STACK NZ Aug #76

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By Graham Reid

DINOSAUR Jr.

Faith No More We Care a Lot (Deluxe Edition)

Now available on double vinyl and CD with extra tracks, demos, live versions and remixes, this impressive 1985 debut – before Mike Patton took over vocal duties from soon- to-depart Chuck Mosley – hit a midpoint

Bug (1988) Although You're Living All Over Me from the previous year was enormously influential (on grunge and indie rock bands in the '80s and early '90s), this third album breakthrough wound up the jangle, noise, pop and folk-rock. Very accessible. The last of the original line-up with Barlow. Green Mind (1991) NewYork rock critic Robert Christgau was never a fan and dismissed this as "grunge on pot" – which it may well be. But it is also (aside from being all but a Mascis solo album after Barlow's departure) a pretty thrilling ride of reductive rock and Mascis' take on country-rock. Flying Cloud is a lovely dreamy ballad. On pot, of course. Hand It Over (1997) The last before the lengthy break, this collapsed pop, metal- noise, massive chords and Mascis' own take on slacker folk-rock (as unique as Neil Young's, whose spirit is conjured up on Alone ) with colour from strings and horns, and some guest singers. Recommended. I Bet On Sky (2012) From their second life (Barlow back in the ranks), this showed they'd lost none of their fire power and power-rock ( Rude ) but it also embraced their widescreen folk-rock ( Almost Fare which Cobain might have admired and sung) and Mascis' archetypal melancholy ( Stick A Toe In ). Either a return to form or them revisiting old tropes. You decide. Hard to believe, but Dinosaur Jr first formed over 30 years ago.They've been helmed by sole constant, singer-guitarist J. Mascis – although co-founder and bassist Lou Barlow, who left after the first five years, rejoined when the band was resurrected after an eight year hiatus ending in late 2005. A long and productive career... so where to start? And also... Mascis' solo career has presented some interesting albums, notably Free So Free (2002, with The Fog) and Tied To Star (2014). Barlow's career with the lo-fi Sebadoh and Folk Implosion are worth checking out, especially Sebadoh.

between US punk, funk metal and indie.rock. With a dollop of cynical humour (the title track alluding to consciousness-raising and ever-so caring rock stars with “it's a dirty job but someone's got to do it”) and punchdown beats, it sometimes sounded closer to the Beastie Boys' take on rap than hard rock. Even today it remains an outsider album, a kind of mutant take on hard rock which flirts with experimentation and dance ( Arabian Disco ). Fans who only know their more recent catalogue might be in for a surprise. It's very old now but still contains the shock of the new.

MUSIC

REM Lifes Rich Pageant Has it really been 30 apostrophe-missing years? This from 1986 was where REM made the leap from college radio and into mainstream attention. Their first gold album, delivering crackling rock songs (the stuttering and political Begin the Begin , the urgent These Days , Hyena , the punky Just a Touch ), instantly familiar pop ( I Believ e) and the ballad Fall On Me . They were smart, ready and possessed, with just a touch of swagger. Available now on vinyl alongside the 1987 rarities collection Dead Letter Office and their then “hits” collection Eponymous .

Pink Floyd Meddle

Although there's no “little- known” Pink Floyd album (the soundtracks More and Obscured by Clouds perhaps?), some early ones went past those who tuned in at Dark Side Of The Moon . This from 1971 is a bridge between their experimental work and Dark Side (just over the horizon and hinted at on the 23 minute Echoes ). Now available on vinyl (with half a dozen others between Atom Heart Mother and The Final Cut ), it is a pleasant, deep immersion in their dreamscapes and cautiously constrained prog. And San Tropez is an un-Floyd pop song.

For more interviews, reviews and overviews from Graham Reid visit www.elsewhere.co.nz

AUGUST 2016

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