Shot (album)

Last updated
Shot
Jesuslizardshot.jpg
Studio album by
ReleasedApril 16, 1996
Recorded1995
Genre Noise rock
Length43:00
Label Capitol
Producer GGGarth
The Jesus Lizard chronology
Down
(1994)
Shot
(1996)
The Jesus Lizard
(1998)
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic Star full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svg [1]
The Encyclopedia of Popular Music Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svg [2]
Entertainment Weekly B− [3]
MusicHound Rock: The Essential Album Guide Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar half.svgStar empty.svg [4]
NME Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar half.svgStar empty.svg [5]
Pitchfork Media 6.2/10 [6]
The New Rolling Stone Album Guide Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar half.svgStar empty.svg [7]

Shot is an album by the band The Jesus Lizard, its first release on Capitol Records. [8] [9] Some copies of the album were accompanied by a documentary titled "Sho(r)t". [10]

Contents

Production

Impressed by his work on the album Houdini by Melvins, the band hired producer GGGarth to record Shot. [11] Of note on the album is the very different production of David Yow's vocals, which are now much clearer and higher in the mix than on previous recordings.

Shot is the first studio album by the band that was not recorded by Steve Albini. [12] It has been widely held that Steve Albini refused to work with the band because they had signed to a major label, although Albini himself denied this in comments made to a review of the 2009 reissue of the Touch and Go catalog that appears on the Paste Magazine web site.[ citation needed ]

Critical reception

Shot became the band's only album to chart in the US, as it peaked at No. 28 on Billboard 's Top Heatseekers chart. [13]

Trouser Press wrote that "songs like 'Thumbscrews' and 'Skull of a German' prove Yow hasn’t lost anything in terms of horror-storytelling, but his stab at 'singing' (much in the manner he employed in his Scratch Acid days) is ill-advised." [14] Kerrang! wrote that Shot "features [David Wm.] Sims’ best bass playing," praising "the spiralling flourish at 2:37 on 'Skull Of A German'." [15] Perfect Sound Forever wrote that "even though the band is bathed in 'clean' conventional studio mix, they are still the Jesus Lizard and that means dark, ugly and weird." [16] The Rough Guide to Rock called the album "another wedge of death-metal-grunge that showed little sign of burnout." [17]

Track listing

All songs written by the Jesus Lizard.

  1. "Thumper" – 3:31
  2. "Blue Shot" – 4:13
  3. "Thumbscrews" – 3:10
  4. "Good Riddance" – 3:15
  5. "Mailman" – 3:26
  6. "Skull of a German" – 3:42
  7. "Trephination" – 3:34
  8. "More Beautiful Than Barbie" – 2:50
  9. "Too Bad About the Fire" - 4:00
  10. "Churl" – 2:53
  11. "Now Then" – 2:34
  12. "Inamorata" – 3:05
  13. "Pervertedly Slow" – 2:40
  14. "Shut Up" (Japanese CD only bonus track) – 1:20
  15. "Bad Guy" (Japanese CD only bonus track) – 2:20

Personnel

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rapeman</span> American noise rock band

Rapeman was an American noise rock band founded in 1987 and disbanded in 1989. It consisted of Steve Albini on guitar and vocals, David Wm. Sims on bass and Rey Washam on drums. In the years since their brief tenure, Rapeman’s sound has also been described as post-hardcore.

<i>Meantime</i> (album) 1992 studio album by Helmet

Meantime is the second studio album and major label debut by American alternative metal band Helmet. It was released on June 23, 1992, through Interscope Records.

<i>Walking into Clarksdale</i> 1998 studio album by Page and Plant

Walking into Clarksdale is the only studio album by Jimmy Page and Robert Plant, both formerly of English rock band Led Zeppelin. It was released by Atlantic Records on 20 April 1998. The album was recorded and mixed by Steve Albini at Abbey Road Studios.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Jesus Lizard</span> American alternative rock band

The Jesus Lizard is an American rock band formed in 1987 in Austin, Texas by vocalist David Yow, guitarist Duane Denison and bassist David Wm. Sims. They relocated to Chicago, Illinois, in 1989, where they found kindred spirits in recording engineer Steve Albini and Touch and Go Records. With the addition of drummer Mac McNeilly, they began performing live, eventually attracting an international audience with their powerful live show.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Noise rock</span> Experimental rock music mixed with noise

Noise rock is a noise-oriented style of experimental rock that spun off from punk rock in the 1980s. Drawing on movements such as minimalism, industrial music, and New York hardcore, artists indulge in extreme levels of distortion through the use of electric guitars and, less frequently, electronic instrumentation, either to provide percussive sounds or to contribute to the overall arrangement.

<i>Transmissions from the Satellite Heart</i> 1993 studio album by the Flaming Lips

Transmissions from the Satellite Heart is the sixth studio album by American rock band the Flaming Lips, released in 1993 by Warner Bros. Records. The album marked the departure of Jonathan Donahue and Nathan Roberts, and the addition of guitarist Ronald Jones and drummer Steven Drozd.

<i>Pacer</i> (album) 1995 studio album by The Amps

Pacer is the only album by the Amps, led by Kim Deal. It was released in October 1995. The album was recorded as a side project to Kim Deal's group the Breeders. She recruited new musicians and naming the group the Amps, recorded Pacer at several studios in the US and Ireland, with different engineers, including Steve Albini, Bryce Goggin, and John Agnello.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">David Yow</span> American singer (born 1960)

David Lambeth Yow is an American musician and actor born in Las Vegas, Nevada and best known as the vocalist for the noise rock bands Scratch Acid and the Jesus Lizard. Yow's debut solo album, Tonight You Look Like a Spider, was released in June 2013 on Joyful Noise Records.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Puss / Oh, the Guilt</span> 1993 single by the Jesus Lizard and Nirvana

"Puss"/"Oh, the Guilt" is a split single, released as a double a-side, from the American rock bands the Jesus Lizard and Nirvana, released via Touch and Go Records.

