King (Belly album)

King is the second studio album by American alternative rock band Belly, released on February 13, 1995.

King
Studio album by Belly
Released	February 13, 1995
Recorded	Compass Point Studios (Nassau, Bahamas)
Genre	Alternative rock
Length	45:00
Label	Sire Reprise
Producer	Glyn Johns
Belly chronology
Star (1993) King (1995) Dove (2018)
Singles from King
"Super-Connected" Released: 1995 "Now They'll Sleep" Released: 1995 "Red" Released: 1995 "Seal My Fate" Released: 1995

Although the members had tightened their focus and polished their hook-laden songs, King and its singles did not meet label expectations in the grunge-friendly atmosphere of 1995, and the band broke up shortly after it was released. The album sold over 350,000 copies.[1] In the two decades since King's release, many (including some critics) have reconsidered the initial lukewarm attitude towards the album and now hold it as an equal to Belly's highly regarded debut Star.

Reception

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[2]
Chicago Tribune	[3]
Entertainment Weekly	B+[4]
The Guardian	[5]
Los Angeles Times	[6]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide	[7]
Slant Magazine	[8]
Spin	8/10[9]
The Village Voice	A−[10]

In 2012, King was listed at number seven on PopMatters' "Top 15 Overlooked Albums of the 1990s" list.[11] In 2016, the album was hailed by Will Sheff of Okkervil River as "a winning, confident, masterful collection of songs – poppy and sweet and with a low-key psychedelic undercurrent. Everything good about Star was still there and had been expanded upon, but in many ways this felt like a new, reinvented band."[12]

Track listing

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"Puberty"	Tanya Donelly Gail Greenwood	3:48
2.	"Seal My Fate"	Donelly	4:03
3.	"Red"	Donelly Tom Gorman	3:35
4.	"Silverfish"	Donelly Gorman	4:00
5.	"Super-Connected"	Donelly Greenwood	4:25
6.	"The Bees"	Donelly	4:58
7.	"King"	Donelly	4:18
8.	"Now They'll Sleep"	Donelly Gorman	3:14
9.	"Untitled and Unsung"	Donelly	3:33
10.	"L'il Ennio"	Donelly	3:45
11.	"Judas My Heart"	Donelly Gorman	5:21
Total length:			45:00

Charts

Chart (1995)	Peak position
Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)[13]	66
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[14]	89
UK Albums (OCC)[15]	6
US Billboard 200[16]	57

References

1. Aston, Martin. "Rhode Island Odyssey". 4ad.com.
2. Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "King – Belly". AllMusic. Retrieved March 7, 2006.
3. Caro, Mark (March 2, 1995). "A Step Up". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved May 1, 2017.
4. Sinclair, Tom (February 17, 1995). "King". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved May 1, 2017.
5. Sullivan, Caroline (February 17, 1995). "Belly: King (4AD)". The Guardian.
6. Ali, Lorraine (February 14, 1995). "Donelly Brings Life and Texture to 'King'". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved May 1, 2017.
7. Sinagra, Laura (2004). "Belly". In Brackett, Nathan; Hoard, Christian (eds.). The New Rolling Stone Album Guide (4th ed.). Simon & Schuster. p. 60. ISBN 0-7432-0169-8.
8. Cinquemani, Sal (October 16, 2003). "Belly: King". Slant Magazine. Retrieved July 15, 2010.
9. Fleissner, Jen (March 1995). "Belly: King". Spin. Vol. 10 no. 12. p. 94. Retrieved May 1, 2017.
10. Christgau, Robert (June 6, 1995). "Consumer Guide". The Village Voice. Retrieved May 1, 2017.
11. Chiola, Enio (May 8, 2012). "Top 15 Overlooked Albums of the 1990s". PopMatters. Retrieved July 14, 2018.
12. Langmead, Jon (February 14, 2016). "Hail, Hail: Belly and the making of King". Aquarium Drunkard. Retrieved March 27, 2017.
13. "Dutchcharts.nl – Belly – King" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved July 14, 2018.
14. "Longplay-Chartverfolgung at Musicline" (in German). Musicline.de. Phononet GmbH. Retrieved July 14, 2018.
15. "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved July 14, 2018.
16. "Belly Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved July 14, 2018.