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Friendly as a Hand Grenade
Studio album by Tackhead
Released	1989
Recorded	Unique Recording, NYC and Matrix and Southern Studios, London
Genre	Funk, industrial
Length	36:12
Label	TVT, World
Producer	Tackhead
Tackhead chronology
Tackhead Tape Time (1987) Friendly as a Hand Grenade (1989) Strange Things (1990)

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic
Chicago Tribune
The Encyclopedia of Popular Music
Houston Chronicle
The Rolling Stone Album Guide
Spin Alternative Record Guide	7/10

Friendly as a Hand Grenade is an album by the American band Tackhead. It was released in 1989 through TVT Records.

Production

The band added Bernard Fowler on vocals, and changed its name from Gary Clail's Tackhead Sound System. The album cover art is by Gee Vaucher.

Critical reception

The New York Times wrote that Tackhead "draw deep, swampy grooves from funk, rap, house music and dub reggae, then add a paranoid overlay."

Trouser Press wrote: "Opening and closing with the jaunty 'Ska Trek', living up to the title of 'Demolition House' and pursuing the by-now-familiar sardonic comments on the military with the infectious 'Airborne Ranger', the album captures Tackhead at its most coherent." The Spin Alternative Record Guide declared that "at its best, the group melded deeply psychedelic rock and funk in a way that the Red Hot Chili Peppers could only dream of."

Track listing

All tracks are written by Bernard Fowler, Keith LeBlanc, Skip McDonald, Adrian Sherwood and Doug Wimbish, except "Ska Trek" by Prince Buster

Personnel

Tackhead

• Bernard Fowler – keyboards, vocals
• Keith LeBlanc – drums, percussion, drum programming, sampler
• Skip McDonald – engineering, guitar, keyboards, synthesizer, vocals
• Doug Wimbish – bass guitar, guitar, keyboards, vocals

Additional musicians and production

• Dave Pine – engineering
• Adrian Sherwood – engineering, mixing
• Tackhead – producer

Charts

Release history

References

1. Bush, John. "Friendly as a Hand Grenade". AllMusic. Retrieved December 4, 2012.
2. Popson, Tom (6 Apr 1990). "'Friendly as a Hand Grenade', Tackhead". Chicago Tribune. Friday. p. R.
3. Larkin, Colin (2006). The Encyclopedia of Popular Music. Vol. 8. MUZE. p. 23.
4. Racine, Marty (April 22, 1990). "Records". Houston Chronicle. Zest. p. 10.
5. The Rolling Stone Album Guide. Random House. 1992. p. 690.
6. ^ Spin Alternative Record Guide. Vintage Books. 1995. pp. 352–353.
7. Danton, Eric R. (6 Sep 2004). "TACKHEAD BACK TOGETHER: HARTFORD-FORMED QUARTET OF INNOVATIVE ARTISTS PIONEERED SOUNDS THAT BECAME STAPLES OF RAP, POP". The Hartford Courant. p. D1.
8. "Tackhead | Biography & History". AllMusic.
9. ^ "Tackhead". Trouser Press. Retrieved 25 June 2021.
10. "The Quietus | News | Gee Vaucher Painting Used For Mirror Trump Blaster". The Quietus.
11. Pareles, Jon (8 July 1990). "Rock, Rap and Reggae Rolled Into One". The New York Times. p. A28.
12. Lazell, Barry (1997). Indie Hits 1980–1989. Cherry Red Books. Archived from the original on October 6, 2008. Retrieved September 30, 2014.

External links

• Sherwood, Adrian (August 2013). "Classic Album: Tackhead: Friendly as a Hand Grenade". FutureMusic. No. 268. Interviewed by Roy Spencer. Future plc. pp. 20–22. Retrieved March 11, 2020 – via the Internet Archive.
• Friendly as a Hand Grenade at Discogs (list of releases)

• 1989 albums
• TVT Records albums
• Tackhead albums