Center of the Universe (album)

Last updated
Center of the Universe
Center of the Universe (album).jpg
Studio album by
Giant Sand
Released1992
Genre Rock
Label Restless
Producer Giant Sand
Giant Sand chronology
Ramp
(1991)		Center of the Universe
(1992)		Purge & Slouch
(1993)

Center of the Universe is an album by the American band Giant Sand, released in 1992. [1] [2] It was the first Giant Sand album to receive wide distribution and a traditional promotional campaign. [3] It was also the band's first album for Restless Records, which had rereleased a couple of older Giant Sand albums. [4] The band supported Center of the Universe with a North American tour. [5]

Contents

Production

Recorded in Venice, California, the album was produced by the band; they did not want a traditional producer suggesting or correcting musical ideas. [6] [7] Giant Sand entered the studio with songs for half an album, and had to finish the rest of the songs during the sessions. [8] Many of the songs are about characters on the fringes of society. [9] Vicki Peterson and Susan Cowsill, credited as the Psycho Sisters, provided backing vocals on some of the tracks. [10] Victoria Williams contributed vocals to the title track. [11]

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svg [10]
Robert Christgau Five Pointed Star Solid.svg [12]
The Encyclopedia of Popular Music Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svg [13]
Spin Alternative Record Guide 8/10 [14]

The Philadelphia Inquirer noted that "leader Howe Gelb continues to write ragged songs that refuse to adhere to a narrative track." [15] Robert Christgau praised "Thing Like That" and the title track. [12] Trouser Press said that "the heads-down rockism of the loud'n'proud Center of the Universe is clearly descended from Crazy Horse, particularly when Convertino and bassist Joey Burns lock into a groove as primordial as the one that propels the harsh 'Seeded ('tween Bone and Bark)'." [16] The Washington Post deemed it a "post-punk version of country-rock." [11]

USA Today noted that the band "embraces both pop structure and punk abandon." [17] Spin determined that the album "opens with an explosion of pointy guitar noise worthy of the meanest Lower East Side cluster-hunch, and coalesces into a wide brainful of songs describing the world as seen from the window of a mobile home falling through deep space." [18] The Vancouver Sun opined that "Gelb songs sound likes he's using guitar strings about the size of trans-Atlantic cable, plucked with chunks of floor tile and sung in a borderline psychotic drawl." [8]

AllMusic wrote that Giant Sand "assays another fascinating set of desert-fried rock & roll, serving up one winner after another on this excellent album." [10]

Track listing

No.TitleLength
1."Seeded ('tween Bone and Bark)" 
2."Pathfinder" 
3."Center of the Universe" 
4."Off Ramp Man" 
5."Year of the Dog" 
6."Live to Tell" 
7."Thrust" 
8."Loretta and the Insect World" 
9."Sonic Drive In" 
10."Milkshake Girl" 
11."Stuck" 
12."Thing Like That" 
13."Return to Fodder" 
14."Unwed and Well Sped" 
15."Solomon's Ride" 

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References

  1. ↑ Bennun, David (Dec 5, 1992). "Albums — Center of the Universe by Giant Sand". Melody Maker. Vol. 68, no. 49. p. 28.
  2. ↑ Tannenbaum, Rob (March 1993). "Music — Center of the Universe by Giant Sand". GQ. Vol. 63, no. 3. p. 89.
  3. ↑ Blackstock, Peter (23 Apr 1993). "Giant Sand Finally Finds Itself at the 'Center' of Attention". What's Happening. Seattle Post-Intelligencer. p. 6.
  4. ↑ Armstrong, Gene (21 May 1993). "Giant Sand appears to be shifting into national spotlight". Arizona Daily Star. p. 9E.
  5. ↑ Lozaw, Tristram (4 June 1993). "Tucson group brings its loony tunes to Charlie's". Boston Herald. p. S25.
  6. ↑ Brown, Mark (30 Apr 1993). "Album Reviews". Show. Orange County Register. p. 42.
  7. ↑ Kot, Greg (25 Apr 1993). "Ragged glory: Two bands tap the mythic strain in American rock". Arts. Chicago Tribune. p. 18.
  8. 1 2 Armstrong, John (23 Apr 1993). "Pack the Cadillac and howl with Howe". The Vancouver Sun. p. C4.
  9. ↑ Tannenbaum, Rob (Aug 5, 1993). "Performance: Giant Sand". Rolling Stone. No. 662. p. 28.
  10. 1 2 3 "Center of the Universe Review by Ned Raggett". AllMusic. Retrieved 21 April 2024.
  11. 1 2 Jenkins, Mark (11 June 1993). "Country Caught in a Sand Storm". The Washington Post. p. N18.
  12. 1 2 "Giant Sand". Robert Christgau. Retrieved 21 April 2024.
  13. ↑ Larkin, Colin (2011). The Encyclopedia of Popular Music. Omnibus Press.
  14. ↑ Spin Alternative Record Guide. Vintage Books. 1995. p. 166.
  15. ↑ Moon, Tom (24 Mar 1993). "The Suits Dominate at New-Music Festival". The Philadelphia Inquirer. p. F1.
  16. ↑ "Giant Sand". Trouser Press. Retrieved 21 April 2024.
  17. ↑ Gundersen, Edna (19 Apr 1993). "Jamming tunes from out-of-towners". USA Today. p. 6D.
  18. ↑ Coley, Byron (May 1993). "Spins". Spin. Vol. 9, no. 2. pp. 85, 87.
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