Tales from the Lush Attic
The debut album, built on a nineteen-minute opener, and one of the first records of neo-prog.
IQ, 1983
- Released
- September 1983
- Recorded
- 2 to 5 August 1983
- Studio
- Flame, London
- Label
- The Major Record Company
- Producer
- IQ
Released in 1983 after the cassette-only demo Seven Stories into Eight, it sits among the first neo-progressive records, alongside Marillion's Script for a Jester's Tear from the same year. It gives one epic, The Last Human Gateway, almost a whole side of the vinyl and fills the other with shorter songs. IQ arranged and produced it themselves, with Mel Simpson engineering and mixing.
AllMusic's Mike DeGagne found it highly derivative of Genesis in their progressive-rock era, yet felt there was an air to the album that gathers attention, especially in the synth-heavy passages. Paul Stump, in his History of Progressive Rock, singled out the satire of My Baby Treats Me Right. The first pressing of the LP was hand numbered, and the 2006 Giant Electric Pea reissue added Just Changing Hands as a bonus track.
Track listing
- The Last Human Gateway19:57
- Through the Corridors2:35
- Awake and Nervous7:45
- My Baby Treats Me Right 'Cos I'm a Hard Lovin' Man All Night Long1:45
- The Enemy Smacks13:49
Personnel
- Peter Nicholls vocals, illustration
- Mike Holmes acoustic, electric and twelve-string guitars
- Martin Orford keyboards
- Tim Esau bass
- Paul Cook drums, percussion
- Mel Simpson engineer, mixing
More from IQ
The Wake (1985), Nomzamo (1987), Are You Sitting Comfortably? (1989), Ever (1993), Subterranea (1997), Frequency (2009), The Road of Bones (2014), Resistance (2019), Dominion (2025), Live From London: Camden Palace 1985 (2026)
Sources
- Tales from the Lush Attic, Wikipedia
- IQ: Tales from the Lush Attic, Discogs