Go to:
- Deep Wound (1997) by Deep Wound (pre-Dinosaur Jr.)
- Dinosaur (1985)
- You're Living All over Me (1987)
- Bug (1988)
- Gobblehoof EP (1990) by Gobblehoof
- Fossils (1991)
- Green Mind (1991)
- Whatever's Cool with Me (1991)
- Where You Been (1993)
- Without a Sound (1994)
- Hand it Over (1997
Deep Wound (1997)
4
I Saw It / Sisters / In My Room / Don’t Need / Lou’s
Anxiety Song / Video Prick / Sick of Fun / Deep Wound / Dead babies
/ You’re So False / Time to Stand / Patriots / Pressure / Never
Let You in / Your Head Is in Your Crotch / Psyched to Die / Adult / Training
Ground
A
band that probably would’ve been entirely forgotten in the meantime,
if it weren’t for the fact that the band involved Lou Barlow and J.
Mascis, who would found Dinosaur Jr. a few years later. On Deep Wound
they churn out furious hardcore with a few of their pals. Lou (17) and J.
(18) were mere teenagers back then. Contrary to what you might expect, it’s
Mascis who plays the drums and Lou who plays guitar, while a certain Scott
plays bass and some guy named Charlie yelps and screams his way though these
18 cuts. As is often the case with kids that age, the intentions and passion
are already there, but insight and a clear sense of purpose are still lacking.
On top of that, the first eleven songs were recorded in 1983 (the first nine
appearing on an eponymous EP), around the time when hardcore punk had already
become a parody of itself, with bands trying to outdo each other with the
loudest and fastest songs imaginable, while forgetting what it was all about
in the first place. Deep Wound isn't any different: these 18 songs
(7 of which are demo’s) roar past you in a mere 19 minutes and the pace
is considerably faster than, say, Minor Threat’s. However, and here
comes the big “but”: you could actually discover structure, melodies,
hooks and ideas in Minor Threat’s songs, whereas most of these songs
collapse under their own speed and anger. A few of these uncompromising assaults,
like opener “I Saw It,” the funny “Lou’s Anxiety Song”
and “Video Prick” (arguably a “song”) are quite memorable
fits of fury, but the majority are too much style with barely discernible
content or structure. Because the lyrics were included, I could figure out
the songs dealt with familiar hardcore matters such as alienation (“Don’t
Need”), our diseased culture (title track) and “fucking futility
and emptiness in the world” (“Dead Babies”), but I bet that
nowadays these guys are willing to admit they were mainly in it for the excitement
and the girls, because the seven demo tracks that are tacked to the end (recorded
a year earlier) show the band at a very amateurish stage, while the sub-par
sound (too muffled, whereas the singer’s insistent nag is very annoying)
will convince no one to purchase it, except for collectors, a few curious
Dinosaur Jr. fans (like me) or fans of the genre. Maybe interesting if you
belong in one of those categories, otherwise just forget about it.
Reader comments: Sam Stabler (USA): I like your web site alot, and while I recognize a love for dinosaur jr does not necissarly mean a love for deep wound I think that you might be mistaken in your description as forgettable, the FLEX discography of US punk and hardcore gives it it's highest rating of ten, saying "Ultrafast & complex rhythms, cool breaks, Lou's crazy voice and a lot of psychotic power make up one of the best (if not the best) EPs of the decade. Absolutely essential." I don't know if this means anything, but I just thought someone should say something. I mean fucking deep wound the song is fucking so amazing it hurts, and the way that dead babies is so slow and creepy the shit just kills. I love the rest of the sight though. good work -sam Nick Vu: |
Dinosaur (1985)
5.5
Forget the Swan / Cats in a Bowl / The Leper / Does It Float /
Pointless / Repulsion / Gargoyle / Severed Lips / Mountain Man / Quest / Bulbs
of Passion
Pretty
rare, this album, and often neglected, too. In fact, lots of people still
seem to think the band started off with their seminal SST-albums (You’re
Living All Over Me (1987) and Bug (1988)), released in the same
year as Sonic Youth’s most groundbreaking albums. The band has quite
some in common with the NYC arties, the experimentation with distortion, feedback
and dissonance, for instance, but on the other hand, Dinosaur Jr.’s
references were much broader: their sound reminded of Neil Young (who by consequence
earned the ‘Dinosaur Sr.’-tag), of the fuzz-rock of The
Stooges, of early 80’s new wave (the gloomier British kind), and
– on this album at least – of their own punk past. Their overall
sound is certainly not your average rock sound (but that seems to be the case
with all these seminal 80’s guitar bands), as introvert passages are
often disrupted by shards of feedback, and both the vocalists are quite ‘limited’,
especially Mascis, with his lazy out of tune-delivery and whining sound. But
that’s exactly what made ‘em even stand out more from the pack,
and it’s so distinctive and ‘ugly’ in a way, that I can’t
really point out other vocalists who were obviously influenced by him, or
took it as far. In a way, it’s also cool to see that the guy had basically
shaped his own style before he was even twenty, as he’d follow the same
path, if in a more-streamlined and ‘inoffensive’ way, on later
efforts.
It’s not easy though, to come up with good songs from this album. The opening track, “Forget the Swan,” is one for sure: sung by Barlow (who sounds very similar to his employer), it seems to walk the line between the folk-rock of Neil Young, and the early, clean sound of The Cure (really, find your late 70’s/early 80’s Cure albums, and listen for yourself), especially because of Barlow’s clearly audible bass (often sounding like a rudimentary version of Mike Watt) and the simple guitar melody. It’s a lovely track, fragile and melancholic, that’ll immediately catch your attention, and keep it for five minutes. Other tracks worth pointing out are the quite similar “The Leper,” which is a bit noisier, but combines the same world-weary atmosphere and lyrics (“Embarrassed to be alive, sit with my life open wide, your stare is forcing my face open, a leper crumbling, never joking, who should I believe) and some ragged soloing; and “Cats in a Bowl” (again sung by Barlow), which sounds like a foot-to-the-floor country-punk tune from Meat Puppets II. The last track I consider at least decent is “Repulsion,” the only one from this set picked for their compilation Ear-Bleeding Country (2001). The remainder of the album ranges from merely decent (“Severed Lips”), to unremarkable tracks that come dangerously near ‘boring’ (“Gargoyle,” “Quest”), to downright bad stuff, like “Does It Float,” a jangly rocker which suddenly transforms into abrasive hardcore punk; and “Pointless,” which sounds like seventh-rate goth-rock. One that sets off promising, is “Mountain Man,” with it’s macho metal riffing, but then the vocals sound like Kim Gordon’s wailing and turn it into a bad parody. Your typical uneven debut album (see also: Bleach), Dinosaur finds the band churning out a few keepers, and a majority of sub-par stuff. So maybe it’s not that surprising it’s hard to find these days. If you’re into the sex appeal of the early Mascis, feel free to purchase it, but I warned you. It doesn’t even come close to their next one.
Reader comments: Zophael979 (USA): Finally got my hands on this
one, thanks to the new Merge reissue and I've got to say that, though
this album was an enjoyable listen, I pretty much agree with your review.
It's a mess. A fun mess, but a mess all the same with parts that are
pretty brilliant and others that are pretty frustrating. |
You're Living All Over Me (1987)
9
Little Fury Things / Kracked / Sludgefeast / The Lung
/ Raisans / Tarpit / In a Jar / Lose / Poledo / Show
Me the Way
I
don’t know what exactly happened between the releases of their debut
and this sophomore release, but it’s a fact that this album easily
eclipses the previous one. Not only are the songs much better, the playing
is much more impressive, and the album much more coherent. However, I don’t
think You’re Living All Over Me is more accessible than Dinosaur.
