Astronauts & Heretics

Astronauts & Heretics
Studio album by Thomas Dolby
Released	July 1992
Genre	New wave
Length	43:16
Label	Virgin (UK) Giant (US)
Producer	Thomas Dolby
Thomas Dolby chronology
Aliens Ate My Buick (1988) Astronauts & Heretics (1992) A Map of the Floating City (2011)

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic	[1]
Billboard	positive[2]
Entertainment Weekly	A-[3]

Astronauts & Heretics, released in 1992, was the fourth studio album by Thomas Dolby. It was Dolby's last studio album proper until 2011's A Map Of The Floating City.

Astronauts & Heretics contained the singles "I Love You Goodbye", "Close But No Cigar" and "Silk Pyjamas".

The album was reasonably popular in the UK and was Dolby's last album to be released on vinyl. According to Dolby, the album went largely unnoticed in the US due to poor distribution by Giant Records and the popularity of grunge at the time.

After asking Thomas Dolby for help with his studio equipment, Eddie Van Halen agreed to play guitar on two of Dolby's songs, "Eastern Bloc" and "Close but no Cigar" on Astronauts & Heretics including a Van Halen style solo on "Eastern Bloc".

Track listing

All tracks by Dolby unless noted

1. "I Love You Goodbye" - 5:58
2. "Cruel" - 3:08
3. "Silk Pyjamas" - 3:38
4. "I Live in a Suitcase" - 5:29
5. "Eastern Bloc" ("Europa and the Pirate Twins Part II") - 5:19
6. "Close But No Cigar" - 4:27
7. "That's Why People Fall in Love" - 5:28
8. "Neon Sisters" (Dolby, Matthew Seligman) - 4:54
9. "Beauty of a Dream" - 5:04

Personnel

• Thomas Dolby - keyboards, vocals
• Larry Treadwell, Jon E. Love, Tommy Gutman Sanchez, Jon Klein, Jerry Garcia, Bob Weir - guitar
• Eddie Van Halen - guitar on tracks 5, 6
• Terry Jackson, Matthew Seligman, Leland Sklar - bass
• David Owens, Budgie - drums
• Eddi Reader - vocals on "Cruel"
• Ofra Haza - vocals on "That's Why People Fall in Love"

References