{{about||the elevator|Dumbwaiter (elevator)|the song by The Psychedelic Furs|Dumb Waiters (song)}} {{Use dmy dates|date=April 2022}} {{More citations needed|date=February 2020}} {{Infobox album | name = Dumb Waiters | type = Studio | artist = The Korgis | cover = The Korgis - Dumb Waiters.jpg | alt = | released = 7 July 1980 | recorded = October 1979 – March 1980 | venue = | studio = | genre = {{hlist|Pop|new wave|synthpop}} | length = {{Duration|m=34|s=33}} | label = Rialto Records (UK)<br />Asylum Records (U.S.) | producer = The Korgis, David Lord | prev_title = The Korgis | prev_year = 1979 | next_title = Sticky George | next_year = 1981 }} '''''Dumb Waiters''''' is the second studio album by English New wave music pop fusion band the Korgis. It was released on Rialto Records in the UK in 1980.
The album peaked #40 at UK chart and includes the singles "Everybody's Got to Learn Sometime", UK #5, US #18, Australia #18; "If It's Alright with You Baby" UK #56; "Dumb Waiters" and "Rover's Return".
''Dumb Waiters'' was re-issued on CD by Edsel Records in 1999.
==Background== Following the release of their self-titled debut album in 1979, the Korgis quickly began working on their second album with producer David Lord. Their debut album had been recorded in Lord's Crescent Studios, which the producer established in his top-floor flat in Camden Crescent, Bath. By the time the Korgis came to record ''Dumb Waiters'', Lord had moved Crescent Studios into a house in Walcot Street and provided it with superior recording equipment, including a new recording console and a 24-track tape machine.<ref name="Kollection">{{cite AV media notes |title=DVD Kollection (Extra Features: Band History) |year=2005 |first=Gavin |last=Mulhoney |type=DVD |publisher=Angel Air Waves |id=NJPDVD622N |location=UK}}</ref>
Originally a duo with James Warren and Andy Davis, the Korgis became a four-piece line-up with the joining of Bath-based musicians Phil Harrison and Stuart Gordon, who had both contributed to the Korgis's debut album.<ref name="Kollection"/> ''Dumb Waiters'' took about five months to record.<ref name="Melody Maker">{{cite magazine |last=Etheridge |first=Dave |title=Getting back to sophisticated manners |magazine=Melody Maker |date=9 August 1980 |page=19 |issn=0025-9012}}</ref> During its recording, Peter Gabriel allowed the Korgis to use his Fairlight CMI; Gabriel being the first owner of a Fairlight Series I in the UK.<ref name="Off the Leash">{{cite AV media notes |title=DVD Kollection (Off the Leash documentary) |year=2005 |type=DVD |publisher=Angel Air Waves |id=NJPDVD622N |location=UK}}</ref>
As the album neared completion, Davis departed the band to pursue other musical ventures; he went on to join Slow Twitch Fibres.<ref name="Melody Maker"/><ref name="Kollection"/> Davis later admitted that he always had a tendency to get bored easily and, at the time, the band's early success left no challenge for him. He also found the recording of ''Dumb Waiters'' to be very methodological and lacking in spontaneity. Warren recollected that Davis disliked the "smooth" direction that the Korgis were taking, with less of a rock edge and Warren's insistence on things like three-part harmonies.<ref name="Off the Leash"/> As Davis had provided the lead vocals on half of the tracks, Warren returned to the studio to replace them with his own vocals. In a 2025 interview with ''Record Collector'', Warren expressed regret that he did not re-record half of the album and replace a couple of tracks, particularly as the backing tracks to those originally sung by Davis were not changed and their key was too low for Warren.<ref>{{cite magazine |author=Dr Tim |title=Talking Heads: The Korgis+ |magazine=Record Collector |date=November 2025 |page=44 |issn=0261-250X}}</ref>
Speaking of the album, Warren told ''Melody Maker'' in 1980, "Essentially the album [is] a continuation of the first, in that we still wanted to try and write good three minute songs, and also to be quite meticulous in the recording of [them]."<ref name="Melody Maker"/>
