Songoftheday 9/17/20 - it's not a choice i tried to make, it's not a thought i couldn't take...

 

 

"Naked Eye" - Luscious Jackson

from the album Fever In Fever Out (1996)

Billboard Hot 100 peak: #36 (six weeks)

Weeks in the Top-40: 10 

Today's song of the day comes from the all-female alternative rock band Luscious Jackson, who came together in New York City in the early 1990's. Named for a Philadelphia basketball player and signed to the Beastie Boys' vanity label Grand Royal, lead singer/bass player Jill Cunniff, guitarist Gabby Glaser, keyboardist Vivian Tremble, and drummer Kate Shellenbach released their first EP In Search Of Manny in 1992. Two years later, the group put out their debut full-length effort, Natural Ingredients. The lead single from the set, "Citysong", which blended rock attitude with hip-hop beats and cadence (which probably what made them a good fit on Grand Royal), made Billboard magazine's Alternative Rock radio chart at #39, while landing on the UK singles chart (paired with "Deep Shag") at #69. A second single, "Here", also reached the British chart at #59, helped by its appearance in the classic 90s Austen rewrite movie Clueless. The album popped on to the American sales chart at #114.

In 1996, Luscious Jackson returned with their sophomore record and what would become their biggest album, Fever In Fever Out. The first release from the disc was "Naked Eye", a propulsive groove written by Cunniff that was edging more into Veruca Salt/Throwing Muses territory, aided by producer Daniel Lanois (Peter Gabriel)...

"Naked Eyes" became the band's first and only top-40 pop hit in March of 1997. The song also climbed to #18 on Billboard's Alternative Rock radio chart, spending half a year (26 weeks) there, while getting to #33 on their Adult Top-40 format list. Internationally, the single made the top-40 in the UK at #25. The Fever In Fever Out album rose to #72 on the Billboard 200 sales tally. However no other track from the album got rock or pop radio's attention.

The band came back in 1999 with their third album Electric Honey but without Tremble. The lead track on the record, "Ladyfingers", scored their third and so far last alt-rock radio hit at #28, and made the top-40 in New Zealand at #27, but just missed the British top-40 at #43. With the waning interest, Luscious Jackson split not too long after. In 2013, the reunited Electric Honey lineup released a pair of albums, in succession, Magic Hour and Baby DJ, independently.

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Here's the band performing "Naked Eye" live on Conan O'Brien in 1997...

Next up, in concert that same year...

and finally, in a radio appearance in 2013...

Up tomorrow: neo-soul duo call in to the radio station.