On the contrary: this album takes noisy guitar antics several levels further
than on the debut. The guitars (plural form since we’re dealing with
several layers) aren’t always heavy, but they’re consistently
loud and distorted. There’s no ‘clean’ playing to be found
on this release, and I even don’t know how he produced this particular
guitar sound. I guess it’s a combination of distortion pedals, fuzz,
wah-wah, feedback and playing ridiculously loud. On top of this,
most of the songs also have an often heavily distorted bass and loads of guitar
solos, but not the Hank Marvin-type. No, imagine a combination of Neil Young
(the melancholy), Jimi Hendrix (virtuosity), an idiot (whatever), and apocalyptic
caterwauling (yes, that sounds weird, but so does this album if you’re
mainly used to your slick, average MTV-rock). The style itself is as hard
to describe: somewhere between hard rock, punk, folk rock and acid rock. Let’s
just call it gravely lo-fi alternative guitar-oriented rock, so that everybody
understands what I’m talking about. These guys came almost out of nowhere,
created their own brand of noise rock and influenced legions of bands (some
of which were based around Seattle) in the process.
“Little Fury Things” was also released as a single I think, and rightly so, since it’s - despite the over the top-intro - a great song that has quite accessible verses and great overall melodies. On the other hand, you might as well detest it, since Mascis still can’t sing, and has a horribly slack articulation (and what exactly is he saying? “A rabbit falls away from me, I guess I’ll fall”?). Equally impressive is the fittingly titled “Sludgefeast,” which has an awkward structure, but also some of the most thrilling guitar parts on the album, listen for example to the way the silent section after the first verses switches over to the howling guitar solo, or the pseudo-metal riffing and solo after that cacophony near the end of the song. One that’s often considered the weakest cut, but a keeper in my book, is Barlow’s intensely melancholic “Lose,” which raises a massive storm and constantly borders on the verge of a breakdown. Elsewhere, the band covers more familiar and digestible folk rock material: “Kracked,” for instance, has a catchy guitar melody, quite accessible verses (“Come on baaaaaabe!”), but of course the hit potential is immediately ruined by another guitar freak-out. Another track that also begs to be mentioned is “Raisans,” which has an atmosphere that would make Dinosaur Sr. feel proud of his decibel-addicted nephews. Closer to country-punk territory are “The Lung,” which would have fitted perfectly on, say, on 80’s version of Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere, and the even better “In a Jar” that is dominated by Barlow’s melodic bass playing. The album’s only letdown is Barlow’s closing track “Poledo,” a solo effort recorded on “2 crappy tape recorders.” While the first one and a half minute are really creepy, Lou strumming some repetitive chords while mumbling some semi-exorcising lyrics (“Hope I die without a sound”) that sound as if he’s taking part in some satanic cult ritual. Anyway, after the intro the fun is over and we’re left with four more minutes of messy noise experimentation. The closest thing resembling You’re Living Over Me’s small-scale sonic revolution is (in my opinion) Hüsker Dü’s sprawling Zen Arcade, which also united exceedingly loud guitars and sheer abrasiveness on the one hand, and an overshadowed sense of morose melody on the other hand. A landmark album in late 80’s indie rock, this album is one to treasure (and, if necessary, to use as an antidote for the generic bands it triggered) for many years.Note: most available editions have a track that was added to the original 9-song album. It’s an hilarious cover version of Peter Frampton’s “Show Me the Way” in which Mascis takes bad singing to higher levels (dangerously near Yoko Ono-territory), but somehow it’s also charming and something ole Pete probably wouldn’t approve of. Serves him right.
Reader comments: Zophael979 (USA):
That being said, it's easy to see why You're Living All Over Me is regarded as the band's first classic. As far as the genre of alternative rock goes, this seminal record is one of it's best and most consistent. However, considering how generic "alternative" is nowadays, it seems almost wrong to call Dinosaur Jr. that. What we have here is a band that's sound was very hard to describe around the time they did this record. There were elements of punk, metal, psychedelia, folk, and pop all present in the band's sound. They don't get the mainstream recognition (or credit) that they arguably deserve, but they influenced legions, grunge and otherwise. Mascis's vocals aren't what could be called technically great, but that's never really mattered very much to rock music. If anything, many of the technically good ones make music too annoying and overwrought for words. Mascis can be annoying and overwrought sometimes, but he has carved out a little niche for himself, as you said, and I would compare his voice to Robert Smith's of The Cure or Adam Duritz of The Counting Crows. At their worst, they sound horribly whiny. When they can get a good sound out of their voice, they sound fine and can even be emotionally expressive. Personally, I would prefer Mascis's warts and all approach to Kurt Cobain's manic depressive rantings or Eddie Vedder's over-the-top approach any day. But that's just me and legions of early 90s grunge fans will disagree. I think part of the reason I like this one best is because it's more or a band effort. J. may have wrote the majority of the songs, but Lou and Murph are there every step of the way. Though I like the stuff did with the "band" in the 90s, the 80s version of Dinosaur Jr. remains my favorite. The seven songs that J.Mascis gives us here aren't his most wordy (an attractive bonus for some), but certainly high on melody and interesting song structure. Having two great sidemen to deliever the songs with him helps a lot. "Little Fury Things" has always struck a chord with me for it's simultaneously conventional and unconvential approach. The song has a wild intro with crazily distorted wah-wah infected guitar and bloodcurdling screaming by special guest Lee Renaldo, but then settles into a gentle, sleepy sort of pop song that cooly shuffles along with verses that pertain to either literally or metaphorically chasing a rabbit down a rabbit hole and repeated references to crawling. The lyrics are so wonderfully lazy that it's charming. Then the band simply abandons the song right in the middle of it during the second verse. Just collapses into a wall of distortion. It takes both balls and skill to write a wonderfully dreamy pop song and then just destroy it. The next three songs are all pretty short on vocals, though they are present. The main focus is the guitar work and that is certainly had in spades. "Kracked" marries Barlow's rumbling bass to Mascis's wonderfully melodic guitar playing at a quick pace. J.'s playing moves from clean and melodic to wah-wah driven freak outs at the drop of a hat and the main vocal hook is wicked memorable ("c'mon babeee" absolutely makes the song). "Sludgefeast", like you said, sounds like the title for the most part. Heavy riffs and a slow, but rhythm pace combined with some tight drumming and heavily distorted guitar freak-outs and solos. It's almost beautiful in it's murkiness. Oddly, the song's lyrics are sung over this oddly placed folk-rockish type riff that seems so utterly imperfect in that context of the song (thus making it perfect in an odd way). The lyrics are also deeply personal, something you wouldn't expect in such a metalish type number. I also love how the band comes back with a hard driving vengeance just when it seems the song will end. Definitely a highlight of the album. "The Lung" is largely instrumental, but it's sole lyrical couplet is appealing ("No way to collapse the lung/breathes down on everyone") and the melody is one of Dino Jr's. best. It's just a great straight forward rock out notable for a pretty intro that may remind one of The Cure and an outro that punctuates the clean, low key playing with lots of horrid distortion. The rest of the songs come from a later recording session and are more lyrical. "Raisans" is a fast, punkish sort of number with lots of energy, some well-placed slow sections, and great lyrics that are both catchy and subversive. "Raisans" is a love song, but a very pathetic, stalkerish to the point of being