==Critical reception== {{Music ratings |rev1 = AllMusic |rev1Score = {{Rating|2|5}} <ref>{{AllMusic|class=album|id=r42593}}</ref> |rev2 = ''Record Mirror'' |rev2score = {{Rating|3.5|5}}<ref name="Record Mirror">{{cite magazine |last=Ludgate |first=Simon |title=Albums: Not So Dumb Bunnies |magazine=Record Mirror |date=12 July 1980 |page=21 |issn=0144-5804}}</ref> |rev3 = ''Smash Hits'' |rev3Score = 7½/10<ref name="Smash Hits">{{cite magazine |last=Cranna |first=Ian |title=Albums |magazine=Smash Hits |date=10 July 1980 |volume=2 |issue=14 |page=31 |issn=0260-3004}}</ref> }} Upon its release, Simon Ludgate of ''Record Mirror'' described ''Dumb Waiters'' as being full of "wistful, romantic pop songs" and concluded, "Although definitely a case of filing under 'easy listening', this album is of sound body and mind."<ref name="Record Mirror"/> Ian Cranna of ''Smash Hits'' noted that "skilful borrowing" of "elements as varied as the Regents, old film songs, disco and electronics" have been "blended into this simple, very tuneful and very appealing album". He continued, "Add a bright, modernised feel, the distinctive soft shoe vocal delivery behind that massive string synthesiser, some quirky humour plus a large, unabashed streak and you get the Korgis' intelligent candyfloss for sentimental types."<ref name="Smash Hits"/> James Belsey of the ''Bristol Evening Post'' called it a "delicious album". He picked the "near-Giorgio Moroder" "Drawn and Quartered" as "particularly strong" and described "Everybody's Got to Learn Sometime" as "beautiful".<ref>{{cite news |last=Belsey |first=James |title=Pops |url=https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0004769/19800712/006/0006 |newspaper=Bristol Evening Post |date=12 July 1980 |page=6 |via=British Newspaper Archive |url-access=subscription |access-date=11 December 2024}}</ref>
Peter Trollope of the ''Liverpool Echo'' gave the album "ten out of ten for effort" and commented that the Korgis had successfully produced "an album of singles" to match the standard of "Everybody's Got to Learn Sometime". He wrote, "Some of the songs, like the new single, are superb, while others almost reach perfection. The lyrics are, sometimes, a bit too twee and tacky, while at other times, they are just right. Even if you don't like the Korgis, you'll find it hard not to like ''Dumb Waiters''."<ref>{{cite news |last=Trollope |first=Peter |title=Pop: For Longer Listening |url=https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0000271/19800718/141/0010 |newspaper=Liverpool Echo |date=18 July 1980 |page=10 |via=British Newspaper Archive |url-access=subscription |access-date=11 December 2024}}</ref> Paul Screeton of the ''Hartlepool Mail'' called it a "good pop album with thought behind it and commerciality oozing from it". He continued, "The Korgis have a knack for musical subtlety and understatement and a craftsmanlike approach to songwriting."<ref>{{cite news |last=Screeton |first=Paul |title=Disc Date! |url=https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0000637/19800906/038/0004 |newspaper=Hartlepool Mail |date=6 September 1980 |page=4 |via=British Newspaper Archive |url-access=subscription |access-date=11 December 2024}}</ref> Jim Whiteford of the ''Kilmarnock Standard'' considered it a "worthwhile follow-up" to the band's debut album and noted their "sweet melodic approach".<ref>{{cite news |last=Whiteford |first=Jim |title=Records |url=https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0003423/19800815/014/0014 |newspaper=Kilmarnock Standard |date=15 August 1980 |page=14 |via=British Newspaper Archive |url-access=subscription |access-date=11 December 2024}}</ref>
