{{about||the album's title track|Stick to Me (song)|}} {{Use dmy dates|date=October 2020}} {{More citations needed|date=April 2024}} {{Infobox album | name = Stick to Me | type = studio | artist = Graham Parker and the Rumour | cover = Stick to me cover.jpg | alt = | released = October 1977 | recorded = Eden, London | venue = | studio = | genre = Rock | length = 36:44 | label = Vertigo, Mercury | producer = Nick Lowe | chronology = Graham Parker | prev_title = Heat Treatment | prev_year = 1977 | next_title = The Parkerilla | next_year = 1978 }} '''''Stick to Me''''' is the third studio album by English singer-songwriter Graham Parker and the Rumour, released in 1977.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Tucker |first1=Ken |title=A Dizzying Career |work=The Philadelphia Inquirer |date=8 Oct 1983 |page=C3}}</ref>
==Background== Parker, interviewed by Steve Hammer, recalled the making of the album:
{{blockquote|...for ''Stick to Me'', we had an 80-piece string section playing. But the whole album had to be scrapped because the master tape was leaking oxide or something. The producer, again, didn't seem to spot it. We saw this black stuff coming off the tapes but he didn't notice it. When we came to mix it, it was un-mixable. The hi-hat was leaking through all the tracks. It was a nightmare, because we had a tour coming up. In those days I had a manager, and managers are always saying, "We have to play in Sweden now," like that's the most important thing to do. So we re-made the record in a week with Nick Lowe. It's not what I wanted at all. It's a very intense, grungy-sounding record, but I kind of like it now for that reason. I think people are trying to get that sound now, and have been since the late '80s, when we finally got rid of that Phil Collins drum sound and got real again. If a band made a record like that now, it would be hailed as a great low-fi record. But in those days, of course, the American press panned it. They thought I should sound like Boston or Journey or something. They thought I should have a slicker sound. But they had a point.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.nuvo.net/hammer/int/gparker.html |title=Graham Parker: Back and better than ever |newspaper=NUVO |date=June 1997 |accessdate=11 October 2020 |last=Hammer |first=Steve |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20021226180743/http://www.nuvo.net/hammer/int/gparker.html |archive-date=26 December 2002 |url-status=dead}}</ref>}}
==Critical reception== {{Music ratings | rev1 = AllMusic | rev1score = {{Rating|4.5|5}}<ref name=Allmusic>{{cite web |url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/stick-to-me-mw0000203290 |title=''Stick to Me'' – Graham Parker & the Rumour / Graham Parker |website=AllMusic |accessdate=5 March 2006 |last=Ruhlmann |first=William}}</ref> | rev2 = ''Christgau's Record Guide'' | rev2score = A−<ref>{{cite book |chapter=Graham Parker: ''Stick to Me'' |chapter-url=https://www.robertchristgau.com/get_album.php?id=1428 |accessdate=5 March 2006 |title=Christgau's Record Guide: Rock Albums of the Seventies |title-link=Christgau's Record Guide: Rock Albums of the Seventies |last=Christgau |first=Robert |author-link=Robert Christgau |publisher=Ticknor and Fields |year=1981 |isbn=0-89919-026-X}}</ref> | rev3 = ''The Encyclopedia of Popular Music'' | rev3score = {{Rating|3|5}}<ref>{{cite book |chapter=Parker, Graham |title=The Encyclopedia of Popular Music |last=Larkin |first=Colin |author-link=Colin Larkin |publisher=Omnibus Press |edition=5th concise |year=2011 |isbn=978-0-85712-595-8}}</ref> | rev4 = ''Q'' | rev4score = {{Rating|4|5}}<ref>{{cite magazine |title=Graham Parker and the Rumour: ''Stick to Me'' |magazine=Q |issue=180 |date=Summer 2001 |page=125}}</ref> | rev5 = ''The Rolling Stone Album Guide'' | rev5score = {{Rating|3|5}}<ref>{{cite book |chapter=Graham Parker |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=t9eocwUfoSoC&pg=PA616 |accessdate=8 