Phaseshifter

Last updated
Phaseshifter
Phaseshifter.jpg
Studio album by
ReleasedOctober 5, 1993
Genre
Label This Way Up/Mercury [2]
Producer Redd Kross
Redd Kross chronology
Third Eye
(1990)
Phaseshifter
(1993)
Show World
(1997)

Phaseshifter is a 1993 album by the American rock band Redd Kross. [3] [4] Three singles were released from the album: "Jimmy's Fantasy", "Lady In The Front Row" and "Visionary".

Contents

The album peaked at number 99 on the Australian ARIA albums chart in April 1994. [5] The band supported the album by touring with the Lemonheads. [6]

Production

The album was produced by the band and mixed by John Agnello. [7] Unlike with previous albums, Redd Kross had to scramble to write or find all new songs for Phaseshifter. [8] "Crazy World" was originally recorded by Frightwig. The McDonald brothers brought on three new bandmates for the recording sessions. [9]

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svg [10]
Pitchfork 6.9/10 [7]

Trouser Press wrote: "With the comic relief in the songs kept out of the spotlight ... it's possible to overlook the McDonalds' colorful personalities in the lighthearted songs, hearing only the catchy tunes, the Big Noise and the skilled musicianship." [2] The Vancouver Sun called the album "12 songs of endearing melodies and post-adolescent emotionalism ... enveloped in the fierce energy of the band's live performances." [11] The Virginian-Pilot labeled it "a fully convincing hard-rock record that could have been the follow-up to Cheap Trick at Budokan ." [12]

The Press-Telegram deemed the album "a brilliant merger of bubblegum and thrash-punk"; the Fort Worth Star-Telegram considered it "great trash-metal." [13] [14] The Morning Call listed Phaseshifter among the best albums of 1993. [15]

AllMusic wrote that the band "seem more bent on cutting straightforward and driving, power pop/rock anthems than going in for their '80s-style, HR Pufnstuf form of garage psychedelia." [10]

Track listing

All songs written by Jeff McDonald and Steve McDonald, except where noted.

  1. "Jimmy's Fantasy" (J. Mcdonald, S. McDonald, Bill Bartell, Eddie Kurdziel) – 3:45
  2. "Lady in the Front Row" (J. Mcdonald, S. McDonald, Kurdziel) – 3:20
  3. "Monolith" – 4:12
  4. "Crazy World" (D. Chirazi) – 4:30
  5. "Dumb Angel" (J. Mcdonald, S. McDonald, Bartell, Roger Manning) – 2:57
  6. "Huge Wonder" – 5:02
  7. "Visionary" – 4:04
  8. "Pay for Love" (J. Mcdonald, S. McDonald, Gere Fennelly, Charlotte Caffey) – 4:13
  9. "Ms. Lady Evans" – 2:47
  10. "Only a Girl" – 3:43
  11. "Saragon" – 2:46
  12. "After School Special" (J. Mcdonald, S. McDonald, Fennelly) – 2:54
  13. "Any Hour, Every Day" (bonus track on UK/Japanese/Australian CD)

Personnel

Charts

Chart performance for Phaseshiter
Chart (1993)Peak
position
Australian Albums (ARIA) [5] 99

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References

  1. "The 25 Best Grunge Albums of the '90s". Pitchfork. 6 October 2022. Retrieved 16 March 2023.
  2. 1 2 "Redd Kross (Red Cross)". Trouser Press. Retrieved 25 October 2022.
  3. "Redd Kross Biography, Songs, & Albums". AllMusic.
  4. Ali, Lorraine (Dec 1993). "Totally Krossed Out". Spin. 9 (9): 87.
  5. 1 2 Ryan, Gavin (2011). Australia's Music Charts 1988–2010 (PDF ed.). Mt Martha, Victoria, Australia: Moonlight Publishing. p. 231.
  6. "THIS IS THE MOST IMPORTANT BAND IN AMERICA?". EW.com.
  7. 1 2 "Redd Kross: Red Cross EP / Phaseshifter / Show World". Pitchfork.
  8. Stoute, Lenny (November 19, 1993). "Redd Kross: 'A tight band that feels like family'". Toronto Star. p. B13.
  9. Sculley, Alan (November 26, 1993). "Red Kross Has Lent a Hand Over the Years". InRoads. Daily Press. Newport News. p. 16.
  10. 1 2 "Redd Kross - Phaseshifter Album Reviews, Songs & More | AllMusic" via www.allmusic.com.
  11. Harrison, Tom (21 Oct 1993). "Kross Ahead of Its Time". Vancouver Sun. p. B4.
  12. Wright, Rickey (November 26, 1993). "References to Life and Other Things". Preview. The Virginian-Pilot. p. 3.
  13. Grobaty, Tim (October 9, 1993). "First, we got the new Redd Kross album...". Press-Telegram. p. C1.
  14. Ferman, Dave (October 15, 1993). "RRRRRock, Man!". A&E. Fort Worth Star-Telegram. p. 2.
  15. Righi, Len (1 Jan 1994). "The Year in Review". The Morning Call. p. A46.