scary one. Lyrics like "I'll be down/I'll be around/I'll be hanging where eventually you'll have to be/And I'll just stare/And Hope you care/There's only everything standing in front of me" pretty much paint the whole story. They are more pathetic than threatening and reach the heights of Peter Shelley's tongue-in-cheek tales of teen angst. This is Dino Jr.'s longer and more complicated equivalent to "What Do I Get?" "Tarpit" takes the style of a slow and up-tempo rocker and makes it good. The lyrics and vocals are both overtly spacey (spaceyness is an underlining trait of the album from the music to the lyrics to the way it was recorded). The first verse obliquely refers to something strange hatching ("hatch it out/watch it squirm/it's asking me words that I've learned) while the second references a heartbreaking betrayal ("I thought I knew you/Stuck out my hand/You bit and I wish I could understand). Of course, the song collapses into a pit of horribly distortion, much like the opener of the first side of the record does. "In A Jar" is notably from a great bass line, which is very prominent in the song, and some fine lyrics by Mascis detailing a strenuous and dishonest relationship. Many consider it a highlight and it's easy to see way. Some have accused Lou Barlow of bringing down this record. I disagree. I think him contributing his songs helped make Dinosaur Jr. what it was during the 80s and both of them sound good in the context of the album. "Lose" is a fast rocker driven by a great solo and Lou's barely audibly above the noise vocals give the song a nice floaty sort of vibe. I've never been sure what the song was about, aside from some depressing imagery. "Poledo", despite not really sounding like anything else on the album, ends it perfectly. The eerie acoustic strumming and the sound bites and effects all seem to flow together, appropriately backed by Lou's eerie vocals and lyrics. Most people seem to hate this one and I wouldn't blame them: it is just messy noisy experimentation. The fact that I like the song is more the exception than the rule. Still, it has a weird sort of power to it and ends the original LP well, even if Lou's two songs are a little bit on the emo writing side. The bonus Peter Frampton cover is fun stuff...the odd kind of cover that The Replacements might have (and did) stick on one of their records. Not as cool as the rest of the record, but fun nonetheless. What appeals most to me about You're Living All Over Me is the spacey sort of vibe that runs through the entire album and just how damn good the record sounds in general. It's not very well recorded, but that's part of it's charm. Gloss wasn't really needed here. Though Bug comes very close and the post-Lou Dinosaur Jr. output is nothing to sneeze at, this would be the one that I'd cite as the band's best. You could argue that maybe J. as good at guitar and song-writing that he'd later be or that this record lacked the one good ballad that may have been needed (though perhaps "Poledo" counts as one?), but this is where he set a large standard for himself that he often couldn't quite make it back up to. Not because of lack of skill, but because of lack of consistency or lack of what Lou Barlow brought to the band. Getting back to the spacey vibe I get from this album (and it's kind of hard to define what I mean by "spacey"), I think J.Mascis's voice fit like glue to these songs as opposed to some of the more polished ones off of the later records. He's not my absolute favorite, but he's very good and here is where he shows why. I give this one a ten. A definite classic of pre-Nirvana alternative/indie rock. |
Bug (1988)
9
Freak Scene / No Bones / They Always Come / Yeah We Know
/ Let It Ride / Pond Song / Budge / The Post /
Don’t
A
mere year after the release of You’re Living All Over Me, J
“Big Muff” Mascis, Lou Barlow and Patrick Murphy resurface with
what many consider to be their finest hour. Bug doesn’t deliver
the blistering sonic assault the previous album had, but it’s no slouch
either, and it makes up for this by turning in a batch of songs that’s
perhaps even more varied and consistent. It’s just that the surprise-factor
isn’t there anymore. And there’s also (again) an ear-deafening
piece of anti-music (“Don’t”), of course. But above all,
it’s of course better known as “the album that has “Freak
Scene,” the quintessential Dinosaur Jr. song, and one of the highlights
of late 80’s indie rock.” It’s indeed a great song that’s
not only blessed with an unforgettable melody, but it also succeeds in blending
together the band’s several influences (folk, hard rock, punk, etc)
into a highly original fuzzy mash. Mascis’ guitar introduces itself
cleanly at the start of the song, stutters more muscular in a bridge section,
is temporarily replaced by acoustic strumming, and finally explodes during
the wailing, screeching and two utterly great solos that sound both familiar
and entirely fresh. Combined with the simple yet effective lyrics, it succeeds
in capturing a rare essence, hereby turning itself into a universal tale of
hope and disappointments, hostility and friendship: “Sometimes I don’t
thrill you, sometimes I think I’ll kill you, just don’t let me
fuck up will you, ‘cause when I need a friend, it’s still you.”
Although “Freak Scene” is the undeniable highlight of the album, several other songs could be considered alternative classics as well. “They Always Come,” for instance, with its punchy start/stop-dynamics, ringing percussion and grand soloing comes close to the raw perfection of “Freak Scene.” A galloping rhythm introduces “Yeah We Know,” in which Murph’s busy drumming also earns a seat in the spotlights. Like Mascis, Murph isn’t the most conventional or impeccable stylist of musicians, but his unstoppable drive and knack for coming up with less obvious rhythms and fills make him the ideal sideman. Bug has a few more quiet moments than You’re Living All Over Me, with three out of nine songs that could qualify as folk-rock. The first one, “No Bones” isn’t that far a cry from mid-80’s jangle rock, but Barlow’s thick bass sound and Mascis’ sudden riffs and subsequent solo make it out of step with the rest of ‘em, of course. That the band does not wish to infuse each track with deafening guitar sounds is proven by the inclusion of the near-cute “Pond Song” that nevertheless boasts some steady drumming, an electric/acoustic chorus and some wistful lyrics. Make no mistake: elsewhere the band still creates a delightful racket, during the speedy “Let It Ride,” for instance, or during “Budge.” Both songs feature a tight and straightforward tempo, but make detours in the land of J, where melancholic and lasting melodies often reveal their secrets only after many listens. It’s this combination of apparent nonchalance and reliance on often unsettling layers of noisy guitar sounds on the hand, and the presence of underlying melodies on the other hand, that makes the band’s stuff that intriguing. In a way, the band shares it with other seminal alternative bands Hüsker Dü and Nirvana, but whereas Mould and Hart extrapolated their punk and psychedelic influences, and Cobain covered up his tendency to write pop songs in a classic vein with loads of angsty decibels, Mascis exploits the sonic possibilities of his distortion pedals to obstruct the transparent quality of his folksy melodies.
Before I cut down the rambling, just let me bring up “Don’t.” “Don’t” is aural torture. “Don’t” is a five and a half minute long slab of noise. “Don’t” is screeching feedback, bleeps, distorted and screaming guitars, a pounding drummer and a singer/maniac (I presume it’s Barlow) who screams “Why Don’t You Like Me” over and over again. On a pure madness/sonic attack-level it’s more impressive than any song by any nu-metal band, but it can hardly be considered anything but abrasive noise. Despite this, uh, unsettling ending, Bug is a classic Dinosaur Jr.- album, and still a landmark in American guitar rock (I think there’s a consensus about that, I’m not making it up). Unfortunately, Mascis wasn’t able to sustain this level of excellence and innovation, as he became less adventurous and edgy. It didn’t turn him into a superfluous artist, but things did become less exciting.
Note: shortly after the release of Bug, Mascis kicked Barlow out of the band, allegedly because he talked too much. Fortunately, Barlow couldn’t be bothered by his own talking, and he made a name for himself as one of lo-fi’s prime representatives, with several projects (Sentridoh, Sebadoh, The Folk Implosion).
