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God's Own Medicine

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God's Own Medicine
Studio album by
the Mission
Released10 November 1986 (1986-11-10)[1]
RecordedAugust–September 1986
StudioRidge Farm and Utopia Studios
GenreGothic rock
Length57:41
LabelMercury
Producer
The Mission chronology
God's Own Medicine
(1986) 		The First Chapter
(1987)
The Mission studio album chronology
God's Own Medicine
(1986) 		Children
(1988)
Singles from God's Own Medicine
  1. "Stay with Me"
    Released: October 1986
  2. "Wasteland"
    Released: January 1987
  3. "Severina"
    Released: March 1987

God's Own Medicine is the debut studio album by the English gothic rock band the Mission. It was released on 10 November 1986 by Mercury Records. The original LP version contains 10 songs.[2] The CD and cassette versions had the songs "Blood Brother" and "Island in the Stream" added.[3][4] Both had previously appeared on the "III" ("Stay with Me") single.[5] The album peaked at number 14 on the UK Albums Chart.[6]

Background

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The band had spent much of 1986 touring around Europe and had performed two radio broadcasts for the BBC. In the summer of that year, they signed with Phonogram after releasing two independent singles. Much of the material had featured on the tour and the band completed Gods Own Medicine within a period of four weeks.[7] The record was produced by Tim Palmer and the Mission and recorded at Ridge Farm and Utopia Studios.

Three singles were released from the album, "Stay with Me", "Wasteland" and "Severina".

Critical reception

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Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[8]
Encyclopedia of Popular Music[9]
The Great Rock Discography7/10[10]
MusicHound4/5[11]
Record Collector[12]
Record Mirror3/5[13]
Smash Hits9½/10[14]

Writing for American publication Trouser Press, Ira Robbins described the album as a "dull and insipid guitar/keyboard/string bombast", and "a horrible amalgam of Led Zeppelin, Yes and Echo & the Bunnymen".[15] AllMusic described it as "the marker for goth rock's invasion of the U.K. charts for a good chunk of the late '80s".[8]

Reissue

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A remastered version appeared in June 2007 with four bonus tracks, including the original intro to "Love Me to Death" (previously available only on the "Wasteland" video-cd, and as a hidden track on the B-side of the 12" single release of "Severina") that had to be cut due to the time constraints of vinyl. Consequently, its insertion has not been taken into account in the track list of the remaster—listing the two tracks as "Love Me to Death (Original Full Length Version)"—and thus all tracks after eleven are mislabelled as being one track ahead of where they actually appear on the album.[16]

It was certified gold in the UK.[citation needed]

Track listing

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All lyrics are written by Wayne Hussey; all music is composed by Craig Adams, Mick Brown, Simon Hinkler and Wayne Hussey.

No.TitleLength
1."Wasteland"5:42
2."Bridges Burning"4:08
3."Garden of Delight (Hereafter)"3:42
4."Stay with Me"4:37
5."Blood Brother"5:16
6."Let Sleeping Dogs Die"5:53
7."Sacrilege"4:45
8."Dance on Glass"5:10
9."And the Dance Goes On"4:10
10."Severina"4:15
11."Love Me to Death"4:38
12."Island in a Stream"5:25
2007 re-release version
No.TitleLength
1."Wasteland"5:42
2."Bridges Burning"4:08
3."Garden of Delight (Hereafter)"3:42
4."Stay with Me"4:37
5."Blood Brother"5:16
6."Let Sleeping Dogs Die"5:53
7."Sacrilege"4:45
8."Dance on Glass"5:10
9."And the Dance Goes On"4:10
10."Severina"4:15
11."Love You to Death" (Love Me to Death intro)1:25
12."Love Me to Death"4:38
13."Island in a Stream"5:25
14."Wishing Well" (Free cover)2:48
15."Wasteland" (anniversary mix)7:39
16."Severina" (Aqua-Marina mix)6:09

Personnel

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The Mission

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Additional personnel

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  • Tim Palmer – production
  • Julianne Regan – additional vocals
  • Adam Peters – string arrangements
  • The Leisure Process – sleeve design
  • Sandy Ball – sleeve design
  • KEV – mastering

Charts

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Chart (1986-87) Peak
position
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[17] 59
Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan)[18] 30
UK Albums (OCC)[19] 14
US Billboard 200[20] 108

Certifications

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Region Certification Certified units/sales
United Kingdom (BPI)[21] Silver 60,000^

^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

References

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  1. ^ "Releases" (PDF). Record Mirror. 8 November 1986. p. 3. Retrieved 28 June 2022.
  2. ^ "Mission, The - Gods Own Medicine". Discogs. Retrieved 17 July 2015.
  3. ^ "Mission, The - Gods Own Medicine". Discogs. Retrieved 17 July 2015.
  4. ^ "Mission, The - Gods Own Medicine". Discogs. Retrieved 17 July 2015.
  5. ^ "Mission, The - III". Discogs. Retrieved 17 July 2015.
  6. ^ "GOD'S OWN MEDICINE". Official Charts. 22 November 1986. Retrieved 15 September 2024.
  7. ^ Roach, Martin (1993). Names Are For Tombstones, Baby. London: IMP. pp. 50–60.
  8. ^ a b c True, Chris. "God's Own Medicine – The Mission UK : Songs, Reviews, Credits, Awards : AllMusic". AllMusic. Retrieved 13 February 2013.
  9. ^ Larkin, Colin (2007). "Mission". The Encyclopedia of Popular Music (5th ed.). Omnibus Press. p. 802. ISBN 978-1-84609-856-7.
  10. ^ Strong, Martin C. (2004). "Mission". The Great Rock Discography (7th ed.). Canongate Books. p. 1011. ISBN 1-84195-615-5.
  11. ^ Graff, Gary; Durchholz, Daniel, eds. (1999). "The Mission U.K.". MusicHound Rock: The Essential Album Guide. Visible Ink Press. pp. 766–767. ISBN 1-57859-061-2.
  12. ^ Mclver, Joel (28 August 2007). "God's Own Medicine / The First Chapter / Children: The Mission". Record Collector. Retrieved 9 December 2024.
  13. ^ Strickland, Andy (15 November 1986). "The Mission: God's Own Medicine". Record Mirror. Vol. 33, no. 46. Retrieved 9 December 2024.
  14. ^ Patterson, Sylvia (5–18 November 1986). "The Mission: God's Own Medicine". Smash Hits. No. 207. Retrieved 9 December 2024.
  15. ^ Robbins, Ira. "trouserpress.com :: Mission (UK)". trouserpress.com. Retrieved 13 February 2013.
  16. ^ "Mission, The - Gods Own Medicine". Discogs. Retrieved 17 July 2015.
  17. ^ "Offiziellecharts.de – The Mission – Gods Own Medicine" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved 20 September 2024.
  18. ^ "Swedishcharts.com – The Mission – Gods Own Medicine". Hung Medien. Retrieved 20 September 2024.
  19. ^ "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 20 September 2024.
  20. ^ "The Mission Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved 20 September 2024.
  21. ^ "British album certifications – The Mission – Gods own Medicine". British Phonographic Industry.
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