Senso (Stephen Cummings album)

Senso is the debut studio album by Australian singer-songwriter Stephen Cummings, released in 1984. The album spawned the singles "We All Make Mistakes", "Stuck on Love", "Backstabbers", "Gymnasium", and "Another Kick in the Head". It peaked at number 46 on the Australian Kent Music Report.[1] The album was re-released on CD in 1992. In 2007, the album was re-reissued with This Wonderful Life.

Senso
1984 album cover
Studio album by
ReleasedAugust 1984
RecordedEMI Studios 301
GenreElectronic, rock, pop
Length38:55
LabelWarner Music Group, Regular Records
ProducerMartin Armiger
Stephen Cummings chronology
Senso
(1984)
This Wonderful Life
(1986)
Singles from Senso
  1. "We All Make Mistakes"
    Released: December 1982
  2. "Stuck on Love"
    Released: May 1983
  3. "Backstabbers"
    Released: December 1983
  4. "Gymnasium"
    Released: 2 July 1984
  5. "Another Kick in the Head"
    Released: October 1984

Reception

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Toby Crewel from Rolling Stone Australia gave the album 4 1/2 out of 5, saying "Senso is superficially a collection of romance songs slanted towards the slower numbers. However with repeated listenings it becomes much more than that – it's one of those rare records which reveals new depths and new delights with each spin." adding "Lyrically the songs move from melancholic rapture to ecstatic reverie with paranoia, viciousness and quiet determination in there somewhere as well. Cummings delivers them with more confidence than he showed on The Sports records and he seems especially comfortable with the strong female harmonies and duets. His phrasing has never been better, his voice is more mature and his control more supple. He still loves to twist words out of shape and squeeze nuance from his vocal melody but he rarely mangles the lyric as has happened in the past."[2]

Track listings

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Side A
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Gymnasium"3:36
2."Another Kick in the Head"
  • Martin Armiger
4:02
3."Walking Out the Door"
  • Cummings
  • Armiger
3:12
4."My Mission Tonight"2:56
5."The Company Turns Ugly"
4:07
Side B
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Only a Lonely Man"
3:27
2."Stuck on Love"
  • Cummings
  • Stephen
4:11
3."This Feeling Will Survive"
  • Cummings
  • Stephen
3:55
4."Almost"
  • Cummings
  • Stephen
3:28
5."Backstabbers"3:20
6."I Won't Give Up Your Love"
  • Cummings
  • Stephen
4:01

1992 reissue

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No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Gymnasium"Martin Armiger, Stephen Cummings3:54
2."Another Kick in the Head"Martin Armiger3:55
3."Walking Out the Door"Martin Armiger, Stephen Cummings3:12
4."My Mission Tonight"Andrew Pendlebury, Stephen Cummings2:56
5."The Company Turns Ugly"Ian Stephen, Stephen Cummings4:07
6."We All Make Mistakes"Ian Stephen, Stephen Cummings3:51
7."Only a Lonely Man"Beatrice Verdi, Ivy Jo Hunter3:27
8."Stuck on Love"Stephen Cummings, Ian Stephen4:11
9."This Feeling Will Survive"Stephen Cummings, Ian Stephen3:55
10."Almost"Stephen Cummings, Ian Stephen3:28
11."Backstabbers"Gene McFadden, John Whitehead, Leon Huff3:20
12."I Won't Give Up Your Love"Stephen Cummings, Ian Stephen4:01
Total length:44:07

2007 reissue

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Bonus tracks
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
12."Gymnasium" (Mega Dance Mix)Stephen Cummings, Martin Armiger5:10
13."We All Make Mistakes"Stephen Cummings, Ian Stephen3:50
14."Backstabbers" (Extended Dance Mix)Gene McFadden, John Whitehead, Leon Huff5:29
Total length:55:01

Charts

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Chart (1984) Peak
position
Australian Album Kent Music Report[3] 46

Release history

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Region Date Label Format Catalogue
Australia August 1984 Regular Records Vinyl RRLP-1208
Australia 1992 Regular Records, Warner Music Australia CD D19574

Personnel

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  • Arranged by (brass arrangements) – Greg Flood
  • Joe Creighton - Bass, Additional vocals
  • Mark Ferry - Bass
  • Vince Jones - Cornet (solo)
  • Martin Armiger - Drum programming (Drumulator), Guitar, Keyboards
  • Peter Luscombe - Drums
  • Andrew Pendlebury - Guitar
  • Robert Goodge - Guitar
  • Duncan Veal - Keyboards
  • Jantra de Vilda - Keyboards
  • Stephen Bigger - Keyboards
  • Ricky Fataar - Percussion
  • Wilbur Wilde - Saxophone Solo on Walking Out The Door
  • Joe Camilleri - Saxophone Solo on Another Kick in the Head
  • Venetta Fields - Additional vocals
  • Nick Smith - Additional vocals
  • Linda Nutter - Additional vocals
  • Nick Smith - Additional vocals
  • Stephanie Sproul - Additional vocals

References

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  1. ^ Senso at Australian Charts
  2. ^ "MEDIA: Reviews: Senso". LoveTown. Retrieved 2 March 2019.
  3. ^ Kent, David (1984). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992. St Ives: Australian Chart Book. p. 94. ISBN 0-646-11917-6. N.B. The Kent Report chart was licensed by ARIA between mid-1983 and 19 June 1988.