Reader comments: Zophael979 (USA): "You're Living All Over Me" was a great record that delivered some of the best guitar rock you'll ever hear and "Bug" is just about as good. In fact, I for a long time wasn't sure which record was better until I finally decided on the former. The reason being is that both have very impressive song-writing from a band that easily outdid all those who grew popular in the early 90s grunge phase. Their live shows must have been interesting. Though I've heard Mascis wasn't the best live vocalist, I've also heard the sheer loudness and power of the band blew most off the stage. Expanding on that point, I could pretty say that "Bug" is the heaviest of all the Dinosaur Jr. records I've heard. There's much less clean guitar and undistorted melodic parts than what was present on "You're Living All Over Me". A song like "Pond Song" that would sound plenty heavy on another album acts as a repreieve from the other songs here.There's definitely more fast songs on this album (though we aren't talking hardcore speed), but on the flipside, less blistering distortion. The distortion and feedback is there, but less jagged than before and more like a slightly more ear-friendly wall of noise. The playing here is noticeably tighter and the recording marginally better, but this is clearly one of the SST records and not one of the major label ones. The sound reeks of it. This is the second and last consecutive classic of the original group before Mascis briefly disbanded it, then reformed it as his major label solo project for the 90s. The openner, "Freak Scene", is the highlight. A contender for best Dinosaur Jr. song ever, it's one of the best rockers of the 80s. It's a great song where everything comes together from Mascis's somewhat snotty vocal performance (which betrays some tenderness in the "Sometimes I don't thrill you" lines) to the driving rhythm section to the soft acoustic part in the middle and the thunderous pair of guitar solos. It's a song that few bands could pull off as well and honestly leaves "Smells Like Teen Spirit" in the dust (in my opinion, anyway), but Dinosaur Jr. has stuff on the rest of the album that's pretty comparable. "No Bones" slows it down from the full throttle "Freak Scene" and marries a sludgy, heavy guitar song (ala "Sludgefeast" or "Tarpit" off the last album) to a pretty jangle pop/folk rock melody. It's probably the loudest song on the album due to horrid bursts of distortion near the end. "They Always Come" brings it back up to a choppy sort of mid-tempo song that takes loud guitars and embellises them with weird pop sounds (ala Husker Du's Warehouse, which came out the previous year), but the song truly moves into classic territory when it breaks off into the absolutely beautiful guitar solo section that ends the song. Absolutely amazing. "Yeah We Know" is a great garage rocker with a wickedly hard driving riff (possibly the hardest of the Dinosaur Jr. catalog that I've heard), but goes for a bit too long (nearly six minutes). "Let It Ride" kicks the speed back up all the way, but not in a generic punk rock kind of way. Rather it sounds like a really awesome band playing really fast. Of special note is J. Mascis's vocal performance here. I've always considered it one of his most memorable. "Pond Song" is a straightforward folk pop number played with loud guitars and really the closest thing to a ballad here (though it's not a ballad at all). "Budge" is an interesting little sorta-throwaway where the band forgos the usual guitar solo for a simple back and forth tempo shift between fast chord bashing and more controlled slower sections. This goes on three times before the song ends. Also shifting is the vocals. The singing is really loud during the fast parts, but reduced to mere mumbles during the slower section. "The Post" would be the surefire radio hit had it not been for the wall of distortion that opens the song. Driven by Barlow's bass and Murph's slow drumming, Mascis lets loose with some minimal lyrics that sound as if he's cutting up a fish for dinner or something before pulling together for the anthemtic chorus ("she's my post to lean on/I just cut her down/so I'm out to land on something/hopefully a girl will come between me and the ground") that betrays the sad story of a relationship based on fear and selfish need rather than love. Yet another Dinosaur Jr. classic in my book. I heard The Cowboy Junkies did a cover of it, but I've heard neither the band nor the cover. "Don't" once again ends the album with a Barlow sang psychedelic track. Unlike "Poledo", this one isn't mellow and eerie. Rather it's harsh and extremely abrasive. Sorta like something from Big Black or a lesser version of Husker Du's "Reoccuring Dreams". I don't hate it. I like it quite a bit and consider it a good ending to the album. Thing is that it goes on for a bit too long, thus making it feel a bit dragged out. It's cool for a while, but gets to feel like a chore to sit through after the first three and a half minutes or so. I wouldn't call it as tortorous as you do, but I get why many dislike it and sometimes hate it myself when I'm not in the mood for it. Still, I think it remains an effective closer and perhaps the finest coda possible for the band, given the apparent internal tensions between Barlow and Mascis. Mascis did great things with the Dinosaur Jr. name after this, but this was the end of the original group and probably the last really great record to come off the SST label during it's heyday. It's greatly consistent and focused, but I'm not sure if it beats "You're Living All Over Me". The previous record was a bit meandering, but perhaps offered a slightly more satisfying mix of a melodies, guitar solos, and horrid noise with more interesting and less grungy songs. "Bug", on the other hand, has some damn impressive moments and an arguably improved and tighter band than before, but perhaps may be a bit too sludgy in some moments or maybe lacks the amount of diversity the previous record had. It doesn't really matter much because both are great and many early 90s grunge bands would barely be able to get close to them (maybe even Mascis himself). I give "Bug" about a 9.5, pending a higher rating. I would recommend "You're Living All Over Me" first, but "Bug" is just as essential. |
Gobblehoof EP (1990) by Gobblehoof
6
Menacing Realm / Upside Down / What's a Head? / Sacrifice / Mad Dog / Fried / Torch / Age of Darkness
Gobblehoof's
debut EP practically defines "messy" and if it weren't for the fact
that one J Mascis was drumming for them at the time, they probably would've
been even more obscure than they have become by now. However, the four-piece
consisting of Mascis, Charlie Nakajima (original vocalist for proto-Dinosaur
hardcore outfit Deep Wound), Jens (bass) and Tim Aaron (guitar) had something
interesting going, despite the stylistic instability. Hovering between the
ramshackle folk-punk of early Dinosaur, 70s hardrock, goth and outright weirdness
(the guitar freak-out at the end of "Menacing Realm" almost sounds like something
from a Butthole Surfers-album), Gobblehoof's peculiar approach is turned
even more awkward because of Nakajima, who usually recites the lyrics with
a voice (way up in the mix) that situates itself between the nasal whine of
Ira Kaplan, the quack of Joey Ramone and the hollow bellow of Ian Curtis ("Sacrifice").
Occasionally the band sound as if they just returned from an acid trip ("What's
a Head?" and "Fried," for instance), but when everything falls into its place
- like during "Upside Down" - the results are quite impressive. The EP ends
on an aggressive note, with the heavy guitar torture of "Torch" and the head-scratching
"Age of Darkness" that starts off like Melvins Light and suddenly switches
to in-your-face speed metal riffing. One of those EP's that has its moments
but fails to present itself in a coherent way, Gobblehoof is probably
only of importance for collectors and those eye-witnesses fondly treasuring
the days when…
Note: Originally, Gobblehoof contained only six songs, but "What's a Head" and "Age of Darkness" were added to the CD-edition. Those two songs also featured the line-up without Mascis that would record their one (and only) full-length, the Mascis-produced Freezerburn in 1992.
