Soul Mining
| Soul Mining | ||||
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| Studio album by The The | ||||
| Released | 21 October 1983 | |||
| Recorded | 1982–83 | |||
| Studio | MediaSound in New York City; Advision and SARM in London | |||
| Genre | Post-punk, synthpop, new wave | |||
| Length | 41:42 | |||
| Label | Some Bizzare/Epic | |||
| Producer | Paul Hardiman and Matt Johnson | |||
| The The chronology | ||||
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| Alternative cover | ||||
Cover of 2002 release of CD
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| Singles from Soul Mining | ||||
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| Professional ratings | |
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| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |    |
| Encyclopedia of Popular Music | |
| The Guardian | |
| Mojo | |
| Record Collector | |
| Smash Hits | 8/10 |
| Uncut | 9/10 |
Soul Mining is the debut album by British post-punk/synthpop band The The. The 1981 album Burning Blue Soul was originally credited to the band's frontman Matt Johnson as a solo album, but later reissues now credit it to The The. Soul Mining was released in the UK on 21 October 1983 on Some Bizzare Records and included versions of the UK singles "Uncertain Smile" which reached no. 68 in December 1982, "Perfect" which made no. 79 in February 1983, and "This Is the Day" which reached no. 71 in September 1983. The album peaked at number 27 in the UK album chart. It has appeared on several lists as one of the best albums of the 1980s.
The singles "Uncertain Smile" (originally released in 1981 in a different form and titled "Cold Spell Ahead") and "Perfect" were recorded in 1982 in New York with Mike Thorne producing, after The The had been signed by Epic Records in the USA. However, the relationship between Johnson and Thorne quickly deteriorated as a result of Johnson's heavy drinking and drug use, and disagreements between the pair over the songs' production. The sessions were eventually abandoned and Johnson returned to London and began recording with Thorne's former engineer Paul Hardiman, reworking the two singles. The version of "Uncertain Smile" released as a single in 1982 had featured flutes and a saxophone solo from the Uptown Horns founder Crispin Cioe, but for the album the song was re-recorded, replacing the saxophone solo with a lengthy piano solo by Jools Holland. In his 2007 autobiography Barefaced Lies and Boogie-Woogie Boasts Holland recounted that when he first listened to the track he had expected to hear his contribution used as an instrumental break in the middle of the song, only to discover that Johnson had edited together two separate solos and used them as the song's outro instead. "Perfect" features harmonica playing by New York Dolls singer David Johansen, a friend of Thorne's. The song was remixed by Johnson and Hardiman, only keeping Johansen's contribution from the original single. The new version was added on to the end of the US version of Soul Mining, and later to the CD versions, a fact which irritated Johnson who felt it was an unnecessary addition to the album. The original New York-produced 7" single versions of both songs were included on The The's greatest hits album 45 RPM: The Singles of The The in 2002.
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