Purplemetalflakemusic

Last updated
Purplemetalflakemusic
Purplemetalflakemusic.jpg
Studio album by
Released1993
Genre Alternative rock, grunge
Label Hollywood [1]
Producer Mike Bosley, The Fluid
The Fluid chronology
Glue EP
(1990)
Purplemetalflakemusic
(1993)

Purplemetalflakemusic is the fourth and final album by the American band the Fluid, released in 1993. [2] [3] [1] It was the band's first album for a major label. [4] The Fluid named the album after their music publishing company. [5] The band supported the album by touring with Love Battery. [6] The first single was "Mister Blameshifter". [7]

Contents

Due to poor sales and the exit of their drummer, the band broke up less than a year after the album's release. [8] [9]

Production

The album was produced by Mike Bosley and the band. [10] [11] The Fluid spent more than four weeks and $125,000 on the recording. [12]

The band, rather infamously, declined to work with Tony Visconti. [13]

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar half.svg [14]
MusicHound Rock: The Essential Album Guide Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svg [15]

The Colorado Springs Gazette-Telegraph stated: "For the uninitiated, the Fluid fits well with the new buzzword, 'grunge,' but the group was playing turbo-charged garage rock years before Nirvana was a gleam in anyone's bank account." [16] The Los Angeles Times opined that "the main problem is that the Fluid has no truly great songs ... The music is marginally exciting because of its basic catchy structure." [17] The Arizona Daily Star deemed the album's sound "not unlike that of a Harley Davidson's righteous roar, a headlong cross between the Stooges, late '70s punk and timeless, numb head banging." [18]

The Austin American-Statesman determined that the album "still sounds like the work of a punk tribute band, but such obvious reference points as the Stooges, the New York Dolls, the Dictators and the Fleshtones seem fresh as ever when the songs and spirit are as strong as the best stuff here." [19] The Washington Post concluded that "there's nothing novel about either the words or the music on Purpleetc., but the Fluid's sheer garage-band determination makes these chugging, tuneful rockers sound surprisingly fresh." [20]

AllMusic wrote that, "unlike a large part of the original Sub Pop scene, who borrowed heavily from '70s heavy metal and punk ... The Fluid embraced a full-throttle MC5 approach with the dual guitar attack of Richard Kulwicki and James Clower." [14] Rolling Stone placed the album at No. 38 on its list of the "50 Greatest Grunge Albums", writing that "'She Don’t Understand' has a hummable, power-pop vocal line that’s paired with the sort of direct guitar riff Kurt Cobain would have killed for." [13]

Track listing

No.TitleLength
1."My Kind" 
2."One Eye Out" 
3."She Don't Understand" 
4."7/14" 
5."Pill" 
6."Wasn't My Idea" 
7."On My Feet" 
8."Lies" 
9."Mister Blameshifter" 
10."Said That I'm Through" 
11."Change" 
12."Hand in Hand" 

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References

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  2. Augusto, Troy J. (May 26, 1993). "The Fluid". Variety.
  3. "South by Southwest '93". Onward. Austin American-Statesman. 18 Mar 1993. p. 13.
  4. Wirt, John (May 28, 1993). "Band suggests rest, plenty of 'fluid'". Fun. The Advocate. p. 8.
  5. Kim, Jae-Ha (June 25, 1993). "Going Hollywood – Fluid Changes Labels – Songs Remain the Same". Weekend Plus. Chicago Sun-Times. p. 5.
  6. Popkin, Helen A. S. (4 June 1993). "Loud, Loud and More Loud". Weekend. St. Petersburg Times. p. 3.
  7. Mitchell, Justin (March 26, 1993). "Fluid's Ethos Primed for New Album". Rocky Mountain News. p. 16W.
  8. "Dried Up". Spin. Vol. 9, no. 10. Jan 1994. p. 26.
  9. Sculley, Alan (22 Jan 1995). "Spellbinding: Right from Start". St. Louis Post-Dispatch. p. 14C.
  10. "Album reviews — Purplemetalflakemusic by the Fluid". Billboard. Vol. 105, no. 17. Apr 24, 1993. p. 48.
  11. Roberts, Michael. "Q&A with the Fluid's John Robinson". Westword.
  12. Davidson, Eric (March 2022). We Never Learn: The Gunk Punk Undergut, 1988-2001. Rowman & Littlefield. ISBN   978-1-4930-5986-7.
  13. 1 2 Grow, Kory (April 1, 2019). "50 Greatest Grunge Albums". Rolling Stone.
  14. 1 2 "Purplemetalflakemusic". AllMusic.
  15. MusicHound Rock: The Essential Album Guide. Visible Ink Press. 1999. p. 437.
  16. "Sound Advice". Colorado Springs Gazette-Telegraph. 30 Apr 1993. p. E3.
  17. Ali, Lorraine (22 May 1993). "A Guitar Jam from Fluid at the Roxy". Calendar. Los Angeles Times. p. 5.
  18. Armstrong, Gene (May 21, 1993). "The Fluid injects sing-along into pile-driving rock sound". Arizona Daily Star.
  19. McLeese, Don (25 May 1993). "The Fluid Purplemetalflakemusic". Austin American-Statesman. p. F5.
  20. Jenkins, Mark (18 June 1993). "The Fluid: Greased Garage Lightning". The Washington Post. p. N18.