Fossils (1991)
8
Little Fury Things / In a Jar / Show Me the Way / Freak
Scene / Keep the Glove / Just Like Heaven / Throw Down / Chunks
A
ridiculously short (not even 23 minutes) SST-compilation, containing three
singles (“Little Fury Things,” “Freak Scene” and “Just
Like Heaven”) and their respective B-sides, Fossils’
surplus value is in the inclusion of that third single. “Little Fury
Things” and its B-sides, the rootsy “In a Jar” and an excellent
cover of Frampton’s “Show Me the Way” were already available
on You’re Living All Over Me, while “Freak Scene”
gloriously kicked off Bug. “Keep the Glove” is a folksy
jangle track that’s decent, but rather unremarkable. Their take on The
Cure’s “Just Like Heaven” is great though, and not that
peculiar a choice, as traces of The Cure and similar bands were traceable
in Dinosaur Jr.’s early sound. Fairly faithful to the original version
in the beginning, Mascis whining vocals and a trademark raggedy solo turn
it into a deliciously ‘different’ version. Those sudden bursts
of noise are annoying though. “Throw Down” is less impressive:
just 45 seconds of semi-acoustic filler. Finally, “Chunks” is
a cover of a song by Last Rights, and early 80’s hardcore punk band
hailing from Boston, only remembered because their singer founded straight-edge
band Slapshot. The song has hardly understandable screamed vocals and a simple
structure, yet it’s also an effective and very brutal slab of undiluted
fury. Fossils is a bit meagre for a compilation (it couldn’t’ve
been that hard to come up with a few extra songs, right?), but at
least half of the tracks is of stellar quality.
Green Mind (1991)
8
The Wagon / Puke + Cry / Blowing It / I Live for That Look / Flying
Cloud / How’d You Pin That One on Me / Water / Muck
/ Thumb / Green Mind
Basically
a one-man project, Green Mind was written, performed and produced
by J Mascis (Murph plays drums on just three tracks). In my opinion, this
is also the first Dinosaur Jr.-album with a second half that actually overshadows
the first, despite “The Wagon,” which, like “Little Fury
Things” and “Freak Scene” before it, is a breath-taking
opening track that combines all the elements that made the band extraordinary
in the first place (see: previous reviews). However, its sound is also an
indication of the rest of the album (and the albums that would follow it):
cleaner and clearer, with its poppy melody right on the surface – and
those backing vocals help as well, of course – which makes it by consequence
a lot more accessible. Of course some “fans” were yelling “SELLOUT”,
but those who were smart enough to dig further knew that Mascis basically
still did the same, with the biggest difference being the approach. Instead
of using layers of loud guitar sounds, one noisier than the other, acoustic
guitars are much more prominent, and quite surprisingly, several songs sound
gentle – even dreamy – to Mascis’ standards. The other album
highlight for instance, and unquestionably one of my favourite Dinosaur Jr.
songs, “Water,” displays an as yet unseen fragility and melancholy
that is not forced upon you by threatening feedback or screaming distortion.
“Puke + Cry” is a small acoustic triumph, where the vocals constitute the multi-layered elements. Less impressive on the first half are “Blowing It” and the shortish “I Live for That Look”: not that they are bad or anything, they’re just a bit slight compared to the other tracks gathered here. “Flying Cloud” also seems a bit directionless, initially consisting only of acoustic guitars and Mascis’ shivering voice (what happened to him right before he recorded this?), it never really expands into something new, despite the aura of mystique it oozes out. Better are the songs on the second half of the album: “How’d You Pin That One on Me,” a driven rocker that is basically about one thing: the solo. Starting after 3 minutes and 10 seconds, and lasting a mere 40 seconds, it’s as blistering and awe-inspiring as any solo Mascis recorded before, and the moment when he sets it in is perhaps the album’s best moment. Green Mind’s accessibility and conventionality can be further exemplified by “Muck” and the album closer: While the latter (the title track) is a terrific stab at mainstream rock (just listen to that ringing chorus and try to prove me wrong), the former has Mascis playing – ugh – soulful guitar parts. Finally, the album’s second-most popular song needs to be mentioned. “Thumb” indeed has a great laidback melody, damn fine soloing, and really benefits from the prominent mellotron, but if there’s one aspect that is really annoying about this track, then it’s the fake-sounding drum sound. Several of the other songs have a drum sound that’s a bit overwhelming, but during the soberly arranged “Thumb” it becomes just too much. It doesn’t necessarily ruin the song, but that loud processed sound definitely creates a clash with the almost pastoral atmosphere of the album. I also miss Barlow’s rumbling but melodic bass, which has been minimized a bit in favour of more vocal and guitar layers. But, I really gotta say that I consider Green Mind perhaps the most underrated of all Dinosaur Jr. albums, as it contains a fair share of excellent songs (two of which I absolutely adore), generally excellent performances (Mascis can play, despite his reckless sloppiness) and textures/shades we hadn’t seen before, and that’s a good thing, right? RIGHT?
Reader comments: Zophael979 (USA): For the longest time, I wouldn't buy any Dinosaur Jr. past Bug. I figured that since the original band was gone and everything forth was just a Mascis solo project, the rest really weren't that worth buying. Then I found Where You Been and Without A Sound for cheap and figured "what the hell?". I'm glad I did because while those albums weren't groundbreaking or quite as good as the SST stuff, they were pretty enjoyable albums that have received some good driving-in-my-car airplay. After that, I figured I'd bite the bullet and buy Green Mind full price seeing as it's been cited as the "really good 90s" one. And it was. I'd be tempted to call it a straightforward pop record, but it's not really. Mascis's pop-styled song-writing definitely comes to the fore here more than it did before (or arguably since), but this is still a pretty rocking record, even if the production is plenty clean. I gather this is why so many people vomited with disgust over this when it first came out: the distortion and the sludgy songs are gone and replaced with chiming guitars, falsettos, and layered acoustic guitars. J. must've really been asking for it. Good thing he has some kick ass songs to back up his new approach. "The Wagon" is a great song, mixing the aforementioned chiming guitars and layered acoustics with a hard charging, fist pumping piece of fastly played rock music that The Ramones probably wished they had written. "Puke and Cry" contains many of the same elements, but presented in a more up-tempo, borderline "Tarpit" kind of way...sort of like a heavy folk rocker. The medley of "Blowin' It" and "I Live For That Look" is pretty cool, the first being halfway between janglely and angsty and the second being an exuberant piece of rock that makes for a great singalong ("hey, I live for that look/hey, is that all it took?"). Then Mascis has the good taste to throw an acoustic ballad in the middle of the record and I would call "Flying Cloud" probably his best in that area. His vocals do sound shivering, but I think it adds to the song rather than subtracts from it. You could almost envision Mascis just coming in from the cold rain and sitting down to write the song (though any sane person would opt for getting warm first before doing anything else). The lyrics also have a cool psychedelic quality to them. All in all, it must've been a good end to what could be considered side one of the album. "How'd You Pin That One On Me?" has a great riff that arguably makes it deserving of being an anthem of some kind. Great vocals by J on this one especially. I'm glad you cited the guitar solo because it kicks all kinds of ass and knocks this one song into the stratosphere. I also completely understand you citing "Water" especially because that's a particularly good song. It has so many elements to it: the crunchy guitars, the laid back melody, the dramatic solo toward the end, and the lyrics which deal with what I assume is unrequited love. There are many songs that show J.Mascis at his best and this is easily one of them. "Muck" may be a little disappointing in comparison, but it's still a cool mellow number with a funky bass that has me bopping by head to it if my mind is lost enough to allow myself to do that. Very good stuff, especially the "hooold on" refrain and the killer backing vocals. I get the popularity of "Thumb" because that's also a pretty fine sad song (it's weird that you mention the drums though because that's one of the tracks that Murph is credited for). It's passingly similar to "Water", but "Thumb" goes for more of a straightforward form of melancholy with it's pretty mellotron and lines like "it never really is a good time/there's always nothing much to say" singing of a broken relationship (which is one of Mascis's favorite subjects apparently). Rightfully placed on the greatest hits. The title track "hardens things up" for the grand finale, but it might be the most pop thing here with the aforementioned ringing guitars in the chorus and J.'s ungodly catchy vocal hook that seems to manifest itself in a good 60% of the modern day "alternative" bands that are kickin' around the airwaves nowadays, particularly the pop-punk/emocore ones. All things considered, a good ending that for some reason reminds me of the kind of singles The Cure were putting out during that time period. Put it all together and you get one hell of a record with no bad songs (unless I'm not in the mood for hearing "Muck", which happens). Pretty underrated and shows that Mascis has as much worth as a solo artist as he did as the frontman for the original Dino trio. I wouldn't say I like this more than the pair of SST records, but it ranks pretty close. Like those two classics, I would recommend Green Mind without any reservations and that's not something I can really say for the two that came after this (also underrated, but with their share of bleh stuff). A definite 9. |
Whatever's Cool with Me ( 1991 )
7
Whatever’s Cool with Me / Sideways / Not You Again / The
Little Baby / Pebbles + Weeds / Quicksand / Thumb / Keep the
Glove
A
lengthy EP, Whatever’s Cool with Me contains the original single
and it’s three B-sides, plus also a few songs that were previously only
available on a European 12”-version of “The Wagon.” More
importantly however, it also features the first bass playing by Mike Johnson,
who’d stay Mascis’ sidekick during the next years. As for the
songs: the title track is a fine rocker that can’t hold a candle to
most earlier singles, but it’s definitely a worthy contender. The original
B-sides originally were “Sideways,” which starts on a silent note
with just some acoustic strumming and then develops into a song that would
have fit on Green Mind, and live versions of “Thumb”
and “Keep the Glove.” Especially the first one is worth checking
out, and it’s good to see the songs also worked in a noisier live context.
