Fromohio

Last updated
Fromohio
FROMOHIO.jpg
Studio album by
Released1989
Recorded17–20 October 1988; Suma, Painesville, Ohio
Genre Alternative rock
Length31:54
Label SST (235) [1]
Producer Ed Crawford, Mike Watt
Firehose chronology
If'n
(1987)
Fromohio
(1989)
Flyin' the Flannel
(1991)
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar half.svg [2]
The Encyclopedia of Popular Music Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svg [3]
Los Angeles Times Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar half.svg [4]
MusicHound Rock: The Essential Album Guide Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svg [5]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svg [6]

Fromohio (stylized as fROMOHIO) is the third album by the American alternative rock band Firehose, released in 1989. [7] [8] The album maintained the acoustic and folky sound of If'n . [9]

Contents

Production

The album was recorded in singer-guitarist Ed Crawford's home state of Ohio. [10]

Critical reception

The Los Angeles Times wrote that the band "balance their familiar dice 'n' slice, genre-leapin' riffin' with more straightforward song structures." [4] The Chicago Tribune thought that "Crawford's guitar-playing is becoming a more integral part of the band's three-pronged attack. [Mike] Watt's bass and [George] Hurley's drums remain at the core of the band's sound, a dynamic synthesis of punk, funk and free jazz that was pioneered by the Minutemen." [11] The Ottawa Citizen wrote: "Imagine a technically imperfect band that has the art of free-form fusion mastered." [12]

Trouser Press called the album Firehose's "best, most accessible work," writing that Crawford "has absorbed a bit of his bandmates’ eccentricities, and his voice has lost some of its shriller edges." [13] The Rough Guide to Rock thought that, "in the best possible way, it was a very American record, rich in tradition and innovation." [8]

Track listing

  1. "Riddle of the Eighties" - 2:00
  2. "In My Mind" - 2:16
  3. "Whisperin' While Hollerin'" - 2:04
  4. "Vastopol" (Elizabeth Cotten) - 1:24
  5. "Más Cojones" - 2:02
  6. "What Gets Heard" - 2:19
  7. "Let the Drummer Have Some" - 0:59
  8. "Liberty for Our Friend" - 2:06
  9. "Time With You" - 3:13
  10. "If’n" - 3:14
  11. "Some Things" - 2:43
  12. "Understanding" - 3:12
  13. "'Nuf That Shit, George" - 0:46
  14. "The Softest Hammer" - 3:03

Personnel

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References

  1. "fIREHOSE - Fromohio - 12" inch vinyl record". SST Superstore.
  2. Fromohio at AllMusic
  3. Larkin, Colin (2006). The Encyclopedia of Popular Music. Vol. 3. MUZE. p. 463.
  4. 1 2 Waller, Don (14 May 1989). "FIREHOSE 'fROMOHIO.' SST". Los Angeles Times: 86.
  5. MusicHound Rock: The Essential Album Guide. Visible Ink Press. 1999. p. 425.
  6. The Rolling Stone Album Guide. Random House. 1992. p. 244.
  7. "fIREHOSE's Ed Crawford". MTV News.
  8. 1 2 Buckley, Peter (April 17, 2003). "The Rough Guide to Rock". Rough Guides via Google Books.
  9. Earles, Andrew (September 15, 2014). "Gimme Indie Rock: 500 Essential American Underground Rock Albums 1981-1996". Voyageur Press via Google Books.
  10. Heim, Chris (11 May 1990). "2 bands with an Ohio connection at Cabaret Metro". Chicago Tribune: A.
  11. Kot, Greg (23 Apr 1989). "Loyal listener: Tragedy broke a great band, but a fan put it back together". Chicago Tribune: C3.
  12. Barr, Greg (27 Apr 1990). "Fuel the fire". Ottawa Citizen: C3.
  13. "fIREHOSE". Trouser Press. Retrieved 17 April 2021.