Free Mars

Last updated
Free Mars
Lusk - Free Mars.jpg
Studio album by
Lusk
ReleasedApril 15, 1997
Recorded1996, Contemporary Pimple Studios[ citation needed ]
Genre
Length66:13
Label Zoo / Volcano
Producer Paul D'Amour, Chris Pitman
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
Allmusic Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svg [1]

Free Mars is the only album by the experimental psychedelic rock project Lusk, released in 1997 in a Digipak-style case. The album features an appearance by Tool drummer Danny Carey, as well as an assortment of artists and musicians from the Los Angeles scene.

Contents

Lusk included Paul D'Amour (formerly of Tool), Brad Laner (Medicine), Chris Pitman (Guns N' Roses), and Failure and Autolux member Greg Edwards . (D'Amour, Edwards, and Pitman were also members of Replicants.)

A 7" vinyl single for "Backworlds" was also released, backed with "The Hotel Family Affair." The video for "Backworlds" got good reception on MTV. It premiered on 120 Minutes in September 1997, and was also the first video placed into heavy rotation on the channel after it received the most votes in four episodes of the short-lived video-rating series 12 Angry Viewers.

Recording and musical style

In addition to having "prog-rock roots", [2] Free Mars also contained a strong influence from British music. Chris Pitman said in 1997 "[we have] definite love for crafty songwriting via The Beatles and The Kinks and bands like that. But please, don't lump them in with Oasis. We didn't know about any 'Britpop' stuff." [2]

Pitman attributed the album's psychedelic 60s pop sound to the band's recording environment. He stated "We were just going to do an experimental record. But we got this rehearsal space where Fleetwood Mac and The Beach Boys and all these people used to rehearse. It's kept the same way it was back then, and it's really nostalgic. I think that rubbed off into what we were doing." [2]

Reception

AllMusic's Steve Bekkala wrote in his review "Blending lo-fi dime store psychedelia with layered shoegazing soundscapes, Free Mars stakes out the murky sonic turf located somewhere in the midst of My Bloody Valentine, Olivia Tremor Control, and Spiritualized." [1] He concluded by stating that "the album is mostly an assured, solid collection of songs." [1] Free Mars would go on to get a Grammy award nomination for Best Recording Package, but lost out to Titanic: Music as Heard on the Fateful Voyage. [1]

Paul D'Amour claimed in a May 1997 MTV interview that "Lusk is probably the first thing I've ever done that I'm truly pleased with." [2]

In August 1998, The Lantern named it as one of the "top unheard records of '97". [3]

Track listing

  1. "Backworlds" – 4:49
  2. "Savvy Kangaroos" – 3:19
  3. "Gold" – 3:50
  4. "Free Mars" – 5:58
  5. "Doctor" – 6:08
  6. "Mindray" – 4:18
  7. "The Hotel Family Affair" – 4:28
  8. "Black Sea Me" – 4:12
  9. "Undergarden" – 4:21
  10. "Kill the King" – 5:31
  11. "My Good Fishwife" – 5:46 / "Blair's Spiders" (hidden track after 10:49) – 19:19

Personnel

Additional personnel

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tool (band)</span> American rock band

Tool is an American rock band from Los Angeles. Formed in 1990, the group consists of vocalist Maynard James Keenan, guitarist Adam Jones, drummer Danny Carey and bassist Justin Chancellor, who replaced founding member Paul D'Amour in 1995. Tool has won four Grammy Awards, performed worldwide tours, and produced albums topping the charts in several countries.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Danny Carey</span> American drummer

Daniel Edwin Carey is an American musician and songwriter who is the drummer for the progressive metal band Tool. He has also contributed to albums by artists such as Zaum, Green Jellö, Pigface, Skinny Puppy, Adrian Belew, Carole King, Collide, Meat Puppets, Lusk, and the Melvins.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Paul D'Amour</span> American musician

Paul D'Amour is an American musician and was the first bassist for Tool. His bass sound is recognized by the aggressive picked tone he developed with his Chris Squire Signature Rickenbacker 4001CS, which can be heard on Tool's first full-length album, Undertow. Since March 2019, he has been the bassist for industrial metal band Ministry.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Failure (band)</span> American alternative rock band

Failure is an American alternative rock band from Los Angeles that was active from 1990 to 1997 and again from 2014 to the present. They have released six full-length albums and five EPs.

<i>Feelings</i> (David Byrne album) 1997 studio album by David Byrne

Feelings is the fifth studio album by David Byrne, released on June 17, 1997. The album is noted for Byrne's collaboration with the British band Morcheeba.