J’s vocals are pretty mediocre (as they always were), but the guitar
playing is excellent, and Mascis provides a terrific lengthy and messy solo.
“Keep the Glove” (formerly a B-side of the “Freak Scene”
single) sounds better on stage than in the studio, but those harmonies of
Mascis of Johnson easily qualify as aural torture. The songs in between were
recorded entirely by Mascis and succeed in displaying the variety of Dinosaur’s
influences and capabilities: “Not You Again” is an accessible
pop gem with a scorching solo, “The Little Baby” stresses the
noisier side of the band, with heavy rumbling bass and screamed vocals, while
“Pebbles and Weeds” is a messy rocker with growling vocals and
lots of feedback and distortion.
Finally, Mascis also does an acoustic cover of David Bowie’s “Quicksand” (from Hunky Dory). Apparently a bit of an awkward choice, his version is simply terrific, despite the fact that he thoroughly changed the lyrics and only kept fragments of the verses intact. But the weariness (“Don’t believe in yourself, don’t deceive with belief, knowledge comes with death’s release”) of the original is kept and it fits Mascis so well it sounds like a self-penned triumph. Whatever’s Cool with Me isn’t essential by any means, but it gives quite a complete image of the band at that certain time, and for that reason alone it’s worth checking out. Unless you only dig Swedish black metal, that is.
Reader comments: Thor (Walhalla): Zophael979 (USA): The live stuff is kick ass too, especially for someone like me who had sadly not heard any live Dinosaur Jr. before. Both songs rock pretty damn hard and it actually surprised me how good of a live vocalist Mascis is (or was around that time). I always figured that his voice would be considerably weak in a live setting, but he really projects his voice out there almost as well as he busts out his sludgy riffs and beautifully horrid guitar noise. I just might buy those Dino Jr. BBC sessions I've seen laying around a few record stores. Pretty enjoyable stuff, but I'd be surprised if anyone other than the hardcore Dinosaur jr. fan and/or the certified music junkie ever bought it. I concur with the 7. |
Where You Been (1993)
7
Out There / Start Choppin’ / What Else Is Now / On
the Way / Not the Same / Get Me / Drawerings / Hide / Goin’
Home / I Ain’t Sayin’
The
musical landscape had changed a lot since their previous album Green Mind,
because with the rise of Nirvana, Pearl Jam and, to a lesser extent also Soundgarden
and Alice in Chains, loud guitar-oriented bands - many of which were hardcore
Dinosaur Jr. fans – had moved more and more towards the mainstream.
However, that never happened in the case of Mr. Mascis, despite the fact that
his albums had become increasingly conventional and accessible. Even more
than Green Mind, the music on Where You Been is devoid of
the rough edges, sudden bursts of uncompromising – often alienating
– guitar noise and feedback of the ‘80’s albums, while also
the sound is much more glossy. That needn’t imply the band lost it (as
many of their so-called hardcore fans seemed to yell): while Mascis had always
created his personal merger of ‘70’s hard rock, folk and indie
rock, the main difference is just that he no longer tries to convey his point
by breaking the decibel barriers. Well, to be honest, the slicker approach
is a bit at the expense of the excitement that surrounded terrific albums
such as You’re Living All Over Me and Bug, but like
Green Mind, this album offers several songs that ooze out the very essence
of the man’s craft, and sometimes even betrays unexpected moments of
beauty or excellence.
On the downside, the album’s a bit too long, with half of the songs going over the 5 minutes-barrier, and with the first half of the album being lot better than the second half. As usual, the band starts of with an album highlight in the way of the lengthy “Out There,” which has some excellent guitar playing and backing vocals by Mike Johnson (playing on his first Dinosaur Jr. full-length). “Start Choppin’,” characterised by Mascis’ falsetto during the chorus (“Goodbyyyyyyeeeeee!”) might very well be one of their catchiest songs ever, moving along with a previously rare bounce. More shameless but damn effective accessibility comes in the way of “What Else Is New?” that basically sounds like a ‘70’s soft-rock song, complete with tidy solo, predictable structure and a majestic outro with (*gasp*) rolling percussion and layers of strings, making this an underrated gem in the band’s catalogue. The same could be said about the fragile “Not the Same,” which basically elaborates on the grand arrangements of “What Else Is New” and removes all doubt about Mascis’s direction. With all the sensitive sounding songs, high-pitched vocalising and acoustic strumming, one might be led to believe the chosen path is the one to sissy rock, but Mascis already saw that coming and counters with tracks such as “On the Way,” a deliciously straightforward rock song with exciting drumming (courtesy of Murph) and a guitar solo that manifests Mascis as one of his generation’s unsung guitar heroes. Also “Hide” tries to revive the days when Dinosaur Jr. thrashed by definition but unfortunately fails to do so. In fact, as I pointed out above, the second half of the album – despite the shorter length of the songs – is a bit of a letdown after the excellent string of songs that kicked off the album. Both “Get Me’ and “Drawerings” start off with an identical dragging pace and vocal melody, while neither of them succeeds in rising above the level of agreeable but unremarkable folk-rock, not necessarily a problem if we weren’t talking about 11 minutes that miss the mark. “Goin’ Home” tries to make up for these half-misses with nice acoustic guitars, surprising organ touches and a sober approach, while the short album closer “I Ain’t Sayin’” would have been successful if they had dropped the overbearing intro (that – predictably – returns at the end of the song). So, a step down from the unexpected sprawling excellence of Green Mind, mainly because of an unconvincing second half, Where You Been has – contrary to what some stubborn nay-sayers might argue – its share of excellent songs that show the band didn’t deserve to be disregarded yet by those who applauded their more adventurous releases of the eighties.
