James – Laid

Song

"Laid" is the title song from Manchester alternative rock band James's fifth studio album, Laid (1993). Released on 1 November 1993, the song was a commercial success, charting in the United Kingdom, Australia, and the United States, and has received attention as a theme song for the American Pie film series.

Composition and reception

Emotionally evocative and featuring the risqué opening lyrics, "This bed is on fire with passionate love, the neighbours complain about the noises above, but she only comes when she's on top", it quickly gained popularity on American college radio and remains the group's best-known song in the United States.

The American release of its music video replaced the ending of its opening lyrics with "she only sings when she's on top" (although Tim Booth is seen to lip-sync the original line, and is accompanied by a subtitle reading "hums"). Today, a number of alternative rock stations, including Boston's RadioBDC (now known as indie617), WBOS, Maryland's WRNR-FM, Chicago's WXRT, Missoula's KDTR-FM and Philadelphia's WRFF will play "Laid" with the original controversial line.

The song peaked at number 61 on the US Billboard Hot 100 and number three on the Billboard Modern Rock Tracks chart, in part due to its cult status as a popular college song in the US. The song was more successful in the band's native UK, where it peaked at number 25, becoming the band's ninth top-40 hit.

One of the Three, the 'unofficial archive of the band James', has said this of the song:

Originally viewed by the band as a throwaway song and a possible b-side, Brian Eno soon convinced them of the potential of this track. Whilst only reaching a disappointing 22 in the UK charts, it made serious inroads for the band in the US where it lead [sic] to performances on prime-time TV shows such as Letterman, Conan O'Brien and Jay Leno.

Qui trovate una bella desamina dei James e dell'album.

Album

Laid è il quinto album in studio del gruppo musicale inglese James, pubblicato nel 1993.

Artist

James are an English rock band from Manchester, who were formed in 1982 and enjoyed popularity throughout the 1990s. The band's best-known singles include "Come Home", "Sit Down", "She's a Star" and "Laid", which also became a hit on American college radio.

Following the departure of lead singer Tim Booth in 2001, the band became inactive, but reunited in January 2007 and has gone on to produce a further six albums. James's hit single "Come Home" was voted the greatest ever Manchester anthem in a radio poll.

Live performance has continually remained a central part of the band's output. As of 2010, the band had sold more than 25 million albums worldwide.

I James sono un gruppo musicale rock di Manchester (Inghilterra), formatosi nel 1982. Dopo lo scioglimento avvenuto nel 2001, si sono riuniti nel 2007.

La band ha ottenuto i suoi maggior successi tra la fine degli anni 80 e la metà degli anni novanta con hit come Say Something, Sit Down e Laid. Fino al 2010 hanno venduto circa 25 milioni di dischi.