Yo La Tengo's not entirely great first album. It's certainly not bad. It's just not "run out and tell all your friends and listen to it obsessively." Or am I the only one who had that reaction to Painful? On this album, they pretty much sound like a decent indie rock band. Nothing special, really. For me, the only reasons to own this album (other than an obsessive completism) are "The Evil That Men Do," a sort precursor to the masterful freakouts that fill May I Sing With Me, and "A House is not a Motel," which is just an excellent little pop song.
personnel
Georgia Hubley - Drums
Ira Kaplan - Vocals, Guitar
Mike Lewis - Bass on *
Clint Conley - Producer, Bass on **
Dave Rick - Bass on ***
tracklist
- The Cone of Silence *
- Big Sky (Cover of the Kinks) *
- The Evil That Men Do *
- The Forest Green **
- The Pain of Pain *
- The Way Some People Die *
- The Empty Pool **
- Alrock's Bells **
- Five Years *
- Screaming Dead Balloons *
- Living in the Country
Bonus Tracks on Matador CD Reissue
- The River of Water ***
- A House is not a Motel ***
- Crispy Duck * (Recorded with Closing Time in 1996)
- Closing Time *
Issued by Coyote Records/City Slang as TTC 8676 in 1986; Reissued by Matador Records in 1997 as OLE-205