January 2012 |last=Abowitz |first=Richard |title=The New Rolling Stone Album Guide |title-link=The Rolling Stone Album Guide |editor1-last=Brackett |editor1-first=Nathan |editor1-link=Nathan Brackett |editor2-last=Hoard |editor2-first=Christian |editor2-link=Christian Hoard |publisher=Simon & Schuster |edition=4th |year=2004 |isbn=0-7432-0169-8 |pages=[https://archive.org/details/newrollingstonea00brac/page/616 616–17]}}</ref> | rev6 = ''Spin Alternative Record Guide'' | rev6score = 8/10<ref>{{cite book |chapter=Graham Parker |last=Arnold |first=Gina |author-link=Gina Arnold |title=Spin Alternative Record Guide |title-link=Spin Alternative Record Guide |editor1-last=Weisbard |editor1-first=Eric |editor1-link=Eric Weisbard |editor2-last=Marks |editor2-first=Craig |publisher=Vintage Books |year=1995 |isbn=0-679-75574-8 |pages=286–87}}</ref> | rev7 = ''Uncut'' | rev7score = {{Rating|3.5|5}}<ref>{{cite magazine |title=Graham Parker and the Rumour: ''Stick to Me'' |magazine=Uncut |issue=52 |date=September 2001 |page=102}}</ref> }}
''Rolling Stone'' critic Dave Marsh found that ''Stick to Me'' lacks highlights on the level of the best songs from Parker's previous releases and criticized its production, which he said "obscures the songs' drive and power, making murky some of the most lucid music around."<ref>{{cite magazine |url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-album-reviews/stick-to-me-203532/ |title=''Stick to Me'' |magazine=Rolling Stone |date=1 December 1977 |accessdate=11 October 2020 |last=Marsh |first=Dave |author-link=Dave Marsh}}</ref>
Critical opinion of ''Stick to Me'' generally ranks it below their first two albums, ''Howlin' Wind'' and ''Heat Treatment''. An undeniable shortcoming is the sound: the sessions suffered from a production mishap.<ref name=Allmusic/> The original recording was ruined, and all the songs needed to be rerecorded hastily. This accounts for the absence of bonus tracks on reissues – there weren't any leftovers.
==Track listing== All songs written by Graham Parker except as indicated. # "Stick to Me" – 3:29 # "I'm Gonna Tear Your Playhouse Down" (Earl Randle) – 3:26 # "Problem Child" – 3:25 # "Soul on Ice" – 3:01 # "Clear Head" – 2:58 # "The New York Shuffle" – 2:58 # "Watch the Moon Come Down" – 4:49 # "Thunder and Rain" – 3:15 # "The Heat in Harlem" – 7:00 # "The Raid" – 2:39
==Personnel== *Graham Parker – vocals, guitar *Brinsley Schwarz – guitar *Bob Andrews – organ, piano, keyboards, backing vocals *Martin Belmont – guitar, backing vocals *Andrew Bodnar – bass guitar *Steve Goulding – drums, backing vocals
'''Additional personnel''' *John Altman – saxophone *Ray Beavis – saxophone *David Bedford – arrangements *John Earle – saxophone *Chris Gower – trombone *Dick Hanson – trumpet *Darryl Leeque – percussion
==Charts== {| class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center" ! scope="col"| Chart (1977–78) ! scope="col"| Peak<br />position |- !scope="row"| Australian Albums (Kent Music Report)<ref>{{cite book |title=Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 |last=Kent |first=David |author-link=David Kent (historian) |publisher=Australian Chart Book |location=St Ives, N.S.W. |edition=illustrated |year=1993 |isbn=0-646-11917-6 |page=229}}</ref> |style="text-align:center;"| 35 |- {{Album chart|New Zealand|17|artist=Graham Parker & the Rumour|album=Stick to Me|accessdate=1 November 2020|rowheader=true}} |- {{Album chart|Sweden|29|artist=Graham Parker & the Rumour|album=Stick to Me|accessdate=1 November 2020|rowheader=true}} |- {{Album chart|UK2|19|date=19771106|accessdate=11 October 2020|rowheader=true}} |- {{Album chart|Billboard200|125|artist=Graham Parker|accessdate=11 October 2020|rowheader=true}} |}
==References== {{Reflist}}
{{Graham Parker & The Rumour}}
{{Authority control}}
Category:Graham Parker albums Category:1977 albums Category:Albums produced by Nick Lowe Category:Mercury Records albums Category:Vertigo Records albums