THE SUNDAYS-READING, WRITING AND ARITHMETIC.
THE SUNDAYS-READING, WRITING AND ARITHMETIC.
In this article I will write about a band formed by two people who had no musical background. They met while at university, and having graduated from university, and found themselves unemployed, decided that their future lay in music. This may seem like a strange career choice for an English language graduate and a graduate in Romance Languages. However, strange as it may seem, The Sundays became a highly successful band, with their debut album, Reading, Writing and Arithmetic reaching number four in the UK album charts. After telling about the band’s history, I will tell you why Reading, Writing and Arithmetic, is such a great album.
The Sundays were formed in 1988, when vocalist, Harriet Wheeler and guitarist David Gavurin met at Bristol University. Wheeler studied English language graduate, and Gavurin Romance Languages. Previously, Wheeler had played a few concerts with a band called Cruel Shoes. That was all the experience the duo had. Despite their lack of musical experience, Wheeler and Gavurin wrote some songs.
After leaving Bristol, and heading to London they met the other two members of the band. They were joined by drummer, Patrick Hannan and bassist Paul Brindley. The four of them became The Sundays. After a while, the band realized that their music was good, and decided to send out some demo tapes. Soon labels became interested in signing the band. They had managed to secure a concert at the Vertigo Club in London. Reporters from the three main music papers were present, ostensibly to review the main act. So impressed were the reporters with The Sundays music, that all three of the papers wrote glowing reviews. This resulted in a bidding war between the record labels. Rough Trade Records won the bidding war, and signed the band.
The group released their debut single Can’t Be Sure in January 1989. So highly acclaimed was the single that it was deemed one of the best singles of that year. That didn’t translate to chart success, the single stalling at number forty-five in the UK singles charts. Undeterred, The Sundays released their debut album Reading, Writing and Arithmetic, in January 1990. Straight away, the album was a huge success, reaching number four in the UK album charts. In the US, the album only reached number thirty-nine in the Billboard 200. Overall, the album sold over half a million copies. Critics loved the album, Rolling Stone especially magazine being one of the album’s biggest fans. Wheeler’s voice particularly, received many plaudits, as did the quality of their songs. During the following year, the band travelled the world promoting the album.
Sadly, disaster was round the corner for The Sundays. Their record label Rough Trade Records became insolvent. This meant the band would experience some troubled times financially. They then signed for Parlophone Records and would prepare to write and record their second album. Having spent to long touring and promoting Reading, Writing and Arithmetic, and Wheeler and Gavurin’s reputations as perfectionists when it came to writing songs, progress was slow. During this period, nothing was heard from the band. Rumors spread that the band split up. However, eventually, Blind, their second album was released in October 1992. Like their debut album, Blind was a huge success. It reached number fifteen in the UK album charts. In the US, the album only reached one-hundred and three in the Billboard 200. Despite this, it still sold over half a million copies. The critics gave the album mixed reviews, with some claiming that the standard of songwriting wasn’t of the standard of Reading, Writing and Arithmetic. The Sundays toured the UK and US during 1992 and 1993. By mid 1993, the album had fallen out of the charts. Little did fans know then, that it would be 1997 before the band released their third, and final album.
After their tour, they had headed to Thailand on holiday. On their return, they decided to take a break befor recording their new album. During this break, Wheeler and Gavurin married, and the couple’s daughter was born. They only released one song during their sojourn from the music business. This was a cover of Wild Horses, the old Rolling Stones track. The track was used for a television commercial in the US. Eventually, their third album, Static and Silence was released in September 1997. It reached number ten in the UK album charts, and number thirty-three in the Billboard 200. Static and Silence sold so well that they received a silver disc for the album. They added this to the silver disc they received for Reading, Writing and Arithmetic, and the gold discs they received for Reading, Writing and Arithmetic and Blind.
Since the release of Silence and Static, The Sundays have released no further albums. They were a band who over seven years produced three great albums, and in the process, sold well over a million albums. This is pretty good for a group founded by two people with no musical experience. Having told you about the band’s history, I’ll now tell you why Reading, Writing and Arithmetic is such a great debut album.
Reading, Writing and Arithmetic opens with Skin and Bones. As the track opens, I hear similarities with the Cocteau Twins. It’s the overall sound, and this becomes more apparent when Harriet Wheeler sings. The song is very listenable, it’s light and airy. Guitars play at the start, the sound is minimal, primarily Wheeler backed by guitar and drums. When Wheeler sings, her voice is clear, with a good range and very powerful. It’s a good start to the album, the type of song that leaves you wanting more. Thankfully, there are another nine songs on the album.
An acoustic guitar strums, at the the start of Here’s Where the Story Ends. The tempo isn’t too quick. When Harriet Wheeler sings, you’re in for a pleasant surprise. Her voice is soft, beautiful, quite different to her exertions on the previous track. That’s not to say that she sings the whole song quietly. Not at all. When she has to her voice soars, as if making a point. All the time she’s in control of her voice. Like Skin and Bones, the arrangement is understated, just Harriet and the guitar. It’s highly effective, allowing her voice to shine, when she sings some wonderful lyrics.
Comparisons with the Cocteau Twins continue at the start of Can’t Be Sure. Drums play, quite quickly, Harriet sings and when you close your eyes, you almost think that your listening to Liz Fraser and Grangemouth’s finest. One difference, an important difference, is that the sound is much clearer. Wheeler’s voice is much higher, the sound is much fuller, drums are quick and an electric guitar solos. The lyrics are about desire, how although they’re not a good thing, they’re something we can’t live without. Can’t Be Sure is a good song, though not as strong as the opening two tracks.
