| Weird Tales | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | October 13, 1998 | |||
| Recorded | Ardent Studios, Memphis, The Terrarium, Minneapolis | |||
| Genre | Alternative country | |||
| Length | 55:48 | |||
| Label | Rykodisc [1] | |||
| Producer | Brian Paulson | |||
| Golden Smog chronology | ||||
| ||||
Weird Tales is American band Golden Smog's second album, released in 1998. [2] [3] The title comes from the pulp magazine Weird Tales ; the cover art, by Margaret Brundage, is from the October 1933 issue.
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [4] |
| The A.V. Club | B+ [5] |
| Entertainment Weekly | A− [6] |
Writing for AllMusic, music critic Michael Gallucci wrote of the album "...as expected, the best songwriters here (Gary Louris of the Jayhawks and Wilco's Jeff Tweedy) contribute Weird Tales' most solid tracks. A pet project aimed more toward fans of the genre than the casual listener, Golden Smog nonetheless deliver the goods with a good deal of twangy heart and soul." [4] Joshua Klein of The A.V. Club wrote the album "reveals that even a musical goof-off can develop into a potent band in its own right." and called it "a first-rate collaboration that's unified in both vision and spirit." [5] The Washington Post called the group's sound "melodic, economical -- if not especially ambitious -- country-rock." [2]
Production notes
| Year | Chart | Position |
|---|---|---|
| 1998 | Billboard Heatseekers Albums | 34 |
The Jayhawks are an American alternative country and country rock band that emerged from the Twin Cities music scene in the mid-1980s. Led by vocalists/guitarists/songwriters Gary Louris and Mark Olson, their country rock sound was influential on many bands who played the Twin Cities circuit during the 1980s and 1990s, such as Uncle Tupelo, the Gear Daddies and the Honeydogs. They have released eleven studio albums, with and without Olson, including five on the American Recordings label. After going on hiatus from 2005 to 2009, the 1995 lineup of the band reunited and released the album Mockingbird Time in September 2011; Olson left the band for the second time after the tour to promote the album. After another hiatus in 2013, the 1997 lineup led by Louris reunited to play shows in 2014 to support the reissue of three albums originally released between 1997 and 2003. Since then, the band has continued to tour and record, releasing the albums Live at The Belly Up in 2015; Paging Mr. Proust, co-produced by Peter Buck, in 2016; Back Roads and Abandoned Motels in 2018; and XOXO in 2020.
Gary Michael Louris is an American guitarist, singer, and songwriter of alternative country and pop music. He was a founding member of the Minneapolis-based band the Jayhawks and their principal songwriter and vocalist after the departure of Mark Olson. Louris is often credited with the band's subsequent move from folk-country toward a more progressive, pop sound.
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On Golden Smog was the debut EP from American band Golden Smog, released in 1992.
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XOXO is the eleventh studio album by the alt country band the Jayhawks, released on July 10, 2020. The album is dedicated to Ed Ackerson.
