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As Far as Siam

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As Far as Siam
Studio album by
ReleasedJune 30, 1981 (1981-06-30)
Recorded1981
StudioSunset Sound, Los Angeles
GenreRock
Length34:52
LabelCapitol
ProducerRichard Landis
(except tracks 5 and 9 produced by Michael James Jackson)
Red Rider chronology
Don't Fight It
(1979)
As Far as Siam
(1981)
Neruda
(1983)
Singles from As Far as Siam
  1. "What Have You Got To Do"
    Released: 1981
  2. "Lunatic Fringe"
    Released: 1981
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
Allmusic[1]

As Far as Siam is the second studio album by the Canadian rock band Red Rider. The majority of the album was recorded at Sunset Sound in Los Angeles and produced by Richard Landis; two tracks were produced in Toronto by Michael James Jackson. The album was released by Capitol Records on June 30, 1981.

The album reached #65 on Billboard's Pop Albums chart in 1981. The single "What Have You Got to do (To Get Off Tonight)" peaked at #16 on the Canadian charts.

Background and writing

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"Lunatic Fringe", the band's most famous song, is about what composer Tom Cochrane saw as an alarming rise of anti-Semitism in the 1970s, and was inspired by a book he read about Raoul Wallenberg.[2] The song is featured in the 1985 high-school wrestling movie Vision Quest, the Miami Vice episode "Smuggler's Blues", the My Name Is Earl episode "The Bounty Hunter" and on an episode of Eastbound & Down. The beginning of the song is used as a part of a bump for the Cincinnati radio station, WEBN. It is also the inspiration for Kurt Angle's entrance theme in Total Nonstop Action Wrestling. It is also used as American Mixed Martial Artist Dan Henderson's and Randy Couture's entrance theme as of late. American guitarist Gary Hoey covered "Lunatic Fringe" on his 2006 album American Made.

The distinctive guitar solo in "Lunatic Fringe" was performed by Kenny Greer on a lap steel, also seen in the song's music video.

Track listing

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All tracks are written by Tom Cochrane unless otherwise noted

Side one
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Lunatic Fringe" 4:23
2."Cowboys in Hong Kong (As Far as Siam)"Rob Baker, Cochrane, Ken Greer4:08
3."Only Game in Town" 3:21
4."Thru the Curtain"Baker, Peter Boynton, Cochrane, Greer, Jeff Jones3:19
5."What Have You Got to Do (To Get Off Tonight)" 3:21
Side two
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
6."Ships" 4:37
7."Caught in the Middle" 4:25
8."Don't Let Go of Me" 3:55
9."Laughing Man"Cochrane, Jones3:38

Personnel

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Additional personnel

References

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  1. ^ Allmusic review
  2. ^ "Tom Cochrane - Articles". Archived from the original on 2006-05-08. Retrieved 2006-08-05.
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