Failure (The Posies album)

Last updated
Failure
FailurePosiesAlbum.jpg
Studio album by
Released1988
RecordedDecember 1987 – February 1988
StudioStudio X, Seattle; NorSound, Bellingham, Washington
Genre Alternative rock
Length42:23
Label PopLlama
Producer Jon Auer, Ken Stringfellow
The Posies chronology
Failure
(1988)
Dear 23
(1990)
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svg [1]

Failure is the debut album of The Posies. It was first released independently in 1988 on cassette only. In 1989 it was reissued on cassette, LP and CD on PopLlama Records.

Contents

Members Jon Auer and Ken Stringfellow began work on Failure near the end of 1987, although the band had previously recorded some demos earlier that summer. Some of the sessions were conducted at a recording studio constructed by Auer and his father, which housed an 8-track analog tape machine and a small mixing console. Auer mixed the album in one night using headphone in the absence of Stringfellow, who was on vacation with his family in Hawaii. [2]

Due to playing time restrictions imposed by the LP manufacturer, the band was forced to drop one song from the PopLlama LP edition. The CD version had no time restrictions and includes the same content as the cassette.

It was later remastered and reissued again in 2004 on Houston Party Records. "I May Hate You Sometimes" appears in Children of Nuggets: Original Artyfacts from the Second Psychedelic Era, 1976–1995 , and was also featured in the 2000 Daria telemovie Is It Fall Yet? as the ending-credits song.

Track listing

All songs by Jon Auer and Ken Stringfellow.[ citation needed ]

  1. "Blind Eyes Open" – 3:55
  2. "The Longest Line" – 3:12
  3. "Under Easy" – 3:25
  4. "Like Me Too" – 3:35
  5. "I May Hate You Sometimes" – 3:20
  6. "Ironing Tuesdays" – 2:56
  7. "Paint Me" – 4:05
  8. "Believe in Something Other (Than Yourself)" – 4:10
  9. "Compliment?" – 3:22
  10. "At Least for Now" – 3:33
  11. "Uncombined" – 4:00 (not included on the PopLlama LP edition)
  12. "What Little Remains" – 2:50

Bonus tracks (15th Anniversary edition)

  1. "I May Hate You Sometimes" – Demo
  2. "Paint Me" – Demo
  3. "Like Me Too" – Demo
  4. "Allison Hubbard" – Instrumental
  5. "After May A Summer Dies a Swan" – Instrumental
  6. "Blind Eyes Open" – Instrumental Demo
  7. "I May Hate You Sometimes" – Alternative Version
  8. "Compliment?" – Alternative Version

Personnel

Credits[ citation needed ]

The Posies
Production
Artwork and Design

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Big Star</span> American rock band

Big Star was an American rock band formed in Memphis, Tennessee in 1971 by Alex Chilton, Chris Bell, Jody Stephens (drums), and Andy Hummel (bass). They have been described as the "quintessential American power pop band", and "one of the most mythic and influential cult acts in all of rock & roll". In its first era, the band's musical style drew influence from 1960s pop acts such as the Beatles and the Byrds, producing a style that foreshadowed the alternative rock of the 1980s and 1990s. Before they broke up, Big Star created a "seminal body of work that never stopped inspiring succeeding generations" according to Rolling Stone. Three of Big Star's studio albums are included in the Rolling Stone list of the Top 500 Albums of All-Time.

<i>Next Position Please</i> 1983 studio album by Cheap Trick

Next Position Please is the seventh studio album by American rock band Cheap Trick, produced by Todd Rundgren and released in 1983.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Minus 5</span> American pop rock band

The Minus 5 is an American pop rock band headed by musician Scott McCaughey of Young Fresh Fellows, often in partnership with R.E.M. guitarist Peter Buck.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Posies</span> American band

The Posies were an American rock band formed in Bellingham, Washington in 1986. The group initially consisted of songwriters Jon Auer and Ken Stringfellow but later added other members.

The Orange Humble Band is an alternative rock band formed in early 1995, by Darryl Mather on guitar. He was joined by Anthony Bautovich, Mitch Easter on vocals, and Ken Stringfellow on lead vocals. The group issued two albums, Assorted Creams (1997) and Humblin' (2001) before disbanding later that year. They reformed in March 2012 and issued a third album, Depressing Beauty, in May 2015.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ken Stringfellow</span> American musician

Kenneth Stuart Stringfellow is an American singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, arranger, and producer. Best known for his work with The Posies, R.E.M., and the re-formed Big Star, Stringfellow's discography includes more than 200 albums.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jon Auer</span> American musician

Jonathan Paul "Jon" Auer is an American musician who co-founded the power pop band The Posies, along with Ken Stringfellow. Auer and Stringfellow also participated in the rejuvenated Big Star and in 2003 released Private Sides, a six-song split EP. Auer played guitar on the 2004 William Shatner record Has Been which was produced and arranged by Ben Folds.

