U-Men, the U-Men's debut EP, was released in the US in 1984 on 12" vinyl by Bomb Shelter Records (release number SPY007).
It features John Bigley on vocals, Jim Tillman on bass, Charlie Ryan on drums, and Tom Price on guitar. On "Shoot 'Em Down", Jim and Tom swap instruments.
It was recorded and produced at Crow Recording in Seattle, under the aegis of John Nelson, who would go on to produce and engineer most of the U-Men's discography. Recording U-Men was a learning experience for the band; since they were accustomed to playing live, they'd cut the take if just one of them screwed up, forgetting that each man's part was recorded individually and could be redone. They also struggled to translate the mad spontaneity of their live performances into recording. As Jim says it, "The first couple records we made were great in a lot of ways, but they were lacking that other dynamic because we were being kind of forced into the dynamic of the recording studio."
Like many other debut records, U-Men was funded by mom and dad—$600 ("or something like that") from Mr. and Mrs. Bigley.
Track Listing
This (Side A)
- Blight (2:33)
- Flowers D.G.I.H. (4:17)
Little Men (Side B)
- Shoot 'Em Down (4:00)
- Gila (2:18)
References
The U-Men. U-Men, Sub Pop, 2017. Liner notes.
U-Men at Discogs