History
The writing and recording of the album was a reaction to the protracted sessions of its predecessor Raise the Pressure, which had taken a year and a half to complete. Marr and Sumner remained the only official members of the band, but were joined by Doves frontman Jimi Goodwin on bass and Black Grape drummer Ged Lynch. The sound of the album reflected this back-to-basics approach in terms of the lineup, although subsequent production and mixing incorporated additional beats and samples.
Twisted Tenderness was co-produced by influential New York club DJ and dance producer Arthur Baker, with whom Sumner had previously worked on New Order's 1983 hit "Confusion", amongst other songs.
The promo issue of the album contained an uncleared sample of Ice-T proclaiming "this is not a pop album" on the track "Make It Happen". This mix had a duration of 7:50; it was shortened for release when the sample was removed.
Early promos also included "King for a Day", which was eventually released as a B-side to "Late at Night". Reviews in Q and Mojo were based on this configuration; the former stated that there were twelve tracks while the latter mentioned the reference to Dracula in the song lyrics. The only country to include "King for a Day" on the album was Japan, where it was released a week before Britain.
The singles "Vivid" and "Late at Night" featured three B-sides between them, namely "Radiation" (an instrumental co-written with Baker), "King for a Day" and "Warning Sign", all of which appeared on the Deluxe edition next to promo versions and previously released remixes.
Russian mystic Grigori Rasputin is featured on the cover.
Read more about this topic: Twisted Tenderness
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