Corbijn – photography
* Borman Entertainment – management

## References

[edit]

1. ^ McCartney, Kelly. "Review: Cruel Inventions". AllMusic. Retrieved November 24, 2011.
2. ^ Kot, Greg (June 27, 1991). "Sam Phillips Cruel Inventions (Virgin)". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved July 9, 2014.
3. ^ Christgau, Robert (October 15, 2000). "Sam Phillips: Cruel Inventions". Christgau's Consumer Guide: Albums of the '90s. Macmillan Publishing. ISBN 9780312245603.
4. ^ Larkin, Colin (2006). The encyclopedia of popular music: Indexes. Oxford University Press. p. 522\. ISBN 9780195313734.
5. ^ a b Browne, David (May 31, 1991). "Cruel Inventions (1991)". Entertainment Weekly. Archived from the original on April 1, 2007. Retrieved July 9, 2014.
6. ^ "1991's best (and worst) music". Entertainment Weekly. December 27, 1991.

* v
* t
* e

Sam Phillips

Studio albums|

| As Leslie Phillips|

* Beyond Saturday Night
* Dancing with Danger
* Black and White in a Grey World
* The Turning

|

As Sam Phillips|

* The Indescribable Wow
* Cruel Inventions
* Martinis & Bikinis
* Omnipop (It's Only a Flesh Wound Lambchop)
* Fan Dance
* A Boot and a Shoe
* Don't Do Anything
* Cameras in the Sky
* Push Any Button
* World On Sticks

Compilations|

* Recollection
* Zero Zero Zero

See also|

* T Bone Burnett
* Our Little Corner of the World: Music from Gilmore Girls

Authority control databases |

* MusicBrainz release group

|

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