Becoming X

Becoming X is the debut studio album by English electronic band Sneaker Pimps. It was first released on 19 August 1996 in the United Kingdom by Clean Up Records and on 25 February 1997 in the United States by Virgin Records. The album marked the only appearance of Kelli Dayton as lead singer before she was asked to leave the band; Chris Corner replaced her for the band's subsequent albums.

Becoming X
Studio album by
Sneaker Pimps
Released19 August 1996 (UK)
25 February 1997 (US)
Length52:57
Label
Producer
Sneaker Pimps chronology
Becoming X
(1996)		 Becoming Remixed
(1998)
Singles from Becoming X
  1. "Tesko Suicide"
    Released: 15 April 1996
  2. "Roll On"
    Released: 3 June 1996
  3. "6 Underground"
    Released: 30 September 1996
  4. "Spin Spin Sugar"
    Released: 3 March 1997
  5. "Post-Modern Sleaze"
    Released: 14 July 1997
Alternative cover
Limited Edition cover
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[1]
Entertainment WeeklyB+[2]
NME5/10[3]
Pitchfork6.3/10[4]
Rolling Stone[5]

Becoming X was commercially successful in the United Kingdom, while "6 Underground" and "Spin Spin Sugar" would become hits in the United States. Fueled by the success of the former single, the album spent 23 consecutive weeks on the US Billboard 200.

Track listing

All tracks are written by Chris Corner, Liam Howe and Ian Pickering unless otherwise noted.

No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Low Place Like Home" 4:38
2."Tesko Suicide" 3:48
3."6 Underground"Chris Corner, Liam Howe, Ian Pickering, John Barry4:06
4."Becoming X" 4:15
5."Spin Spin Sugar" 4:21
6."Post-Modern Sleaze" 5:13
7."Waterbaby" 4:12
8."Roll On" 4:28
9."Wasted Early Sunday Morning" 4:29
10."Walking Zero" 4:31
11."How Do"Paul Giovanni5:03
US bonus track
No.TitleLength
12."6 Underground" (Nellee Hooper Edit)3:53
Total length:52:57
Japan bonus track
No.TitleLength
12."Walk the Rain"5:01
Total length:57:58

Limited Edition
  1. "Low Place Like Home" − 4:38
  2. "Tesko Suicide" − 3:48
  3. "6 Underground (Nellee Hooper Edit)" − 3:48
  4. "Becoming X" − 4:15
  5. "Spin Spin Sugar (Radio Mix)" − 3:34
  6. "Post-Modern Sleaze (Flight from Nashville)" − 3:29
  7. "Waterbaby" − 4:12
  8. "Roll On" − 4:28
  9. "Wasted Early Sunday Morning" − 4:29
  10. "Walking Zero" − 4:31
  11. "How Do" − 5:03
  • This track listing was used for the 2008 and 2016 vinyl reissues of the album, although the original 1996 artwork was supplied instead of the Limited Edition artwork. This caused a lot of confusion, but One Little Indian records insisted it was correct.

Samples
  • "6 Underground" sampled John Barry's track "Golden Girl" from the film Goldfinger (1964)
  • "Becoming X" sampled Sandy Denny's track "Next Time Around" (1971)
  • "Spin Spin Sugar" sampled Luciano Berio's "Visage" (1961)[6]
  • "Post-Modern Sleaze" sampled the ritual music from the final scenes of the film The Wicker Man (1973)
  • "Waterbaby" sampled David Sylvian's track "Let the Happiness In" (1987) and "Guru Sri Chinmoy Aphorism" by Carlos Santana and Alice Coltrane (1974)
  • "How Do" sampled the Rachel Verney vocal audio from the soundtrack in the 1973 British horror film The Wicker Man
  • Live versions of "Spin Spin Sugar" often sampled Kraftwerk's track "Boing Boom Tschak" (1986)
  • "Can't Find My Way Home", the B-side to "6 Underground" sampled John Martyn's track "Go Down Easy" (1973)
  • The demo version of "Low Place Like Home" sampled David Sylvian's tracks "Before the Bullfight" and "Wave" (1986)

Personnel

Sneaker Pimps
  • Kelli Dayton − vocals, guitars
  • Chris Corner − guitars, keyboards
  • Liam Howe − production, keyboards, guitars, drums, samples, percussion, programming
  • Joe Wilson − bass, keyboards
  • Dave Westlake − drums, programming

Other personnel

Charts and certifications

Weekly charts
Chart Peak
position
Australian Albums Chart 55
UK Albums Chart[7] 27
US Billboard 200[8] 111

Certifications
Region CertificationCertified units/sales
United Kingdom (BPI)[9] Gold 100,000^

^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

References
  1. Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "Becoming X – Sneaker Pimps". AllMusic. Retrieved 14 December 2017.
  2. Helligar, Jeremy (14 March 1997). "Becoming X". Entertainment Weekly. Archived from the original on 24 February 2016. Retrieved 14 December 2017.
  3. Fadele, Dele (17 February 1996). "Sneaker Pimps – Becoming X". NME. Archived from the original on 17 August 2000. Retrieved 14 December 2017.
  4. Schreiber, Ryan. "Sneaker Pimps: Becoming X". Pitchfork. Archived from the original on 19 February 2003. Retrieved 14 December 2017.
  5. Micallef, Ken (13 February 1997). "Sneaker Pimps: Becoming X". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on 6 May 2007. Retrieved 14 December 2017.
  6. "Sneaker Pimps's 'Spin Spin Sugar (Album Version)' - Discover the Sample Source". WhoSampled. Retrieved 2018-09-29.
  7. "SNEAKER PIMPS | full Official Chart History | Official Charts Company". www.officialcharts.com.
  8. "Sneaker Pimps Chart History". Billboard.
  9. "British album certifications – Sneaker Pimps – Becoming X". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 30 May 2019. Select albums in the Format field. Select Gold in the Certification field. Type Becoming X in the "Search BPI Awards" field and then press Enter.
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