The style changes again with I Won. Drums loud and crisp, sit at the front of the mix, they’re joined by an acoustic guitar. Then, the highlight of the song, Harriet sings. Her voice is crystalline, it has an ethereal quality. It’s perfectly suited to sing the lyrics. She delivers them with passion, verging on anger. The lyrics are complex, and I for one, would love to know the story behind them. In some parts they read like the behavior of a recalcitrant teenager, who to quote the lyrics “won the war in the sitting room” and would like to take some matches and set the cellar alight. It almost reads like a tale of teenage angst. Whatever the story behind the lyrics, it’s a wonderful track, with same quality as the kitchen sink dramas that used to grace our television screens many years ago.
Hideous Towns has a quicker start than other songs, a solo plays on a bass, and is joined by the electric guitar. In front of bass and guitar, is Harriet’s wonderful, ethereal voice. It provides a contrast to the musical backdrop. You feel she struggles to keep up with the quicker tempo. However, she copes well, singing the song beautifully. The lyrics are loaded with dark humor, and seething social comment, about the state the UK was in at the time this album was released. When Harriet sings the lyrics, you can sense her disgust and frustration, at the situation she finds herself in. This song shows another side to The Sundays music, and is a good track, passionately played and performed.
On You’re Not the Only One, the sound is much like it was like on the first two tracks. For me, this is what the band do best. This track reverts to their acoustic sound. When the track opens an acoustic guitar plays, and Harriet Wheeler sings. Her voice is much softer, she isn’t straining to be heard against an electric guitar, or bass. Instead, she’s able to concentrate on what she does best sing. On this track, she produces a stellar performance, one of her best on the album. It isn’t just her vocal that makes this track so good, no, everything about the arrangement is perfect. What you hear on You’re Not the Only One, is one one the best songs The Sundays ever recorded.
A Certain Someone is the next track on Reading, Writing and Arithmetic. Having enjoyed the much more gentle sound on the last track, the tempo increases. Having said that, the sound is not particularly full. Drums play and a bass solos. The bass solo is intricate, with notes picked out quickly. Drums are the track’s heartbeat. Wheeler’s vocal veers between low and high, and soft and loud. Sometimes, she really lets her vocal soar. Amazingly, when she does, she never once loses control. Her performance is stunning. She possesses a fantastic voice, one with wide vocal range. When you think that Wheeler had no experience of music before forming The Sundays, that makes this more incredible. Truly, this is another triumph for the band, yet another great track on this album.
One of the songs that many people will recognize from this album is I Kicked A Boy. It’s a track that ambles along. Wheeler’s voice is soft, almost sweet. Don’t be fooled though, it isn’t always like this. She sings in front on the rest of the band. The sound is much fuller, with acoustic guitar and drums the mainstay of the sound. As the song progresses, Wheeler’s gets stronger, as if her confidence grows. I Kicked A Boy is the best track on the album. From the first time I heard this track I was of this opinion. It’s a minor pop classic.
My Finest Hour has an upbeat start, guitar and bass play. It also has some wonderful lyrics. They have lyrics that bring to mind The Smiths at their best. I love the lyrics “my finest hour was finding a pound on the underground.” They’ve a lovely almost eccentric quality, and are quintessentially English. They bring to mind The Kinks and The Smiths. Every time I hear those lyrics I smile. Harriet sings them brilliantly, and the band have reserved a great performance for this track. It’s much more complex than other tracks, which are much more minimalistic, with an understated quality. This song is a wonderful one, made all the better by such wonderful lyrics.
Reading, Writing and Arithmetic closes with Joy. The sound is dull, quite subdued at the start, as if the band are saddened by the album ending. However, listen carefully, and you’ll hear another quality song. Harriet sings the lyrics quietly at first, sounding restrained. The band join in this subdued atmosphere, playing quietly, the guitars and bass sitting quite far back in the mix. Joy meanders in places, space has been left in the track, especially in the vocals. After just over three minutes, the sound grows in stature, as if the band have tired of showing restraint. Wheeler joins in, letting herself go, her voice strengthening. Then, suddenly, just as you’re enjoying the track…it’s over. However, you’re left with happy, having heard the album close with another, in a long line of great songs.
Whilst I’ve been researching and listening to, The Sundays music, it has been like a trip down memory lane. This album is nineteen years old. It’’s hard to believe that. It only seems a few years since it was released. Nineteen years on, Reading, Writing and Arithmetic sill sounds as good as it did back in 1992. The album still sounds fresh, the songs relevant and Harriet Wheeler’s voice as good as it ever did. I’ve always wondered what direction The Sundays would have taken, if they’d released more albums, what would their music have sounded like and how would their music have evolved. It’s not just their fans that miss them, it’s the music industry. It can’t afford to lose bands of the quality of The Sundays. However, they’ve left us with three fantastic albums to remember them by. For those who want to hear their great music for the first time, I recommend that you buy Reading, Writing and Arithmetic, their debut album, and its follow-up, Blind. Both are great albums, which I’m sure you’ll love, and wish you’d heard them much sooner. Standout Tracks: Here’s Where the Story Ends, I Won, You’re Not the Only One and My Finest Hour.
THE SUNDAYS-READING, WRITING AND ARITHMETIC.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Q0uWAUbzi8
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