| Call the Doctor | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | March 25, 1996 | |||
| Recorded | September 1995 | |||
| Genre | Punk rock | |||
| Length | 30:04 | |||
| Label | Chainsaw | |||
| Producer | John Goodmanson, Sleater-Kinney | |||
| Sleater-Kinney chronology | ||||
| ||||
Call the Doctor is the second studio album by the American rock band Sleater-Kinney. It was released on March 25, 1996, by Chainsaw Records to critical acclaim.
Call the Doctor was written in three weeks and recorded in four days. [1] According to singer and guitarist Corin Tucker, the writing was inspired by a "crap" job she had and how people are "consumerized and commodified" by society. [1] The album features no bass player. As Tucker explained, "We started writing songs with two guitars, and we liked the way it sounded. It gives us a lot of freedom to write these lines that go back and forth." [2] The album is occasionally considered to be Sleater-Kinney's first proper album because Tucker and co-vocalist and guitarist Carrie Brownstein had left their previous bands, Heavens to Betsy and Excuse 17, at the time of its recording. [3]
Call the Doctor was produced by John Goodmanson and released on March 25, 1996, by the queercore independent record label Chainsaw Records, which also released the band's previous album, Sleater-Kinney . [4] Drummer Laura MacFarlane, who was based in Australia, had to leave the band shortly after the album's release when her visa ran out. As a result, the band asked Toni Gogin of CeBe Barnes to fill in on the drums while touring the album. [5] As of March 1997, the album has sold 6,000 copies. [6] As of February 2015, Call the Doctor has sold 60,000 copies in the U.S. according to Nielsen SoundScan. [7]
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [4] |
| Christgau's Consumer Guide | A [8] |
| Encyclopedia of Popular Music |  [9] |
| MusicHound Rock | 4.5/5 [10] |
| The Philadelphia Inquirer | [11] |
| Pitchfork | 8.6/10 [12] |
| Rolling Stone | [13] |
| The Rolling Stone Album Guide | [14] |
| Select | 3/5 [15] |
| Spin | 8/10 [16] |
Call the Doctor received acclaim from music journalists. Charles Taylor of The Boston Phoenix compared the album favorably to Heavens to Betsy's Calculated , stating that Call the Doctor "is in no way a mellowed piece of work. What makes it the fullest, most mature album any riot grrrl performer has produced isn't Tucker abandoning her anger (the idea that anger is incompatible with maturity is a facile one), but rather Tucker starting (reluctantly) to register the contingencies and compromises that her ideologically based rage is inadequate to confront". [17] Similarly, prominent music critic Robert Christgau praised the album's raucous energy, commenting: "Powered by riffs that seem unstoppable even though they're not very fast, riding melodies whose irresistibility renders them barely less harsh, Corin Tucker's enormous voice never struggles more inspirationally against the world outside than when it's facing down the dilemmas of the interpersonal—dilemmas neither eased nor defined by her gender preferences, dilemmas as bound up with family as they are with sex." [8]
AllMusic reviewer Jason Ankeny commented: "Forget the riot grrrl implications inherent in the trio's music — Call the Doctor is pure, undiluted punk, and it's brilliant". [4] Johnny Huston, writing for Spin , remarked that Call the Doctor "trades sex-worker role-playing, doll parts, gender-bending, and other common female-rock tropes for stories of everyday struggle [...] Sleater-Kinney proves that punk still offers new ways to say no". [16] The album appeared at number three in The Village Voice 's Pazz & Jop critics' poll for 1996. [18] In 2010, Call the Doctor was ranked number 49 in the list of the 100 greatest albums of the nineties by the editors of Rolling Stone . [19]
All music is composed by Carrie Brownstein and Corin Tucker
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Call the Doctor" | 2:30 |
| 2. | "Hubcap" | 2:25 |
| 3. | "Little Mouth" | 1:44 |
| 4. | "Anonymous" | 2:29 |
| 5. | "Stay Where You Are" | 2:24 |
| 6. | "Good Things" | 3:10 |
| 7. | "I Wanna Be Your Joey Ramone" | 2:37 |
| 8. | "Taking Me Home" | 2:35 |
| 9. | "Taste Test" | 3:00 |
| 10. | "My Stuff" | 2:33 |
| 11. | "I'm Not Waiting" | 2:21 |
| 12. | "Heart Attack" | 2:12 |
| Total length: | 30:04 | |
Credits are adapted from Call the Doctor's album notes. [20]
Macfarlane was incorrectly credited with vocals on "Taking Me Home" (she actually sang on "Taste Test")
Sleater-Kinney is an American rock band that formed in Olympia, Washington, in 1994. The band's current lineup features Corin Tucker and Carrie Brownstein, following the departure of longtime member Janet Weiss in 2019. Sleater-Kinney originated as part of the riot grrrl movement and has become a key part of the American indie rock scene. The band is also known for its feminist and liberal politics.
Heavens to Betsy was an American punk band formed in Olympia, Washington in 1991 with vocalist and guitarist Corin Tucker and drummer Tracy Sawyer. The duo were part of the DIY riot grrrl, punk rock underground, and were Tucker's first band before she co-formed Sleater-Kinney.
Corin Lisa Tucker is an American singer, songwriter, and guitarist best known for her work with rock band Sleater-Kinney. Tucker is also a member of the alternative rock supergroup Filthy Friends, and previously recorded with the indie rock group Heavens to Betsy and The Corin Tucker Band.
Carrie Rachel Brownstein is an American musician, actress, writer, director, and comedian. She first came to prominence as a member of the band Excuse 17 before forming the rock trio Sleater-Kinney.
Excuse 17 was a punk rock band from Olympia, Washington, US, that performed and recorded from 1993 to 1995. The band consisted of Becca Albee, Carrie Brownstein, and Curtis James (drums). The band recorded two full-length albums and a single, and contributed to several compilation albums.
The Woods is the seventh studio album by American alternative rock band Sleater-Kinney. It was released in 2005 on Sub Pop. The album was produced by Dave Fridmann and recorded in late 2004. The album received widespread critical acclaim.
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Sleater-Kinney is the debut studio album by the American rock band Sleater-Kinney, released in 1995 by Chainsaw Records. The album received favorable reviews from critics.
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Calculated is the only studio album by the American punk rock band Heavens to Betsy, released on March 21, 1994, by Kill Rock Stars. The album received positive reviews from critics.
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Sleater-Kinney is an American rock band that formed in Olympia, Washington in 1994. The band's discography consists of 10 studio albums, one live album, one compilation box set, 16 singles, and nine music videos. The band released their debut album, Sleater-Kinney, in 1995 on the independent record label Chainsaw Records. The band's second album, Call the Doctor, was released in 1996 to critical acclaim, cementing the band's reputation as one of the major musical acts from the Pacific Northwest. Dig Me Out, Sleater-Kinney's third album, was released the following year on Kill Rock Stars. It became one of their most successful albums, appearing on several publications' best album lists.
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