<i>Frosting on the Beater</i> 1993 studio album by The Posies

Frosting on the Beater is the third album by American rock band The Posies, released in 1993. It featured a darker sound than the band's prior works, in part due to production duties being handled by Don Fleming. "Dream All Day", "Solar Sister" and "Definite Door" were released as singles, with the first two getting moderate airplay and the third being the band's only single to break the UK top 75. Frosting on the Beater was the last album original drummer Mike Musburger appeared on.

<i>Down with Wilco</i> 2003 studio album by The Minus 5

Down with Wilco is the fifth album by American rock band The Minus 5. Produced by Scott McCaughey and Jeff Tweedy, it is a collaboration between McCaughey and Wilco, recorded at SOMA Studios Chicago in September and December 2001. Released on Yep Roc in 2003, it also features contributions from Peter Buck of R.E.M., Ken Stringfellow of The Posies, Sean O'Hagan of The High Llamas, with Jessy Greene providing strings. The double-vinyl version adds five songs not included on the CD.

<i>Dear 23</i> 1990 studio album by The Posies

Dear 23 is the second album by Seattle alternative rock/grunge/power pop band The Posies. The album was rereleased by Omnivore Recordings in 2018.

<i>Amazing Disgrace</i> 1996 studio album by The Posies

Amazing Disgrace is the fourth album by the Seattle alternative rock band the Posies, released in 1996. It was their final release for DGC Records.

<i>At Least, at Last</i> 2003 box set by The Posies

At Least, at Last is an album from the band The Posies, released in 2003.

<i>Big Star, Small World</i> 2006 compilation album by various artists

Big Star Small World is a 2006 tribute album to the American power pop band Big Star. It was produced by Big Star drummer Jody Stephens, who also created the cover art.

<i>Every Kind of Light</i> 2005 studio album by The Posies

Every Kind of Light is the sixth studio album by The Posies, released on June 28, 2005 by Rykodisc. This was the first full-length album release by the band since 1998's Success, after which they had disbanded. Starting in 2000, the band began performing numerous reunion shows, while principal songwriters Ken Stringfellow and Jon Auer pursued solo recordings and tours. This is the first Posies album to feature bassist/guitarist Matt Harris and drummer Darius Minwalla.

<i>In Space</i> 2005 studio album by Big Star

In Space is the fourth and final studio album by American rock group Big Star, released in 2005. It was the first new Big Star studio album since Third/Sister Lovers, recorded in 1974 and released in 1978.

<i>Columbia: Live at Missouri University</i> 1993 live album by Big Star

Columbia: Live at Missouri University 4/25/93 is a reunion live album by the American power pop group Big Star, recorded and released in 1993 by the original Big Star members Alex Chilton and Jody Stephens together with The Posies' members Jonathan Auer and Ken Stringfellow. It was recorded at the University of Missouri in Columbia, Missouri.

<i>Blood/Candy</i> 2010 studio album by The Posies

Blood/Candy is the seventh studio album by American alternative rock band The Posies, released on September 28, 2010, by Rykodisc. It was the band's first album release in five years, following Every Kind of Light.

<i>Success</i> (The Posies album) 1998 studio album by The Posies

Success is an album by the Seattle alternative rock band the Posies, released in 1998. The band broke up after the album's release; they regrouped in 2005.

<i>Supercalifragile</i> 2017 studio album by Game Theory

Supercalifragile is the sixth and final studio album by Game Theory, a California power pop band founded in 1982 by guitarist and singer-songwriter Scott Miller. At the time of his death in 2013, Miller had started work on the recording, which was to be Game Theory's first new album since 1988. Producer Ken Stringfellow and executive producer Kristine Chambers Miller enlisted the participation of numerous past collaborators and friends of Miller to finish the album after Miller's death, using Miller's partially completed recordings and source material. Supercalifragile was released in August 2017.

<i>Solid States</i> 2016 studio album by The Posies

Solid States is the eighth and final studio album by American alternative rock band The Posies, released on 29 April 2016 by American label MyMusicEmpire. It was the band's first new album release in six years, and the first since the deaths of drummer Darius Minwalla and bass player Joe Skyward.

References

  1. Failure at AllMusic
  2. Lundstrom, Jim. "Vinyl Liner Notes: Failure, The Posies". Scene. Archived from the original on August 8, 2010. Retrieved October 20, 2023.