The Fine Art of Surfacing
Occupation
- Singing, Saxophone: Bob Geldof
- Bass: Pete Briquette
- Guitar: Gerry Cott
- Guitar: Garry Roberts
- Drums: Simon Crowe
- Keyboard: Johnnie Fingers
The Fine Art of Surfacing is the third album of the Boomtown Rats and includes the hit singles I Do not Like Mondays, Diamond Smiles and Someone's Looking At You. The single I Do not Like Mondays with the B-side It's All the Rage was released in June 1979 and reached the end of July number one on the British charts. The song refers to Brenda Ann Spencer, in San Diego, California, a school massacre organized on January 29, 1979, to explain simply stated " I do not like mounting ".
Critics had different opinions on The Fine Art of Surfacing. Some called it the best album of the Boomtown Rats, and as one of the best albums of the year 1979, other critics gave off rather mixed reviews.
Following her previous album, A Tonic For The Troops, The Boomtown Rats had a promotional tour undertaken by the United States and learned a lot about American life and the local music. This became a recurring theme of the new album. Songs like I Do not Like Mondays and Diamond Smiles give deep insights into American society, others like Nothing Happened Today and Having My Picture Taken in turn deride this life as stupidly.
Musically, the album represents represents a departure from the earlier punk influences of the group and reflects different musical influences. The music of the Boomtown Rats music genre New Wave was henceforth assigned. In 2005, The Fine Art of Surfacing was re-released on CD. The recordings were digitally processed by Bod Geldof and Pete Briquette and the album was supplemented by five bonus tracks.
Title list
All songs by Bob Geldof, except specifically stated.
Bonus Tracks 2005
Charts
Album
Singles