So Tough

Not to be confused with Carl and the Passions – "So Tough".

So Tough
Studio album by
Saint Etienne
Released22 February 1993 (1993-02-22)
RecordedSummer – Autumn 1992
StudioRMS, London
Genre
Length48:29 (UK version)
55:40 (US version)
LabelHeavenly (UK) – HVNLP 6
Warners (US) – 9 45166
ProducerSaint Etienne
Saint Etienne chronology
Foxbase Alpha
(1991) 		So Tough
(1993) 		You Need a Mess of Help to Stand Alone
(1993)
Singles from So Tough
  1. "Avenue"
    Released: October 1992
  2. "You're in a Bad Way"
    Released: February 1993
  3. "Hobart Paving"
    Released: May 1993
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[2]
Christgau's Consumer GuideA−[3]
NME6/10[4]
Pitchfork8.9/10[5]
Q[6]
Record Collector[7]
Rolling Stone[8]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide[9]
Select4/5[10]
Vox8/10[11]

So Tough is the second studio album by British band Saint Etienne, released in 1993. It is their highest-charting album to date, reaching No. 7 on the UK Albums Chart.

So Tough is the first Saint Etienne album to feature Sarah Cracknell as an official member of the band.[12] It was originally intended as a concept album which starts at "Mario's Cafe" in London then travels around the world, but it ultimately came to be viewed as a solely London album.[13]

  1. ^ a b Lassner, Bryan (1998). "Saint Etienne". In Graff, Gary; Durchholz, Daniel (eds.). MusicHound Rock: The Essential Album Guide. Detroit: Visible Ink Press. pp. 971–972.
  2. ^ Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "So Tough – Saint Etienne". AllMusic. Retrieved 24 August 2012.
  3. ^ Christgau, Robert (2000). "Saint Etienne: So Tough". Christgau's Consumer Guide: Albums of the '90s. St. Martin's Griffin. ISBN 0-312-24560-2. Retrieved 24 August 2012.
  4. ^ George, Iestyn (20 February 1993). "Saint Been Nothin' Yet". NME. p. 28.
  5. ^ Harvell, Jess (17 September 2009). "Saint Etienne: So Tough / Sound of Water". Pitchfork. Retrieved 24 August 2012.
  6. ^ "Saint Etienne: So Tough". Q. No. 79. April 1993. p. 88.
  7. ^ "Saint Etienne: So Tough". Record Collector. p. 98. [I]t provides bona fide belters such as 'You're in a Bad Way,' alongside countless sound collages and swirling, half-heard samples and steals.
  8. ^ White, Armond (5 August 1993). "Saint Etienne: So Tough". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on 9 May 2006. Retrieved 24 August 2012.
  9. ^ Berger, Arion (2004). "Saint Etienne". In Brackett, Nathan; Hoard, Christian (eds.). The New Rolling Stone Album Guide (4th ed.). Simon & Schuster. pp. 713–14. ISBN 0-7432-0169-8.
  10. ^ Harrison, Andrew (March 1993). "UK Gold". Select. No. 33. p. 74.
  11. ^ McLean, Craig (March 1993). "Everything Flows". Vox. No. 30. p. 56.
  12. ^ Cite error: The named reference Vice was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  13. ^ Cite error: The named reference RC was invoked but never defined (see the help page).