Razorblade Suitcase is the second studio album by the English band Bush, released on November 19, 1996 by Trauma and Interscope Records. The follow up to their 1994 debut Sixteen Stone was recorded at Abbey Road Studios in London with engineer and producer Steve Albini. Its sound is rawer than its predecessor and has often been compared to Nirvana‘s In Utero (1993), which was also produced and engineered by Albini. Gavin Rossdale wrote most of the songs for Razorblade Suitcase in under one month. Swallowed, along with others from the album were written while on the road. In an interview with Deseret News published on 2 January 1997, Rossdale explained:
“I was trying to write songs while my life was falling apart. While my longtime girlfriend of five years was leaving and packing in one room, I was writing in the other room.”
Razorblade Suitcase debuted at number one on the Billboard 200, selling 293,000 copies in its first week. It remained at number one for its second week of release in the US. The album also debuted at number one in Canada, with first-week sales of 45,900 copies. Despite the album selling fewer copies than Sixteen Stone in the US, it marked a commercial peak for the band in their native Britain, where it reached number four on the UK Albums Chart. Razorblade Suitcase released 4 singles Swallowed (Released: October 15, 1996), Greedy Fly (Released: January 28, 1997) Bonedriven (Release: April 16, 1997), and Cold Contagious (Released: December 20, 1997).
Tracklist:
- Personal Holloway
- Greedy Fly
- Swallowed
- Insect Kin
- Cold Contagious
- A Tendency to Start Fires
- Mouth
- Straight No Chaser
- History
- Synapse
- Communicator
- Bonedriven
- Distant Voices (includes hidden track)
20th Anniversary Reissue
- Old
- Broken TV
- Sleeper
- Bubbles
Bush
Gavin Rossdale: lead vocals, rhythm guitar
Nigel Pulsford: lead guitar, backing vocals
Dave Parsons: bass
Robin Goodridge: drums
Other musicians
Perry Montague: violin
Frank Schaefer: cello
Winston: backing vocals
Gavyn Wright: violin
Technical personnel
Gavin Rossdale: string arrangements
Nigel Pulsford: arranger, string arrangements
Steve Albini: engineer, producer
Tom Elmhirst: assistant engineer
Paul Hicks: assistant engineer
Paul Palmer: mixing
Robert Vosgien: mastering
Glen Lutchford: photography
Timothy O’Donnell: design assistant
Vaughan Oliver: art direction, design
Adrian Philpott: art direction, design
Gavyn Wright: string arrangements
David j. Holman: mixing
Mixed: Cactus Studio Hollywood