Aberdeen's ''Press and Journal'' praised "Everybody's Got to Learn Sometime", but believed some of the other tracks "sound a little overproduced and too 'busy'", with the Korgis "sound[ing] best with a fairly sparse backing".<ref>{{cite news |author=R.K. |title=On the Record: Kaminski clicks |url=https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0000578/19800726/241/0009 |newspaper=The Press and Journal |date=26 July 1980 |page=9 |via=British Newspaper Archive |url-access=subscription |access-date=11 December 2024}}</ref> Peter Kinghorn of Newcastle's ''The Journal'' commented that "inevitable comparisons with [their] excellent debut album produce disappointment". He stated, "Slow numbers have meandering melodies, like 'Everybody's Got to Learn Sometime' whose success astounded me, while more uptempo songs lack meat."<ref>{{cite news |last=Kinghorn |first=Peter |title=Quick Spins |url=https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0002240/19800801/060/0006 |newspaper=The Journal |date=1 August 1980 |page=6 |via=British Newspaper Archive |url-access=subscription |access-date=11 December 2024}}</ref>
==Track listing== {{Track listing | headline = Side A
| title1 = Silent Running | writer1 = Warren | length1 = 3:05
| title2 = Love Ain't Too Far Away | writer2 = Davis | length2 = 3:29
| title3 = Perfect Hostess | writer3 = Davis | length3 = 3:21
| title4 = Drawn and Quartered | writer4 = Warren | length4 = 3:20
| title5 = Everybody's Got to Learn Sometime | note5 = 1999 CD edition includes alternate version | writer5 = Warren | length5 = 4:24 }} {{Track listing | headline = Side B
| title6 = Intimate | writer6 = Davis | length6 = 3:08
| title7 = It's No Good Unless You Love Me | writer7 = Warren | length7 = 3:24
| title8 = Dumb Waiters | writer8 = Warren | length8 = 2:42
| title9 = If It's Alright with You Baby | writer9 = Warren | length9 = 4:06
| title10 = Rover's Return | writer10 = Davis | length10 = 3:34 }}
==Charts== {| class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center" |- ! scope="col" | Chart (1980) ! scope="col" | Peak<br />position |- ! scope="row" |Australia (Kent Music Report)<ref>{{cite book|last=Kent|first=David|author-link=David Kent (historian)|title=Australian Chart Book 1970–1992|edition=illustrated|publisher=Australian Chart Book|location=St Ives, N.S.W.|year=1993|isbn=0-646-11917-6|page=170}}</ref> | 72 |- {{album chart|Netherlands|48|artist=The Korgis|album=Dumb Waiters|rowheader=true|access-date=11 December 2024}} |- {{album chart|Sweden|32|artist=The Korgis|album=Dumb Waiters|rowheader=true|access-date=11 December 2024}} |- {{album chart|UK2|40|date=19800810|rowheader=true|access-date=11 December 2024}} |}
==Personnel== * James Warren - lead vocals, background vocals, bass guitar, electric guitar, keyboards * Stuart Gordon - acoustic guitar, violin * Andy Davis - electric guitar, keyboards, drums, percussion, background vocals * Phil Harrison - keyboards, percussion
=== Additional personnel === * David Lord - percussion * Stephen Paine - programming * Jo Mullet - background vocals * Ali Cohn - background vocals
==Production== * The Korgis - producers * David Lord - producer, sound engineer * Nick Heath - direction * Tim Heath - direction * Jeffery Edwards - cover painting * Tim Simmons - photography * Nick Heath, George Rowbottom - art direction * Julian Balme - art direction * Recorded at Crescent Studios, Bath, Somerset, England from October 1979 to March 1980.
==Release history== * 1980 LP Rialto Records TENOR 104 (UK) * 1980 LP Asylum Records 290 (US) * 1999 CD Edsel Records EDCD 622
==Single releases== ''Format: 7" unless otherwise noted'' * "Everybody's Got to Learn Sometime" / "Dirty Postcards" (Rialto TREB 115, April 1980) * "If It's Alright with You Baby" / "Love Ain't Too Far Away" (TREB 118, July 1980) * "If It's Alright with You Baby" (Remix) - 3:46 / "Love Ain't Too Far Away" (12" TREBL 118, July 1980) * "Dumb Waiters" / "Perfect Hostess" (TREB 122, October 1980) * "Rovers Return" / "Wish You a Merry Christmas" (non-album track) (Warren/Harrison) - 2:53 (TREB 131, 28 November 1980<ref>{{cite magazine |title=Data Control: Record News |magazine=New Musical Express |date=29 November 1980 |page=43 |issn=0028-6362}}</ref>)
==References== {{Reflist}}
{{The Korgis}} {{Authority control}}
Category:1980 albums Category:The Korgis albums Category:Asylum Records albums