Tin Machine II

Tin Machine II is an album by Tin Machine, originally released by Victory Music in 1991.

Recording

The band reconvened following their 1989 tour, recording several tracks in Australia before taking a rest while David Bowie conducted his solo Sound+Vision Tour and filmed The Linguini Incident. The group split from EMI, which refused to market another Tin Machine album. For Bowie's part he was fed up with the label trying to force him into producing another commercial smash like Let's Dance.^{[citation needed]}

The group signed to Victory Music and added three further tracks in Los Angeles, with Hugh Padgham (producer of Bowie's 1984 album Tonight) overseeing the song "One Shot". The album was issued in September 1991. Hunt Sales took lead vocals on two tracks: "Stateside" and "Sorry".

Release

Less successful than the band's debut album Tin Machine, Tin Machine II peaked at #23 in the UK and #126 in the USA. It received generally poor reviews on release, although they achieved success on the Modern Rock chart in the USA, where "Baby Universal" reached #21, and "One Shot" became an even bigger hit, reaching #3. The album is still considered more of a mixed achievement than its predecessor, with many believing "Amlapura", "Baby Universal" and "Goodbye Mr. Ed" to be among Bowie's best recordings from the era while some, especially the Hunt Sales-led tracks, are viewed as the nadir of his output.^{[citation needed]}

For the American release of the album, the cover was airbrushed to remove the genitalia of the Kouroi statues.

Unreleased

Several unreleased tracks from the Tin Machine II sessions have been leaked. New songs to have surfaced include "It's Tough, but It's Okay", which was taken off the album at the last minute ( "It's Tough, but It's Okay" has two sets of lyrics) and two instrumentals titled "Exodus" and "Rock Instrumental". A number of blues songs, presumed to be covers, also surfaced.

Outtakes from the studio sessions of Tin Machine II included different versions of the album songs as well as instrumental cuts. Alternate takes of "Needles on the Beach" and "Hammerhead" were also recorded.

Track listing

"Baby Universal" (David Bowie, Reeves Gabrels) – 3:18
"One Shot" (Bowie, Gabrels) – 5:11
"You Belong in Rock 'n' Roll" (Bowie, Gabrels) – 4:07
"If There Is Something" (Bryan Ferry) – 4:45
"Amlapura" (Bowie, Gabrels) – 3:46
"Betty Wrong" (Bowie, Gabrels) – 3:48
"You Can't Talk" (Bowie, Gabrels) – 3:09
"Stateside" (Bowie, Hunt Sales) – 5:38
"Shopping for Girls" (Bowie, Gabrels) – 3:44
"A Big Hurt" (Bowie) – 3:40
"Sorry" (Sales) – 3:29
"Goodbye Mr. Ed" (Bowie, H. Sales, Tony Sales) – 3:24
"Hammerhead" (Bowie, H. Sales) – 0:57

"Hammerhead", a short instrumental, was an unlisted track. A longer vocal version was issued as the B-side for the single release of "You Belong in Rock 'n' Roll".

Personnel

David Bowie – vocals, guitar, piano, saxophone
Reeves Gabrels – lead guitar, backing vocals, vibrators, organ
Hunt Sales – drums, percussion, vocals
Tony Sales – bass, backing vocals
Kevin Armstrong – rhythm guitar on "If There I Something", piano on "Shopping for Girls"
Tim Palmer – percussion, additional piano

References

Pegg, Nicholas, The Complete David Bowie, Reynolds & Hearn Ltd, 2004, ISBN 1-903111-73-0

Charts

Album

Year	Chart	Position
1991	Norway's album Charts	14