Daddy's Highway

Daddy's Highway is the 1987 debut album by New Zealand indie rock group The Bats.

Daddy's Highway
Studio album by
The Bats
Released1987
Recorded1986-1987 at Reel Time in Glasgow, Scotland and Nightshift in Christchurch, New Zealand
GenreDunedin sound, indie pop, alternative rock, jangle pop
Length36 minutes (original version)
51:56 (1994/2010 reissue)
LabelFlying Nun
ProducerThe Bats and John Milton
The Bats chronology
Made Up in Blue
(1986)		 Daddy's Highway
(1987)		 4 Songs
(1988)
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[1]
Christgau's Record GuideB+[2]

Recording and release

By 1986, The Bats had released three critically acclaimed EPs, but still had not released a full-length album. While touring in the U.K. that year, an acquaintance in Glasgow offered the use of his home 8 track studio. Half of the tracks for what would become Daddy's Highway were recorded there.[3]

Upon their return to New Zealand, recording was completed at Nightshift in Christchurch, and the album was released by Flying Nun in 1987. "Block of Wood" was released as a 7" vinyl single.[4]

Reception

Daddy's Highway is The Bats' most highly regarded album, and has been named one of the best New Zealand albums of the 1980s.[5] In 2000, it was named #88 in music magazine Rip It Up's New Zealand's Top 100 Albums of All Time.[6] Notable tracks on the album include "North By North", "Tragedy" and the lead single, "Block of Wood", all of which were staples on New Zealand student radio.

Reissues

In March 1994, the album was released in America under Mammoth Records with five bonus tracks added; "Calm Before The Storm" and "Candidate" were the B-sides to the "Block of Wood" single, and the remaining three songs were from the band's early EP Made Up in Blue.

In October 2010, Flying Nun reissued Daddy's Highway. The album was remastered by Paul Kean, and the same five bonus tracks from the Mammoth reissue were also added.

Track listing

All tracks are written by Robert Scott.

No.TitleLength
1."Treason"2:55
2."Sir Queen"3:25
3."Round And Down"2:18
4."Take It"2:30
5."North By North"4:08
6."Tragedy"3:00
7."Block of Wood"3:12
8."Miss These Things"3:07
9."Mid City Team"2:25
10."Some Peace Tonight"2:53
11."Had To Be You"3:03
12."Daddy's Highway"4:00
2010 reissue bonus tracks
No.TitleLength
13."Calm Before The Storm"2:55
14."Candidate"3:25
15."Mad on You"2:18
16."Trouble in This Town"2:30
17."Made Up in Blue"4:08

Personnel
  • Paul Kean (bass, vocals, engineer, mixed by)
  • Malcolm Grant (drums)
  • Robert Scott (lead vocals, rhythm guitar, keyboards)
  • Kaye Woodward (lead guitar, vocals)

Also credited:

  • Alastair Galbraith - violin on "Treason", "Sir Queen", "Block of Wood", "Miss These Things" and "Had To Be You".
  • Arnold Von Bussell - engineer, mixed by
  • Rob Pinder - engineer, mixed by

References
  1. Allmusic
  2. Christgau, Robert (1990). "B". Christgau's Record Guide: The '80s. Pantheon Books. ISBN 0-679-73015-X. Retrieved 16 August 2020 – via robertchristgau.com.
  3. Kean, Paul. "The Bats: Ancient History - Official Site". The Bats. Archived from the original on 24 July 2011. Retrieved 7 December 2011.
  4. "The Bats - Official Site". The Bats. Retrieved 7 December 2011.
  5. Hogg, Colin. "Flying Nun Records - The Bats". Flying Nun Records. Archived from the original on 23 November 2011. Retrieved 7 December 2011.
  6. Muller, Fred. "New Zealand's Top 100 Albums of All Time". Rock List. Retrieved 7 December 2011.
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