The Wayward Bus | ||||
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Studio album by | ||||
Released | 1992 | |||
Genre | ||||
Length | 28:39 | |||
Label | PoPuP, Merge | |||
Producer | Stephin Merritt | |||
The Magnetic Fields chronology | ||||
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Review scores | |
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Source | Rating |
AllMusic | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
Christgau's Consumer Guide | B+ [3] |
Spin Alternative Record Guide | 7/10 [4] |
The Wayward Bus is the second studio album by American indie pop band The Magnetic Fields, released in 1992 by the band's own label, PoPuP Records. [5]
As with the band's first release, Distant Plastic Trees , Susan Anway sings lead vocals on The Wayward Bus. The Wayward Bus is the last album featuring Anway, as she left the band to move interstate; [6] Stephin Merritt subsequently assumed vocal duties. [7] [8]
Merritt composed all of the album's songs but collaborated with a number of other musicians in recording the album, and they play various acoustic instruments. The Wayward Bus is unlike Distant Plastic Trees in this regard; the earlier album was synthesiser-based, and this synthesised instrumentation was performed exclusively by Merritt. [7]
Merritt acknowledged the influence of Phil Spector on the first half of the album: "It's a comment about Phil Spector songs. The second half is whatever I had lying around. Most people listen just to the first half of the record and assume it's all like that, a Phil Spector tribute or something, which it really isn't." [9]
The front cover was painted by Wendy Smith, the girlfriend of Stuart Moxham from Young Marble Giants, [10] and the title of the album is taken from the John Steinbeck novel The Wayward Bus .[ citation needed ]
In 1994, The Wayward Bus was released by Merge Records in a compilation with Distant Plastic Trees. [7] In 2016, Merge reissued this compilation as a double LP set. [8]
All tracks are written by Stephin Merritt
No. | Title | Length |
---|---|---|
1. | "When You Were My Baby" | 2:43 |
2. | "The Saddest Story Ever Told" | 2:12 |
3. | "Lovers from the Moon" | 2:52 |
4. | "Candy" | 2:32 |
5. | "Tokyo Á Go-Go" | 3:12 |
6. | "Summer Lies" | 2:59 |
7. | "Old Orchard Beach" | 2:54 |
8. | "Jeremy" | 3:01 |
9. | "Dancing in Your Eyes" | 2:56 |
10. | "Suddenly There Is a Tidal Wave" | 3:18 |