Word of Mouth (Toni Basil album)

Word of Mouth
Word of Mouth
Studio album by Toni Basil
Released	May 22, 1981
Recorded	1981
Genre	New wave; pop rock;
Length	39:28
Label	Chrysalis (U.S.); Radial Choice (UK)
Producer	Greg Mathieson; Trevor Veitch;
Toni Basil chronology
Singles from Word of Mouth
	"Mickey"; Released: February 5, 1982; "Nobody"; Released: 1982; "Time After Time" / "You Gotta Problem"; Released: 1982; "Shoppin' from A to Z"; Released: 1983;

Word of Mouth is the debut studio album by Toni Basil. It was first released in May 1981 in the United Kingdom and April 1982 in the United States. The album features the number-one worldwide hit "Mickey", as well as three covers of songs by Devo, who also performed on those three tracks ("Be Stiff", "Space Girls", which is a re-titled "Space Girl Blues", and "You Gotta Problem", which is a re-titled "Pity You"). The U.S. version of the album added the songs "Rock On" (a David Essex cover) and "Shoppin' from A to Z", deleting "Hanging Around". Word of Mouth was certified Gold by the RIAA.

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	^[3]
Christgau's Record Guide	B+^[2]

Chart performance

The lead single "Mickey" became an international hit, earning a double platinum certification. The album, which was released shortly after, was also a success, peaking at number 22 and receiving a Gold certification. However, the following singles, "Nobody" in the UK and "Shoppin' from A to Z" in the US, both under-performed, which cut the album's success short. It also reached number 27 on the New Zealand albums chart.

Track listing

U.S. LP

Side A
No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"Mickey"	Mike Chapman Nicky Chinn	4:12
2.	"Rock On"	David Essex	4:04
3.	"Shoppin' from A to Z"	Allee Willis Bruce Roberts Toni Basil	4:08
4.	"You Gotta Problem"	Mark Mothersbaugh	4:34
5.	"Be Stiff"	Gerald Casale Bob Lewis	3:22

Side B
No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"Nobody"	Paul Delph	4:00
2.	"Little Red Book"	Burt Bacharach Hal David	4:04
3.	"Space Girls"	Casale	2:56
4.	"Thief on the Loose"	Basil Greg Mathieson	3:50
5.	"Time After Time"	Nick Gilder James McCullough	4:18

UK LP

Side A
No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"Nobody"	Delph	4:03
2.	"Hangin' Around"	Conway	4:08
3.	"Thief on the Loose"	Basil Mathieson	3:54
4.	"Time After Time"	Gilder McCullough	4:23
5.	"Mickey"	Chapman Chinn	4:15

Side B
No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"Little Red Book"	Bacharach David	4:07
2.	"Be Stiff"	Casale Lewis	3:24
3.	"Space Girls"	Casale	3:00
4.	"You Gotta Problem"	Mothersbaugh	4:36

International cassette

Side A
No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"Mickey"	Chapman Chinn	4:15
2.	"Nobody"	Delph	4:03
3.	"Hangin' Around"	Conway	4:08
4.	"Thief on the Loose"	Basil Mathieson	3:54
5.	"Little Red Book"	Bacharach David	4:07

Side B
No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"Time After Time"	Gilder McCullough	4:23
2.	"Be Stiff"	Casale Lewis	3:24
3.	"Space Girls"	Casale	3:00
4.	"You Gotta Problem"	Mothersbaugh	4:36

Personnel

Toni Basil – vocals
Rick Parnell, Alan Myers, Ed Greene, Mike Baird – drums
Doug Lunn, Gerald Casale (credited as Jerry Casale) – bass
Mike Chapman – synthesizer and keyboards on "Mickey"
Dorsey High Cheerleaders, classes of 1980–81 – stomping and chanting on "Mickey"
Greg Mathieson, Michael Boddicker, Mark Mothersbaugh, Paul Delph – synthesizer
Bob Mothersbaugh, John Goodsall, Bob Casale, Richie Zito, Trevor Veitch, David Storrs – guitar
Richard Greene – violin on "Rock On"
Dan Wyman – synthesizer programming; vocoder on "Space Girls"
Allee Willis, Bruce Roberts, Bob Esty – additional vocals
The Alphabet Singers – additional backing vocals on "Shoppin' from A to Z"

Technical

Produced by Greg Mathieson and Trevor Veitch
John Michael Weaver, Joe Robb, Tony D'Amico, David Leonard – engineer
Janet Levinson – design
Steven Arnold – cover photography

Charts

Weekly charts

Chart (1982)	Peak position
Australian Albums (Kent Music Report)^[4]	43
New Zealand Albums (RMNZ)^[5]	27
UK Albums (OCC)^[6]	15
US Billboard 200^[7]	22

Year-end charts

Chart (1983)	Position
US Billboard 200^[8]	100

References

^ Breihan, Tom (Jun 24, 2020). "The Number Ones: Toni Basil's "Mickey". Stereogum. Retrieved July 22, 2023. Word Of Mouth is a pretty good piece of twitchy, hook-centric new wave.
^ ^a ^b Christgau, Robert (1990). "B". Christgau's Record Guide: The '80s. Pantheon Books. ISBN 0-679-73015-X. Retrieved August 16, 2020 – via robertchristgau.com.
^ allmusic review
^ Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 (Illustrated ed.). St. Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. p. 27. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
^ "Charts.nz – Toni Basil – Word of Mouth". Hung Medien. Retrieved September 1, 2019.
^ "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved September 1, 2019.
^ "Toni Basil Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved September 1, 2019.
^ "Top Billboard 200 Albums – Year-End 1983". Billboard. Retrieved March 3, 2021.

[Breihan_2020-1] Breihan, Tom (Jun 24, 2020). "The Number Ones: Toni Basil's "Mickey". Stereogum. Retrieved July 22, 2023. Word Of Mouth is a pretty good piece of twitchy, hook-centric new wave.

[Christgau-2] Christgau, Robert (1990). "B". Christgau's Record Guide: The '80s. Pantheon Books. ISBN 0-679-73015-X. Retrieved August 16, 2020 – via robertchristgau.com.

[3] usic review

[Kent-4] Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 (Illustrated ed.). St. Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. p. 27. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.

[ac_New_Zealand_Toni_Basil-5] "Charts.nz – Toni Basil – Word of Mouth". Hung Medien. Retrieved September 1, 2019.

[ac_UK2_-6] "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved September 1, 2019.

[ac_Billboard200_Toni_Basil-7] "Toni Basil Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved September 1, 2019.

[8] "Top Billboard 200 Albums – Year-End 1983". Billboard. Retrieved March 3, 2021.

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