Easy Pieces

For other uses, see Easy Pieces (disambiguation).

Easy Pieces
Studio album by
Lloyd Cole and the Commotions
Released18 November 1985 (1985-11-18)
StudioWestside Studios (Shepherd's Bush, London)
GenreIndie pop
Length39:36
LabelPolydor (UK and Europe)
Geffen (US and Canada)
Producer
Lloyd Cole and the Commotions chronology
Rattlesnakes
(1984) 		Easy Pieces
(1985) 		Mainstream
(1987)
Singles from Easy Pieces
  1. "Brand New Friend"
    Released: 2 September 1985
  2. "Lost Weekend"
    Released: 1 November 1985
  3. "Cut Me Down"
    Released: 6 January 1986

Easy Pieces is the second studio album by the British rock and pop band Lloyd Cole and the Commotions. It was released on Polydor Records in the UK on 18 November 1985[1] and included the hit singles "Brand New Friend" (#19 in UK), "Lost Weekend" (#17 in UK) and "Cut Me Down" (#38 in UK). The title of the album derives from the American drama film Five Easy Pieces (1970), which Cole described as "one of my very favourite films", saying, "I want to write at least five songs out of that film".[2]

Following the praise and healthy sales of their debut studio album Rattlesnakes the previous year, Easy Pieces became the band's fastest-selling album, selling more in its first two weeks than Rattlesnakes had managed in a whole year.[3] It was also their highest charting album in the UK, peaking at number 5. The album produced three UK top 40 singles. However, despite Easy Pieces' commercial success, the reception from critics was lukewarm and the band themselves were unhappy with the end result.[3] Cole would later say, "It strikes me that there's something really fresh on the first album which has been dragged onto the second album, and the freshness is not there and something to replace the freshness is not there either".[4] Bassist Lawrence Donegan was more succinct, describing the album as "terrible".[5]

  1. ^ "Record News". NME. London, England: IPC Media: 39. 16 November 1985.
  2. ^ Wilkinson, Roy (21 November 1987). "Pretentious, Moi?". Sounds. London, England: Spotlight Publications: 24–25.
  3. ^ a b "Lloyd Cole & The Commotions – The 'Rattlesnakes' Pack". Music Week. London, England: United Business Media. 18 September 2004.
  4. ^ Solanas, Jane (26 September 1987). "Cole Industry". NME. London, England: IPC Media: 16–17.
  5. ^ Donegan, Lawrence (15 February 2004). "It was 20 years ago today..." The Observer. London, England: Guardian Media Group.