The Boy with the X-Ray Eyes
Studio album by
Babylon Zoo
Released5 February 1996
Recorded1995
GenreGrunge,[1] alternative rock
Length54:47
LabelEMI
ProducerJas Mann
Steve Power
Babylon Zoo chronology
The Boy with the X-Ray Eyes
(1996)		 King Kong Groover
(1999)
Singles from The Boy with the X-Ray Eyes
  1. "Spaceman"
    Released: 15 January 1996
  2. "Animal Army"
    Released: 15 April 1996
  3. "The Boy with the X-Ray Eyes"
    Released: 23 September 1996
Alternative cover
US edition cover

The Boy with the X-Ray Eyes is the debut album by British rock band Babylon Zoo, released in February 1996. It features the single "Spaceman", which charted at number one on the UK Singles Chart after being featured in a popular Levi's jeans TV advertisement in late 1995. The album peaked at number 6 on the UK Albums Chart and met with generally favourable reviews.

Commercial performance

The Boy with the X-Ray Eyes peaked at number 6 in the UK Albums Chart on 17 February 1996,[2] and lasted a total of six weeks in the top 100 (three in the top 40).[3] Other than the chart-topping "Spaceman", singles released from the album were "Animal Army", which reached number 17 in the UK Singles Chart, and the title track, which peaked at number 32.
By the end of 1996, the album had sold around 750,000 copies worldwide, with its main markets in Europe (reaching the top 20 in several countries including Germany and Scandinavian territories[4]), Japan and Australia.[5] UK sales exceeded 100,000.[6] In two months, the album had sold a "respectable" 12,000 copies in Canada.[7]

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Contemporaneous reviews
(published in 1996)
Review scores
SourceRating
The Age5/10[8]
Alternative Press4/5[9]
Dayton Daily News[10]
The Guardian[11]
Pensacola News Journal[12]
Q[13]
Select2/5[14]
Smash Hits3/5[15]
Times Colonist[16]
Vox2/10[1]

The Boy with the X-Ray Eyes was generally well-received by critics upon its release.[7] In Babylon Zoo's native UK, Observer journalist Neil Spencer noted "a blast of Beatles and a hunk of early [David] Bowie", hailing bandleader Jas Mann as a "hero" and "1996's first real phenomenon".[17] The Guardian named the album their "CD of the week". Rick Glanvill said: "This is a fey, pretentious vision of music but deny its energy and style to your detriment... Lyrics aren't a strong point but strong tunes put [Mann] on the harder side of glam."[11] Q's Martin Aston asserted that "Spaceman" is "startlingly great", with the rest of the record being "equally appealing".[13] David Sinclair in The Times referred to "a credible and cohesive collection of songs which harnesses a big, distorted guitar sound to a futuristic vision".[18] Less enthused was music historian Martin C. Strong, who found the album to be "mediocre".[19]

There were several negative reviews throughout the British Isles. The Daily Telegraph commended the first two tracks but lost interest thereafter, directing criticism at the "mannered" vocals, "increasingly precious" lyrics, and song arrangements in which "one grinding riff sure enough follows another".[20] Andy Gill in The Independent described the album as "re-heated techno-glam guitar-rock somewhere between Ziggy Stardust and Jesus Jones", which brings home "just how mundane the notionally exotic can be".[21] The Irish Times observed an "outmoded melange of distorted guitars, washed out synthesisers and pseudo sociological sci fi lyrics", listening to which is "not a pleasant experience".[22] The List's Rodger Evans portrayed the record as "wholly uninspired",[23] while Ian Harrison of Select dubbed it "a mime troupe unable to keep quiet".[14]

The Boy with the X-Ray Eyes also garnered attention in the United States. People contended: "[T]he tunes basically reprise the sonic spirit and hooky appeal of ['Spaceman']. Before long you just might find yourself humming them in your sleep."[24] Dave Thompson in Alternative Press felt "no fears for follow-ups" to the lead single, and likened the album to "[David] Bowie's Ziggy Stardust, remixed by the guys from Underworld".[9] New York Times critic Neil Strauss described the record as "wonderful and satisfying in the short term but ultimately disposable".[25] An unfavourable J. D. Considine in The Baltimore Sun chided the album's "shoddy sound and abundant gimmickry", concluding that "it's hard to imagine America falling for this junk".[26]

Legacy

Professional ratings
Retrospective reviews
(published after 1996)
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[27]
The Virgin Encyclopedia of Nineties Music[28]