<i>Jill Sobule</i> (album) 1995 studio album by Jill Sobule

Jill Sobule is the second album by the American singer-songwriter Jill Sobule, released on April 7, 1995. The disc contained the singles "Good Person Inside", "Supermodel" and "I Kissed a Girl". The album sold 100,000 copies in the US, making it her most commercially successful record.

<i>Magentalane</i> 1981 studio album by Klaatu

Magentalane was the fifth and final album of new material by the Canadian rock group Klaatu.

<i>Beauty Has Grace</i> 2005 studio album by Jaci Velasquez

Beauty Has Grace is the ninth studio album by Contemporary Christian music singer Jaci Velasquez. It marks a departure in style from her previous albums, having been recorded in London, England, with Martin Terefe. She co-wrote six of the ten album tracks.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chris Pitman</span> American musician

Chris Pitman is an American musician best known for his involvement with the hard rock band Guns N' Roses. A multi-instrumentalist, Pitman is known to play keyboards, guitar and drums, in addition to his role as a lead or backing vocalist. Pitman currently fronts alternative rock band SexTapes and previously worked with such bands as Guns N' Roses, Lusk, Replicants and Tool.

<i>12 Bar Blues</i> (album) 1998 studio album by Scott Weiland

12 Bar Blues is the debut solo album from Scott Weiland and produced by Blair Lamb. Scott was a founding member and singer for Stone Temple Pilots. 12 Bar Blues's sound and style differ greatly from STP's previous releases. The design concept of the cover is a homage to the cover design of John Coltrane's Blue Train album. The album title comes from the simple chord progression known as "twelve-bar blues".

Replicants was an American rock band, consisting of Ken Andrews, Paul D'Amour, Greg Edwards, and Chris Pitman, which has been on hiatus since 1996. The group has only released one album, a self-titled cover album, in 1995. The band's name comes from the verb "replicate", alluding to the band's status as "a tribute band".

<i>The Light Shines On Vol 2</i> 1979 greatest hits album by Electric Light Orchestra

The Light Shines On Vol 2 is a compilation album by Electric Light Orchestra (ELO). Released in 1979 by Harvest Records as a follow-up to 1977's The Light Shines On, it is a compilation of their early years with the label.

<i>Drive Me Wild</i> 1999 studio album by Sawyer Brown

Drive Me Wild is the thirteenth studio album by the American country music band Sawyer Brown. It was released on March 2, 1999 on the Curb Records label. The album produced three singles on the Billboard country charts: the title track at #6, "I'm in Love with Her" at #47, and "800 Pound Jesus" at #40.

<i>Evergreen, Volume 2</i> 1967 studio album by The Stone Poneys

Evergreen, Vol. 2 is the second album from the Stone Poneys, released five months after The Stone Poneys. It was the most commercially successful of the Stone Poneys' three studio albums.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Greg Edwards (musician)</span> American musician and songwriter

Greg Charles Edwards is an American musician and songwriter, best known as guitarist and bassist for the rock band Failure. Edwards is a multi-instrumentalist. As a professional musician, he has been active since the 1990 formation of Failure, and also plays guitar and sings in the experimental rock band Autolux. Edwards has 125 song titles to his credit.

<i>Barely Famous Hits</i> 2005 compilation album by The Warren Brothers

Barely Famous Hits is the fourth studio album by American country music duo The Warren Brothers. It was released in 2005 via BNA Records. The album reprises songs from the duo's first three studio albums, two of which were also released on BNA.

Lusk was an American psychedelic rock supergroup featuring members from Tool, Replicants, Failure and Medicine.

<i>Fragrant World</i> 2012 studio album by Yeasayer

Fragrant World is the third studio album by American psychedelic pop band Yeasayer, released on August 21, 2012, on Secretly Canadian.

<i>Psychedelic Revolution</i> 2012 studio album by Julian Cope

Psychedelic Revolution is a double album by Julian Cope, released in 2012 on Head Heritage. It is Cope's twenty-seventh solo album and contains 11 songs across two half-hour-long CDs. Cope dedicated the album to Che Guevara and Leila Khaled.

<i>Noenemies</i> 2017 studio album by Flobots

Noenemies is the fourth full-length studio album by alternative hip-hop band Flobots, released May 5, 2017.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 Free Mars at AllMusic
  2. 1 2 3 4 Beth Winegarner (1997-05-12). "Former Tool Bassist Goes Pop With Lusk". MTV. Archived from the original on July 26, 2019. Retrieved 2019-07-26.
  3. ↑ "97s best: Who was that masked band?". 2 August 1998.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.