Crooked Rain, Crooked Rain | ||||
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Studio album by | ||||
Released | February 14, 1994 | |||
Recorded | August–September 1993 | |||
Studio |
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Genre | ||||
Length | 42:16 | |||
Label | Matador | |||
Producer | Pavement | |||
Pavement chronology | ||||
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Singles from Crooked Rain, Crooked Rain | ||||
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Crooked Rain, Crooked Rain is the second studio album by American indie rock band Pavement, released on February 14, 1994, by Matador Records. The album saw the band move on towards a more accessible rock sound than that of their more lo-fi debut Slanted and Enchanted and achieve moderate success with the single "Cut Your Hair". The album also saw original drummer Gary Young replaced by Steve West. It was a UK Top 20 hit upon release, although it was not so successful in the US charts.
Crooked Rain, Crooked Rain was released on February 14, 1994, by Matador Records. [2] As of 2009, the album had sold about 500,000 copies. [3]
In 2004, Matador released Crooked Rain, Crooked Rain: LA's Desert Origins , a compilation containing the album in its entirety, as well outtakes and other rarities from the same era. [4]
Review scores | |
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Source | Rating |
AllMusic | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
Chicago Sun-Times | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
Entertainment Weekly | B+ [7] |
Los Angeles Times | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
NME | 8/10 [9] |
Rolling Stone | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
The Rolling Stone Album Guide | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
Select | 4/5 [12] |
Spin Alternative Record Guide | 9/10 [13] |
The Village Voice | A [14] |
AllMusic's Stephen Thomas Erlewine gave Crooked Rain a perfect five-star rating, describing it as "the Reckoning to Slanted & Enchanted 's Murmur ". He concluded that the album was "a vibrant, dynamic, emotionally resonant album that stands as a touchstone of underground rock in the '90s and one of the great albums of its decade." [5] Robert Christgau of the Village Voice gave the album an A grade, describing it as "a tour de force melodywise". [14] Entertainment Weekly 's David Browne gave the album a B+, writing that "Crooked Rain, Crooked Rain is just a bunch of guys dwelling on topics like skateboarding, plane crashes, girls, and mocking Stone Temple Pilots. When they set those sentiments to bumpy-road drones or a bit of a country lilt...the result has a subtle, ingratiating beauty." [7] Los Angeles Times critic Richard Cromelin gave the album 3.5 out of 4 stars. Cromelin wrote that the album contains "some of the Meat Puppets' loopiness, a Stones/Burritos folk-country resonance, and a chirpy pop tunefulness--along with enough contrary abrasiveness to keep you from getting too comfortable with them." [8]
In 2003, the album was ranked number 210 on Rolling Stone magazine's list of the 500 greatest albums of all time, and 212 in a 2012 revised list. [15] In the 2020 update of the list, the album's rank dropped to number 434. [16] It was also ranked number 10 on their best albums of the Nineties. [17] In 2003, it was ranked number 8 on Pitchfork 's list Top 100 Albums of the 1990s, [18] and in 2010, the song "Gold Soundz" was listed as number one on Pitchfork's 200 Greatest Songs of the 1990s. [19] In July 2014, Guitar World ranked Crooked Rain, Crooked Rain at number 21 in their "Superunknown: 50 Iconic Albums That Defined 1994" list. [20] The photo in the middle of the cover was taken from the March 1978 issue of National Geographic . The album was also included in the book 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die . [21]
All tracks are written by Stephen Malkmus, except "Hit the Plane Down", which was written by Scott Kannberg
No. | Title | Length |
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1. | "Silence Kid" ( [note 1] ) | 3:01 |
2. | "Elevate Me Later" | 2:51 |
3. | "Stop Breathin" | 4:28 |
4. | "Cut Your Hair" | 3:07 |
5. | "Newark Wilder" | 3:53 |
6. | "Unfair" | 2:33 |
7. | "Gold Soundz" | 2:41 |
8. | "5-4=Unity" | 2:09 |
9. | "Range Life" | 4:54 |
10. | "Heaven Is a Truck" | 2:30 |
11. | "Hit the Plane Down" | 3:36 |
12. | "Fillmore Jive" | 6:38 |
Credits adapted from the album's liner notes. [24]
Pavement
Technical
Weekly charts
Certifications
| Singles
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Pavement is an American indie rock band that formed in Stockton, California, in 1989. For most of their career, the group consisted of Stephen Malkmus, Scott Kannberg, Mark Ibold (bass), Steve West (drums), and Bob Nastanovich. Initially conceived as a recording project, the band at first avoided press or live performances, while attracting considerable underground attention with their early releases. Gradually evolving into a more polished band, Pavement recorded five full-length albums and ten EPs over the course of their decade-long career, though they disbanded with some acrimony in 1999 as the members moved on to other projects. In 2010, they undertook a well-received reunion tour, followed by another international tour in 2022–24.
Stephen Joseph Malkmus is an American musician best known as the primary songwriter, lead singer and guitarist of the indie rock band Pavement. He performs with Stephen Malkmus and the Jicks, Pavement, and as a solo artist.
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Crooked Rain, Crooked Rain: LA's Desert Origins is a compilation album by Pavement released on October 26, 2004. It contains the band's 1994 album, Crooked Rain, Crooked Rain, in its entirety, as well as outtakes and other rarities from that era, some of which had previously been unreleased.
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Pavement's decision to graft a shadow history of '60s and '70s California folk-rock and psychedelia onto the abrasive, Fall-inspired noise of their previous sound made total sense...
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