The Wayward Bus (album)

The Wayward Bus
Studio album by The Magnetic Fields
Released	1992
Genre	Indie pop [1] synth-pop [1] symphonic pop [1] pop rock [1]
Length	28:39
Label	PoPuP, Merge
Producer	Stephin Merritt
The Magnetic Fields chronology
Distant Plastic Trees (1991) The Wayward Bus (1992) The House of Tomorrow (1992)

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[2]
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 ]}

Release

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]

Track listing

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

Personnel

• Stephin Merritt  – songwriting, instrumentation and production
• Claudia Gonson  – cocktail drums
• Sam Davol  – cello

Additional personnel

• Susan Anway – vocals
• Johny Blood – tuba, horns
• Wendy Smith – album cover

References

1. Unterberger, Richie (2003). "The Magnetic Fields". In Buckley, Peter (ed.). The Rough Guide to Rock (3rd ed.). London: Rough Guides. pp. 630–631. ISBN   978-1-84353-105-0.
2. Orens, Geoff. "The Wayward Bus – Magnetic Fields". AllMusic . Retrieved February 22, 2016.
3. Christgau, Robert (2000). "Magnetic Fields: The Wayward Bus". Christgau's Consumer Guide: Albums of the '90s . Macmillan Publishers. ISBN   0-312-24560-2 . Retrieved February 22, 2016.
4. Weisbard, Eric; Marks, Craig, eds. (1995). Spin Alternative Record Guide . Vintage Books. ISBN   0-679-75574-8.
5. "First two Magnetic Fields albums to released on vinyl for the first time". The House of Tomorrow. 28 September 2016. Retrieved 2021-12-15.
6. Holiday - The Magnetic Fields | Songs, Reviews, Credits | AllMusic , retrieved 2021-12-15
7. Caldwell, Rob (2016-12-21). "The Magnetic Fields: The Wayward Bus / Distant Plastic Trees (Reissue), PopMatters". PopMatters. Retrieved 2021-12-15.
8. Minsker, Evan (2021-09-09). "Susan Anway, the Magnetic Fields' First Singer, Has Died". Pitchfork. Retrieved 2021-12-15.
9. "Stephin Merritt". The A.V. Club . 4 June 1997.
10. "Home".