The Modern Dance

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The Modern Dance
PereUbuTheModernDance250px.jpg
Studio album by
ReleasedFebruary 1978 (1978-02) [1]
RecordedOctober 1976; January 1977; November 1977
StudioCleveland Recording and Suma Studios, Cleveland, Ohio, United States
Genre
Length36:20
Label Blank
Producer
  • Pere Ubu
  • Ken Hamann
Pere Ubu chronology
The Modern Dance
(1978)
Dub Housing
(1978)
Singles from The Modern Dance
  1. "Street Waves"
    Released: October 12, 1976 [2]
  2. "The Modern Dance"
    Released: August 25, 1977 [3]

The Modern Dance is the debut album by the American rock band Pere Ubu. It was released in February 1978 through the label Blank Records. [1]

Contents

A 5.1 surround sound version was released as the DVD-Audio side of a DualDisc in 2005.

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar half.svg [7]
Christgau's Record Guide A− [8]
Encyclopedia of Popular Music Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svg [9]
The Independent Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svg [10]
Mojo Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svg [11]
New Musical Express 10/10 [12]
Q Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svg [13]
Record Mirror Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svg [14]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svg [15]
Spin Alternative Record Guide 10/10 [16]
Uncut Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svg [17]

Reviewing for The Village Voice in 1978, Robert Christgau wrote that "even though there's too much Radio Ethiopia and not enough 'Redondo Beach,'" he would be "listening through the failed stuff—the highs are worth it." [18] In Christgau's Record Guide: Rock Albums of the Seventies (1981), he reaffirmed that "the highs are worth it, and the failed stuff ain't bad" in his revised review. [8] Ken Tucker, writing in Rolling Stone , called it vivid and exhilarating, even if "harsh and willfully ugly". [19]

NME named The Modern Dance the 11th best album of 1978. [20] Fact placed the record at number 31 on its list of the 100 best albums of the 1970s. [21]

Track listing

All tracks are written by Pere Ubu (David Thomas, Tom Herman, Allen Ravenstine, Tony Maimone and Scott Krauss), except where noted

No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Non-Alignment Pact" 3:18
2."The Modern Dance" 3:28
3."Laughing" 4:35
4."Street Waves" 3:04
5."Chinese Radiation" 3:27
6."Life Stinks" Peter Laughner 1:52
7."Real World" 3:59
8."Over My Head" 3:48
9."Sentimental Journey" 6:05
10."Humor Me" 2:44

Personnel

Pere Ubu

Technical

Release history

Year of ReleasePlace of ReleaseFormatLabel
1978United StatesVinyl LP Blank
1981United KingdomVinyl LP Rough Trade
1988United KingdomVinyl LP Fontana
1988GermanyCDFontana
1998United KingdomCD Cooking Vinyl
1998United StatesCD DGC
1999ItalyVinyl LPGet Back
2005EuropeDualDiscSilverline
2007United StatesVinyl LPBlank
2008United KingdomCDCooking Vinyl
2015United Kingdom & United StatesCD and Vinyl LP Fire Records (UK)

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References

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  13. "Pere Ubu: The Modern Dance". Q . p. 123. [I]f you're curious about the original post-punks, The Modern Dance remains absolutely essential.
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