<i>Songs About Fucking</i> 1987 album by Big Black

Songs About Fucking is the second and final studio album by American rock band Big Black, released in 1987 by Touch and Go Records. The album includes a rendition of Kraftwerk's "The Model" in a remixed version from that which appeared on Big Black's then-recent single. The compact disc of Songs About Fucking added the other side of that single, a cover of Cheap Trick's "He's a Whore".

<i>Head</i> (The Jesus Lizard album) 1990 studio album by The Jesus Lizard

Head is the debut studio album by the American band the Jesus Lizard. It was released on Touch and Go Records in 1990. It was their first album to feature a drummer, Mac McNeilly.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Steve Albini</span> American musician and audio engineer (1962–2024)

Steven Frank Albini was an American musician and audio engineer. He founded and fronted the influential post-hardcore and noise rock bands Big Black (1981–1987), Rapeman (1987–1989) and Shellac (1992–2024), and engineered acclaimed albums like the Pixies' Surfer Rosa (1988), PJ Harvey's Rid of Me and Nirvana's In Utero.

<i>Goat</i> (album) 1991 studio album by the Jesus Lizard

Goat is the second studio album by the Jesus Lizard, released in 1991. The album was produced by Steve Albini.

<i>Down</i> (The Jesus Lizard album) 1994 studio album by The Jesus Lizard

Down is an album by the Chicago band The Jesus Lizard. It was their last album for Touch and Go records and the last to be produced by Steve Albini.

<i>Two Nuns and a Pack Mule</i> 1988 studio album by Rapeman

Two Nuns and a Pack Mule is the only studio album by the Chicago noise rock band Rapeman, released by Touch & Go Records on August 23, 1988. The CD re-release contained the Budd extended play in its entirety.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Britt Walford</span> American musician (born 1970)

Britt Walford is an American musician best known for being the drummer, co-founder, and occasional guitarist for the post-rock band Slint.

<i>Blue</i> (The Jesus Lizard album) 1998 studio album by The Jesus Lizard

Blue is the sixth studio album by The Jesus Lizard, released in 1998. Produced by Andy Gill, it is something of a departure for The Jesus Lizard, exploring some of the more experimental instincts hinted at on earlier songs like "Happy Bunny Goes Fluff-Fluff Along" on Pure. It is one of only two releases by the band to feature new drummer Jim Kimball, the other being the self-titled EP released two months prior. A limited edition vinyl pressing was released on Jetset Records on April 21, 1998. The album was released in Canada only by Sonic Unyon Records under license from Capitol Records in the USA after EMI Canada passed on releasing the album.

<i>Cold Hands</i> 1990 studio album by Boss Hog

Cold Hands is a studio album by the American punk blues band Boss Hog. It was released in 1990 through Amphetamine Reptile Records.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mouth Breather</span> 1990 single by The Jesus Lizard

"Mouth Breather" is a 1990 song by American rock band The Jesus Lizard from the album Goat. It was revealed in the documentary Breadcrumb Trail that the song was based on Steve Albini's opinion of Slint drummer Britt Walford, after Walford had house sat for him.

<i>Rack</i> (album) 2024 studio album by the Jesus Lizard

Rack is the seventh studio album by American rock band the Jesus Lizard, which was released on September 13, 2024, on Ipecac Recordings. It is the first studio release by the band in 26 years since Blue (1998). The record was praised by music critics upon release.

References

  1. Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "allmusic ((( Shot > Review )))". AllMusic . Retrieved April 25, 2010.
  2. Larkin, Colin (2006). The Encyclopedia of Popular Music. Vol. 4. MUZE. p. 621.
  3. Sinclair, Tom. "Shot". Entertainment Weekly . April 1996, cited April 25, 2010
  4. MusicHound Rock: The Essential Album Guide. Visible Ink Press. 1999. p. 602.
  5. Columnist. "Shot". Q . May 1996. pg. 59, cited April 25, 2010
  6. Josephes, Jason. "Shot". pitchfork.com. Retrieved on May 7, 2010.
  7. Brackett, Nathan. "The Jesus Lizard". The New Rolling Stone Album Guide. November 2004. pg. 430, cited April 25, 2010
  8. "The Jesus Lizard's Sho(r)t was the best document of its major label dalliance". News.
  9. "The Jesus Lizard | Biography & History". AllMusic.
  10. "Jesus Lizard's 'Sho(r)t' Strategy". Billboard. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. August 3, 1996 via Google Books.
  11. The Jesus Lizard Book. Akashic Books. February 16, 2014. ISBN   9781617751219 via Google Books.
  12. "Inside the Jesus Lizard's New BOOK". Pitchfork.
  13. "Former Jesus Lizard David Yow Casts Lewd Clanging Solo Album Debut". Billboard . June 15, 2023. Retrieved March 30, 2024.
  14. "Jesus Lizard". Trouser Press. Retrieved 4 March 2021.
  15. "Your Essential Guide To The Jesus Lizard". Kerrang!.
  16. "Jesus Lizard". www.furious.com.
  17. The Rough Guide to Rock (2nd ed.). Rough Guides Ltd. 1999. p. 516.