Kevin Courtney of The Irish Times found The Boy with the X-Ray Eyes to be "fatally flawed".[29] British journalist Tim Moore criticised the length of its tracks as excessive, and called the album "persistently tuneless, repetitive and garbled".[30] It was identified by BBC Radio presenter OJ Borg as the record he regrets buying.[31] In 2017, Vice's Daisy Jones ranked 15 "one-hit wonder" albums from history, naming The Boy with the X-Ray Eyes as the worst. Jones had praise only for the chorus of "Spaceman", likening the remainder of the record to "being thumped on the head with a large chunk of wood then dragged backwards through thick sludge".[32]

The Guardian and Q, who initially published favourable reviews, have named the record one of the worst of all time. In a 1999 Guardian article, critic Andrew Mueller labelled The Boy with the X-Ray Eyes "one of the most hilariously terrible albums ever made".[33] Q staff ranked the LP at number 42 in their 2006 list of the 50 worst records in history, calling it an "album of lumpen MOR rock" that "sank without trace".[34] A 2016 public poll organised by online trade-in site Ziffit.com placed it at number 31 in a list of the 50 worst records ever.[35]

While acknowledging that readers might "sneer", NME published a defence of The Boy with the X-Ray Eyes by critic Gavin Haynes, who argued that the album, although "garish", "manages to pack as much melody and pop joy into its span as any of the canonical albums of [1996]."[36] AllMusic awarded the record 3/5 stars, despite editor Stephen Thomas Erlewine's discrete review in which he observed a lack of cohesion and hooks, and characterised Mann as "pretentious, not ambitious".[27]

Track listing

All tracks written by Jas Mann.

  1. "Animal Army" – 5:55
  2. "Spaceman" – 5:41
  3. "Zodiac Sign" – 4:58
  4. "Paris Green" – 4:43
  5. "Confused Art" – 4:32
  6. "Caffeine" – 6:34
  7. "The Boy with the X-Ray Eyes" – 4:27
  8. "Don't Feed the Animals" – 1:38
  9. "Fire Guided Light" – 6:43
  10. "Is Your Soul for Sale?" – 5:52
  11. "I'm Cracking Up I Need a Pill" – 3:46
  • A CD promo sampler was also issued that includes the tracks "Spaceman", "Zodiac Sign", "Animal Army" and "I'm Cracking Up I Need a Pill".

Charts

Chart (1996) Peak
Position
Australian Albums (ARIA)[37] 28
Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria)[38] 23
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)[39] 21
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia)[40] 19
Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)[41] 21
Finnish Albums (Suomen virallinen lista)[42] 4
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[43] 18
New Zealand Albums (RMNZ)[44] 39
Norwegian Albums (VG-lista)[45] 20
Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan)[46] 19
Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[47] 8
UK Albums (OCC)[3] 6