Reader comments: Zophael979(USA):
Still, when Mascis hits the mark here, you wonder why some of these songs didn't become post-Nirvana alt.rock standards and how this could've been passed over for lesser bands like Stone Temple Pilots and Bush (of course, the original Dino trio blows away all the early 90s grunge bands I've heard, but that's a little bit of a different story). There's a definite sense that J was trying to prove his worth here and demonstrate to the mainstream how good he was without really changing the direction he was already going in. Even though Where You Been doesn't measure up to the standard Mascis set with the previous records on the overall, several of the individual songs here do. "Out There" is the only song where the gratuitous soloing really works as it compliments the dark, melancholic sort vibe that this heavy metal-meets-R.E.M. type song has. Ditto with the backing vocals. Probably one of the most depressed sounding songs Mascis wrote for Dinosaur Jr. So naturally the second track is a bouncy piece of pop-metal (in a Stone Temple Pilots/early 90s Metallica sort of way, not a Bon Jovi/Extreme sort of way). "Start Choppin'" is fairly good, though it suffers from going on too long. Mostly notable for the killer intro and the great solo in the bridge. "What Else Is New" sounds like a radio hit in some alternate universe: a totally groovin' piece of acoustically driven rock music with great guitar leads and pretty fine vocal delivery by Mascis. Pearl Jam's "Daughter" came out at around the same time and THAT became a hit, which makes the lack of success for this album that much more perplexing. "On The Way" I could take or leave. Decent attempt to speed things up and deliver some crushing rock, but J. ends up soloing over everything halfway through, kind of bringing the song down. "Not The Same" is quite the opposite: slow, soft, and beyond what many of the "grunge" bands at the time were doing. The fact that J. sings the entire thing in a falsetto gives the song an eerie, sad sort of quality. Even the length isn't too much of a problem because it enables the song to function as a mood piece and those are supposed to be long. Definitely a great center to the record. Sue me, but I like "Get Me" a lot and consider it to be one of Mascis's most affecting songs. A laid back folk melody, great female backing vocals in the chorus, and one of the best, most emotionally wrenching solos Mascis's fingers have ever given us. The lyrics are cathartic for anyone who's ever felt abandoned or betrayed ("You're not going to get me through this, are you?") and, all in all, this one makes a case for powerballads actually being good from time to time. Unfortunately, "Drawerings" uses the same melody, just played on electric guitar instead of acoustic and it amounts to a rather boring, crappy song that I wouldn't even call B-side material. That's just me though. "Hide" isn't particularly bad and isn't particularly great. A decent thrash attempt that really doesn't do much for me. "Goin' Home", on the other hand, almost saves the second half of the record. It's a good, balls-out attempt at a country ballad, complete with shimmering guitars and an organ to back everything up. A good return to the melancholic vibe of "Out There". In fact, it should've bookended the record with it. Unfortunately, "I Ain't Sayin'" is stuck at the end and it really sucks. Pretty much just a folk rocker that sounds like a Green Mind B-side with a really silly, overblown intro. Perhaps the reason this wasn't a huge record is because it couldn't really find an audience. Too slick sounding for the indie heads. Too folky for the trendy grunge kids. Too heavy for the audience The Counting Crows struck it big with. All in all, an above average record with some good songs, but also some crap and some less than inspired stuff to weigh everything down. Not the classics that the previous three records were. I give this one about a 7.5. |
Without a Sound (1994)
6
Feel the Pain / I Don’t Think So / Yeah Right / Outta Hand
/ Grab It / Even You / Mind Glow / Get Out of This / On the Brink /
Seemed Like the Thing To Do / Over Your Shoulder
Without
A Sound (aka An Alarmingly High percentage of Merely Decent Songs)
followed hot on the heels of Where You Been, although some drastic
change had taken place: Murph had left (got kicked out of the band?) not to
be heard of again. Well, I know he contributed to Don Fleming’s Rocket-project
a few years ago, but that’s about it (if you have more information about
his whereabouts, you’re always welcome to let me know). But anyway,
Joseph Mascis now was the only original member left, and with Mike Johnson
handling bass duties, he took care of nearly all the rest (guitars, vocals,
drums), just like on the majority of the songs on Green Mind. Overall,
this album is a modest return to noisier and rootsier territory, although
the song-writing isn’t consistent enough to call it a success (which
Where You Been still was, despite the weaker second half). The album
starts off on a promising note, though, as both “Feel the Pain”
and “I Don’t Think So” belong in the pantheon of most accessible
and successful Dino songs. The first one introduces itself with a really catchy
guitar melody, while the most appealing about it are probably those ragged
accelerations and some wonderfully scruffy guitar parts. “I Don’t
Think So” is even more consumer-friendly, shuffling along at a steady
pace while it has a first-class melody as well.
Just like on the previous album, or any other of their albums (except for Green Mind) the quality is continued during the remainder of the first half, but not as convincingly as on past efforts. “Yeah Right” moves close to the roots-rock terrain of early Uncle Tupelo (just ignore J.’s vocals for a second and listen), and contains this swift pace, but regrettably ends prematurely, halfway a solo. The noisy start of “Grab It” suggests it might be the noisiest song since Green Mind’s “How’d You Pin That One on Me?,” but in reality it’s a poppy rocker with the amps cranked up, while it’s furthermore interesting (to me, at least) because the backing vocals are taken care of by Thalia Zedek (vocalist/guitar player of Come, one of the best female-fronted bands of the ‘90’s). After “Grab It,” the fun is over for a while, as J. delivers agreeable but frustratingly bland slices of Neil Young-styled folk-rock (“Even You”), a customary fuzzy-sounding ballad (“Mind Glow”), another extended folk-rocker (“Get Out of This”), before getting into livelier terrain again with the poppier “On the Brink.” It’s not that the mentioned songs are atrocious mongrels or tasteless genre-exercises, but coming from a man who turned in albums that were chock-full of electrifying, uncompromising and even touching tunes, you come to expect more than just a bunch of tracks that sound like uninspired retreads. “Seemed Like the Thing to Do,” a stretched out acoustic ballad, tries to bring salvation, but in reality it’s the album closer “Over Your Shoulder” that offers a glimpse of the Mascis I’d like to see more of. Allegedly a song about his deceased father, it’s a mournful final chapter that especially benefits from the unexpected organ touches and J.’s surprisingly heartfelt delivery. The man may not have a “beautiful” voice, but he has certainly found a niche for himself in which his voice functions more than well enough. However, it doesn’t cover up the fact that Without a Sound is his weakest album since the 1985 debut, with only a few memorable songs and an abundance of insipid efforts that are simply disappointing in the light of the man’s earlier victories.
