Speedboats for Breakfast
Australian album cover
Studio album by
James Reyne
Released19 April 2004
RecordedDecember 2002 – December 2003
GenreRock music, Pop music[1]
Length43:08
LabelLiberation Records
ProducerJames Reyne, Scott Kingman, Brett Kingman
James Reyne chronology
The Definitive Collection
(2002) 		Speedboats for Breakfast
(2004) 		And the Horse You Rode in On
(2005)
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
Allmusic[2]

Speedboats for Breakfast is the sixth solo studio album by Australian singer/songwriter James Reyne released on 19 April 2004. The album is Reyne's first studio album since Design for Living in 1999 and features a cover of Olivia Newton-John's "Have You Ever Been Mellow".

On the lead single "Bug" Reyne said: "I wanted to create a song out of playing the same four chords going round and round, building and growing all the time, with things coming in and dropping out. The listener knows there's transition but there's no real point where the change is obvious."[3]

In a 2013 interview, when asked if there is a song he likes playing live, Reyne responded with "Oh usually some of the newer ones, there’s a song of mine called "Rainbow’s Dead End" that I like playing."[4]

Review

Tomas Mureika of All Music said the album was a grungier, heavier sound, unlike anything Reyne had ever done before. "Working with collaborator Scott Kingman, Reyne concocted a terrifying album that includes tracks with titles like "Nail," "Hangman's Wages," and "Pusherman." It all culminates in the album's final track, a remake of Olivia Newton-John's "Have You Ever Been Mellow" that does an almost punk run-through of the original. From the half-submerged clown's head on the album's original cover to the dense lyrics and production within, Reyne made the most frightening album of his career. At least he proved he could still push the envelope with the best of them".[5]

Track listing

CD/DD
  1. "Bug" - 4:05
  2. "The Rainbow's Dead End" - 4:34
  3. "Stagefright" - 2:42
  4. "Glamourpuss" - 3:06
  5. "Pusherman" - 3:29
  6. "Nail" - 3:31
  7. "Love in a Strange Strange Land" - 4:41
  8. "Hangman's Wages" - 3:58
  9. "Hooray and Hallelujah" - 4:25
  10. "Lustre" - 6:05
  11. "Mellow" - 2:52

Credits

Charts

Chart performance for Speedboats for Breakfast
Chart (2004) Peak
position
Australian Albums (ARIA)[6] 113

Release history

Region Date Format(s) Label Catalogue
Australia[7][8] 19 April 2004 Compact Disc, Music download Liberation Records LIBCD60932

References

  1. ^ "James Reyne - Speedboats for Breakfast". discogs.com. Retrieved 18 March 2016.
  2. ^ ""Speedboats for Breakfast" by James Reyne". Allmusic. Retrieved 14 March 2016.
  3. ^ "James Reyne singer". www.standup.com.au. Retrieved 18 March 2016.
  4. ^ "James Reyne". maytherockbewithyou.com. 27 October 2013. Retrieved 18 March 2016.
  5. ^ "Speedboats for Breakfast by James Reyne review". www.allmusic.com. Retrieved 17 March 2016.
  6. ^ "James Reyne ARIA Albums chart history 1988 to 2022, received from ARIA in 2022 page 2". ARIA. Retrieved 2 December 2023 – via Imgur.com. N.B. The High Point number in the NAT column represents the release's peak on the national chart.
  7. ^ "James Reyne - Speedboats for Breakfast". JBHiFi.com.au. Retrieved 18 March 2016.
  8. ^ "James Reyne - Speedboarts for Breakfast". iTunes Store Australia. Retrieved 17 March 2016.
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