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The Big Heat
Studio album by Stan Ridgway
Released	1986
Studio	Fiddler's Studio, J.C. Studios and The Lighthouse, Hollywood, CA
Genre	New wave, alternative rock, avant-pop
Length	42:15
Label	I.R.S.
Producer	Joe Chiccarelli, Mitchell Froom, Hugh Jones, Bill Noland, Stan Ridgway, Louis van den Berg
Stan Ridgway chronology
The Big Heat (1986) Mosquitos (1989)

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic
The Village Voice	B

The Big Heat is the debut solo album by American musician Stan Ridgway (former Wall of Voodoo vocalist), released in 1986 by I.R.S. Records. Named after the 1953 film noir of the same name, the original release consisted of nine songs, including the No. 4 UK hit "Camouflage". In 1986, the album reached No. 131 on the Billboard 200. The album was re-released in 1993 with six additional tracks and again re-released in 2007.

Recording

Ridgway said of the album, "I wanted to bring a lot of influences to the surface. In Voodoo, we would take the influences and hide them. I wanted to move along and be able to do a jazz song. My heroes are people like Miles Davis who go through different musical stages and don't get stagnant."

Reception

Spin said, "A man of few words, he makes every line count for something — either an image that evokes a scene or a line of dialogue that evokes a character. His decision to build and record in his own studio has paid off with a well-balanced sound that has lots of space for odd acoustic instruments to dart in and out of his synth-based arrangements."

Track listing

All tracks are written by Stan Ridgway, except where otherwise indicated

• Before the album's release, the track "Pick It Up (And Put It in Your Pocket)" was used in a 1985 episode of Miami Vice.

Accolades

Chart positions

Personnel

Adapted from The Big Heat liner notes.

Release history

References

1. Grimstad, Paul. "What is Avant-Pop?". The Brooklyn Rail.
2. McDonald, Steven. "The Big Heat – Stan Ridgway". AllMusic. Retrieved December 7, 2009.
3. Christgau, Robert (July 1, 1986). "Christgau's Consumer Guide". The Village Voice. Retrieved December 7, 2009.
4. Stan Ridgway: Camouflage OfficialCharts.com Accessed September 2, 2007.
5. Bill Forman (21 May 1986). "The Far Side of Voodoo". RAM. No. 284. p. 16.
6. Mark Fleischmann (May 1986). "Spins". Spin. No. 13. p. 34.
7. "Best - Albums of the Year". Best. Retrieved 2009-12-03.
8. "Q - Albums of the Year". Q. Retrieved 2009-12-03.
9. "Sounds - Albums of the Year". Rocklist.net. Retrieved 2009-12-03.
10. "Mucchio Selvaggio - The Best Albums of the 80s". Mucchio Selvaggio. Retrieved 2009-12-03.
11. "Velvet - The 100 Best Albums of the 80s". Velvet. Retrieved 2009-12-03.
12. Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 (illustrated ed.). St Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. p. 252. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
13. "Stan Ridgway - The Big Heat". offiziellecharts.de. Retrieved August 9, 2016.
14. "Stan Ridgway - The Big Heat". dutchcharts.nl. Retrieved June 29, 2015.
15. "Stan Ridgeway - The Big Heat". NorwegianCharts.com. Retrieved 2009-12-02.
16. "Stan Ridgeway - The Big Heat". HitParade.ch. Retrieved 2009-12-02.
17. "Billboard.com - Artist Chart History - Stan Ridgway". Nielsen Company, Billboard. Retrieved 2008-06-03.
18. "Stan Ridgway". australian-charts.com. Archived from the original on September 21, 2016. Retrieved August 8, 2016.
19. "Stan Ridgway". austriancharts.at. Retrieved August 8, 2016.
20. "Stan Ridgway". ultratop.be. Retrieved August 8, 2016.
21. "Stan Ridgway". offiziellecharts.de. Retrieved August 9, 2016.
22. "Stan Ridgway Discography". irishcharts.ie. Retrieved 2009-12-02.
23. "Stan Ridgway". dutchcharts.nl. Retrieved August 8, 2016.
24. "Stan Ridgway". hitParade.ch. Retrieved August 8, 2016.
25. "Stan Ridgway Discography". officialcharts.com. Retrieved August 8, 2016.
26. Lazell, Barry (1997). Indie Hits 1980-1989. Cherry Red Books. Archived from the original on June 5, 2011. Retrieved June 29, 2015.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
27. The Big Heat (sleeve). Stan Ridgway. Hollywood, California: I.R.S. Records. 1985.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)

External links

• The Big Heat at Discogs (list of releases)

• 1986 debut albums
• Stan Ridgway albums
• Albums produced by Mitchell Froom
• Albums produced by Hugh Jones (producer)
• Albums produced by Stan Ridgway
• I.R.S. Records albums
• Albums produced by Joe Chiccarelli
• Avant-pop albums