Reader comments: Alexander C. Butler: Paul Eggleston (USA): Zophael979 (USA): Most of the other stuff I go back and forth on. "Yeah Right" is pretty decent rock number that DOES remind of the first Uncle Tupelo record a bit and "On the Brink" is an OK attempt at a jangle pop song. Only "Grab It" and "Even You" don't really do much for me with the first reminding me a bit too much of "The Lung" and the later reminding me a bit too much of "Tarpit" or roughly any slow, folkish Dinosaur Jr. song. What really helps push Without A Sound from an okay album to a pretty good album for me is the final two songs. "Seemed Like The Thing To Do" is one of my favorite Mascis ballads: pretty melody, thankfully stretched out, simple but affecting lyrics. The whole song just has a romantic but pained vibe to it that greatly appeals to me. An awesome follow-up to the previous album's "Not the Same". Of course, you've already done a good job describing the greatness of "Over Your Shoulder". The "when I wake up all alone" part gives me goosebumps. Not only is it one of the best Dinosaur Jr. compositions, it's one of the saddest and most emotionally affecting. Awesome closer and it's exclusion from the greatest hits cd was a travesty, if not a little understandable since "Feel the Pain" was a minor MTV hit and "I Don't Think So" earns it's spot as well. Overall, we have a pretty decent album that certainly didn't deserve some of the really negative reviews it got, but it doesn't really look very good sandwiched between the guitar epics of Where You Been and the borderline brilliance of Hand It Over. Your grade is pretty spot on, but since it's more or less consistently listenable (and Where You Been wasn't really), I'll give it a 7. Not the one to start with, but hardly a horrible purchase if you've already got some of their other stuff. Rodge
(Australia): Without a Sound - should be 8 in my opinion |
Hand it over (1997)
8
I Don’t Think / Never Bought It / Nothing’s Goin’ On
/ I’m Insane / Can’t We Move This / Alone
/ Sure Not Over You / Loaded / Mick / I Know Yer Insane / Getting’
Rough / Gotta Know
“Take
a Run at the Sun,” the blatantly radiant pop gem Mascis contributed
to the movie Grace of My Heart a year before this album’s release
raised some high hopes at Peters Towers, and luckily I wasn’t disappointed.
Well, I must admit that at first I wasn’t really enamoured by this effort,
which seemed an incoherent attempt at recreating the golden days, but repeated
listenings (it’s always the same) slowly unveiled many of the gems hidden
on this album that is probably the most varied, focused and concise one since
Green Mind. It not only contains some of the lush arrangements of
that album or Where You Been, but it also digs up the noisier past
in a much more successful way than on the previous Without a Sound.
Already when that crunchy and metallic guitar enters the picture in “I
Don’t Think,” it’s pretty clear that this is a homecoming
from the bland ‘90’s grunge that infested the majority of Without
a Sound. Whereas “I Don’t Think,” but also tracks like
“Nothing’s Goin’ On” and “Mick” are basically
revamped executions of prehistoric proto-grunge, the details turn these songs
into something more than just album tracks, whether it’s the falsetto
vocals and harmonies in the opening song, the deliciously screeching guitar
solo in “Nothing’s Goin’ On” or the semi-jangly folk-rock
of “Mick” that explores territory between The Lemonheads and The
Replacements.
A noisy highlight is also “Can’t We Move This,” which has some of the best white-hot rackety sounds in years (just listen to that magnificent intro that could have come straight from any of the band’s crucial SST-albums). Despite the fact that the song transforms into a more restrained affair later on, it’s still very exciting to witness the band has the balls again to step on that pedal and squeeze out some powerful rock. What’s probably even more remarkable is the difference in the arrangements and the unexpected appearance of that silly - but oh so catchy -trumpet melody in the magnificent “I’m Insane,” or the acoustic folk-song (with banjo) “Getting’ Rough.” This time the weight of the album seems to concentrate itself around the middle section: besides “I’m Insane,” there are also the huge 8-minute ballad “Alone,” a soaring slab of feedback-drenched rock that combines Weld-era Neil Young epics with J.’s own interpretation of “Maggot Brain” from Mike Watt’s Ball-Hog or Tugboat? (1995). While the intensity and volume never slips, it’s equally impressive because of Mascis’ heartfelt delivery that turns it into one of his very best ‘ballads.’ Also the quieter “Sure Not Over You” delivers the goods, benefiting from the laidback instrumentation and a remarkably clean solo (the tidiest in years?). Some of the tracks (“I Know Yer Insane,” “Loaded,” “Gotta Know”) aren’t that remarkable (confirming my theory (again) that 35 minutes would’ve done just fine), but they aren’t spoil sports either. For the first time since 1991, the Dinosaur Jr. released a consistently impressive album that made the split-up all the more unexpected. Of course, J. had profiled himself more and more as a solo artist (having released the solo album Martin + Me a year earlier), while also ‘steady’ bass player Mike Johnson crafted some solo albums and regularly helped some friends out, some of the most successful collaborations being the ones with Mark Lanegan. Since 1997, Mascis has released two albums with The Fog and did a tour with Mike Watt and the Ashetons, celebrating his early roots by playing in this “Tribute to the Stooges.” When I saw him play live last year (both with the Fog and said project a few months later) there wasn’t any reason to believe we’re gonna get rid of him in the near future, and that’s of course a good thing. Mascis is one of the unsung guitar heroes of the past decades while the band he led was truly groundbreaking and helped shaping alternative guitar-based rock.
Reader comments: Zophael979(USA): This is the really great album that Where You Been and Without A Sound both aspired to be. I wouldn't really say it's Mascis returning to his roots...well, it kinda is. It's a whole lot noisier and somewhat more lo-fi sounding than anything he had done since he left SST, but the music itself is really just more progression from what he was doing with Without A Sound. Mascis's folk-rock leanings come out to the fore on Hand It Over, which is a plus for me because I've always loved that side of his music. It also helps that roughly all the songs are good (making it the first full-length Dino Jr. album since Green Mind without any dead weight) and that the whole thing seems overall more inspired. Maybe it was because Where You Been and Without A Sound weren't hit albums and the pressure was off. Probably it had something to do with working with Kevin Shields. Whatever the case, I'd definitely cite Hand It Over as one of the best Dinosaur Jr. albums and one of the best and most underrated records of the 90s. Roughly everything is memorable. Highlights include "Nothing's Goin' On" , which is driven by a great, droning riff...."I Don't Think" with J's falsetto to counter the heavy guitars...the dense, but incredibly rhythmic "Loaded"...the hard driving folk rock of "Mick"...the laidback acoustic driven melancholy of "Sure Not Over You"...the blistering hard rock of "Can't We Move This?"...the somewhat bluesy leads of "I Know Yer Insane". "Never Bought It" and "I'm Insane" stick out especially for me because the songs use instruments that you wouldn't expect to hear in a Dino Jr. song. The former makes great use of a flute and the later uses a freakin' TRUMPET....and it sounds great! Then there's "Alone", which IS the epic that J was trying to write on Where You Been. The hynoptic, repetitive rhythm...J's haunting falsetto....the shrieking violence of J's guitar...the little acoustic break-down towards the end. Worth the money all by itself. I'd also consider the closer "Gotta Know" to be a highlight. After much thought (well, actually more like a minute's worth of thought), I've concluded it to be my favorite Dino Jr. ballad. It has one of Mascis's most emotionally expressive vocal performances and some of his best lyrics, particularly the "when I held you close, I felt my mind explode" part (yeah, I'm all soft inside...) AND a pretty damn great guitar solo to cap it off with. So as you can see by my listing every single song as a highlight, the whole album is pretty great to me. Some songs are better than others, but Hand It Over showcases J.Mascis had the top of game musically, lyrically, and even vocally. I think the songs strike a pretty good balance between the spaced out vibe of You're Living All Over Me and the more romantic natures of Green Mind and Without A Sound. I've only had it for about a month now and I suspect it'll just grow on me more. Dinosaur Jr. really couldn't have gotten a better swansong. It gets a really high 9. |
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