References

  1. 1 2 Willmott, Ben (April 1996). "Babylon Zoo: Boy With The X-Ray Eyes". Vox. No. 66. p. 77.
  2. ↑ Roberts, David (2006). British Hit Singles & Albums (19th ed.). London: Guinness World Records Limited. p. 38. ISBN 1-904994-10-5.
  3. 1 2 "Babylon Zoo". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 19 December 2018.
  4. ↑ Steffen Hung. "Babylon Zoo - The Boy With The X-Ray Eyes". finnishcharts.com. Retrieved 10 August 2022.
  5. ↑ Sinclair, David (22 February 1997). "UK Brits Around the World". Billboard.
  6. ↑ Kwaku; Sexton, Paul (29 March 1997). "Eastern Wave Also Encompasses Pop". Billboard.
  7. 1 2 "Babylon Zoo lands in Toronto". Ottawa Citizen: 56 (E12). 23 May 1996. [T]he CD has been critically well-received around the world.
  8. ↑ "Top 10 of the Britpop Pack". The Age: 46 (Entertainment Guide, p. 14). 24 May 1996.
  9. 1 2 Thompson, Dave (June 1996). "Babylon Zoo: The Boy with the X-Ray Eyes". Alternative Press. p. 69.
  10. ↑ Morosi, Charmaine (5 July 1996). "Recordings on Review". Dayton Daily News: 61 (Go!, p. 15).
  11. 1 2 Glanvill, Rick (2 February 1996). "CD of the week: Babylon Zoo". The Guardian: 40 (Friday Review, p. 14).
  12. ↑ "Briefs". Pensacola News Journal: 11 (3B). 13 May 1996.
  13. 1 2 Aston, Martin (March 1996). "Babylon Zoo: The Boy with the X-Ray Eyes". Q. p. 92.
  14. 1 2 Harrison, Ian (February 1996). "New Albums". Select. p. 89. Retrieved 24 July 2013.
  15. ↑ Paramor, Jordan (31 January 1996). "Babylon Zoo: The Boy With The X-Ray Eyes". Smash Hits. No. 448. p. 53.
  16. ↑ Parisien, Roch (9 May 1996). "Roch on Music". Times Colonist: 25 (C3).
  17. ↑ Spencer, Neil (11 February 1996). "Music Releases". The Observer: 12.
  18. ↑ Sinclair, David (2 February 1996). "Babylon Zoo: The Boy with the X-Ray Eyes". The Times: 31.
  19. ↑ Strong, Martin C (1996). The Wee Rock Discography. Canongate. p. 18. ISBN 978-0862416218.
  20. ↑ "Animal magic of Spaceman Jas". The Daily Telegraph: 9. 10 February 1996.
  21. ↑ Gill, Andy (2 February 1996). "Record reviews". The Independent. Retrieved 16 December 2018.
  22. ↑ "Rock". The Irish Times. 9 February 1996. Retrieved 2 December 2015.
  23. ↑ Evans, Rodger (23 February 1996). "Babylon Zoo: The Boy with the X-Ray Eyes". The List. No. 273. p. 46. Retrieved 6 June 2017.
  24. ↑ "The Boy with the X-Ray Eyes". People. 15 April 1996. Retrieved 16 December 2018.
  25. ↑ Strauss, Neil (26 March 1996). "Critic's Choice/Pop CD's; Pushing Beyond Grunge". The New York Times.
  26. ↑ Considine, J. D. (28 March 1996). "Babylon Zoo: The Boy with the X-Ray Eyes". The Baltimore Sun. Archived from the original on 18 June 2012. Retrieved 16 December 2018.
  27. 1 2 Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. The Boy with the X-Ray Eyes. AllMusic. Retrieved 19 December 2018.
  28. ↑ Larkin, Colin (2000). The Virgin Encyclopedia of Nineties Music. Virgin Books. p. 30. ISBN 9780753504277.
  29. ↑ Courtney, Kevin (12 February 1999). "Rock/Pop". The Irish Times. Retrieved 5 December 2018.
  30. ↑ Moore, Tim (2012). You are Awful (but I Like You): Travels Through Unloved Britain. Vintage. pp. 157–158. ISBN 978-0-224-09011-7.
  31. ↑ @BBCRadio2 (11 October 2018). "It's #NationalAlbumDay on Saturday and @OJBorg wants to hear about the albums you *regret* buying" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  32. ↑ Jones, Daisy (9 May 2017). "A Complete Ranking of 15 One-Hit Wonder Albums from Worst to Best". Vice. Retrieved 27 August 2020.
  33. ↑ Mueller, Andrew (30 January 1999). "Music". The Guardian: 159 (The Guide, p. 37).
  34. ↑ "The 50 Worst Albums Ever!". Q. May 2006.
  35. ↑ "Top 50 Worst Albums Ever". The Irish News. 8 September 2016. Retrieved 1 January 2019.
  36. ↑ Haynes, Gavin (27 March 2010). "Unspun Heroes". NME.
  37. ↑ "australian-charts.com > Discography Babylon Zoo". Hung Medien. Retrieved 10 November 2015.
  38. ↑ "Austriancharts.at – Babylon Zoo – The Boy with the X-Ray Eyes" (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved September 27, 2022.
  39. ↑ "Ultratop.be – Babylon Zoo – The Boy with the X-Ray Eyes" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved September 27, 2022.
  40. ↑ "Ultratop.be – Babylon Zoo – The Boy with the X-Ray Eyes" (in French). Hung Medien. Retrieved September 27, 2022.
  41. ↑ "Dutchcharts.nl – Babylon Zoo – The Boy with the X-Ray Eyes" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved September 27, 2022.
  42. ↑ "Babylon Zoo: The Boy with the X-Ray Eyes" (in Finnish). Musiikkituottajat – IFPI Finland. Retrieved September 27, 2022.
  43. ↑ "Offiziellecharts.de – Babylon Zoo – The Boy with the X-Ray Eyes" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved September 27, 2022.
  44. ↑ "Charts.nz – Babylon Zoo – The Boy with the X-Ray Eyes". Hung Medien. Retrieved September 27, 2022.
  45. ↑ "Norwegiancharts.com – Babylon Zoo – The Boy with the X-Ray Eyes". Hung Medien. Retrieved September 27, 2022.
  46. ↑ "Swedishcharts.com – Babylon Zoo – The Boy with the X-Ray Eyes". Hung Medien. Retrieved September 27, 2022.
  47. ↑ "Swisscharts.com – Babylon Zoo – The Boy with the X-Ray Eyes". Hung Medien. Retrieved September 27, 2022.
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