The North Star (Roddy Frame album)

The North Star
Studio album by Roddy Frame
Released	21 September 1998
Studio	Mayfair, London Metropolis, London
Length	37:32
Label	Independiente
Producer	Roddy Frame Simon Dawson
Roddy Frame chronology
The North Star (1998) Surf (2002)
Singles from The North Star
"Reason for Living" Released: September 1998

The North Star is the debut album by Scottish singer-songwriter Roddy Frame, released in September 1998 by Independiente. It features the single "Reason for Living", which peaked at number 45 on the UK Singles Chart.[1]

Background

Aztec Camera released their sixth studio album Frestonia in November 1995, marking the end of their contract with WEA. It became the band's least commercially successful release; frontman Roddy Frame opted to go solo and signed with Go! Discs. After a year of no activity, the label had been purchased by PolyGram, and its label head Andy McDonald formed a new label, Independiente. Frame subsequently transferred over to his new home.[2]

Critical reception

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[3]

The Guardian wrote that Frame has "painted an autumnal landscape of ballads and guitar rockers (if rockers is the right word for these scaled-down little bruschettas of songs) whose attention to detail could be mistaken for blandness."[4]

Track listing

All tracks are written by Roddy Frame[3]

No.	Title	Length
1.	"Back to the One"	4:01
2.	"The North Star"	4:04
3.	"Here Comes the Ocean"	3:23
4.	"River of Brightness"	4:22
5.	"Strings"	4:10
6.	"Bigger Brighter Better"	3:27
7.	"Autumn Flower"	4:17
8.	"Reason for Living"	3:16
9.	"Sister Shadow"	3:38
10.	"Hymn to Grace"	2:54

Personnel

• Roddy Frame – vocals, guitar, bass, mandolin[3]
• Andy Claine – backing vocals
• Yolanda Charles – bass
• Claire Kenny – bass
• Jeremy Stacey – drums
• Mark Edwards – keyboards, piano, organ
• Luis Jardim – percussion
• Barriemore Barlow – percussion

Technical

• Simon Dawson – engineer, record producer
• Matt Lawrence – assistant engineer
• Gerard Navarro – assistant engineer
• Jon Kelly – mixer
• Andy Green – assistant mixer
• Ellen Nolan – photography

Chart performance

The North Star spent a total of two weeks in the UK Albums Chart, peaking at number 55 on 3 October 1998.[5]

Chart (1998)	Peak position
UK Albums Chart[5]	55

References

Citations

1. "Official Singles Chart Top 100 | Official Charts Company". www.officialcharts.com. Retrieved 2 April 2020.
2. Thompson 2000, p. 165
3. DiGravina, Tim. "North Star – Roddy Frame | Songs, Reviews, Credits, Awards | AllMusic". AllMusic. Retrieved 2 April 2020.
4. Sullivan, Caroline (2 October 1998). "Roddy Frame The North Star". Music. The Guardian. p. 18.
5. "Chart Log UK 1994–2008 Adam F – FYA". zobbel.de. Retrieved 2 April 2020.

Sources

• Thompson, Dave (2000). Alternative Rock. Third Ear: The Essential Listening Companion. San Francisco, California: Miller Freeman Books. ISBN 0-87930-607-6.