Quote:
Originally Posted by eyeresist
I'm so glad this music hasn't been forgotten!
Ride: the early EPs (compiled as "Smile") and "Nowhere". Remember that only the first 8 tracks of the CD were on the original vinyl release; the subsequent songs are from B-sides. "Going blank again" might've been good if it hadn't been a double-album.
Slowdive: I only have a couple of their early EPs. "Losing today" was awesome. Apparently their first album has been released with a bonus disc of tracks from their EPs - probably worth looking out for.
Yes, the J&MC (1st two albums) were basically the fathers of shoegazer, not only in use of noise and simple pop structures, but also in the "cool" attitude that won the genre its dodgy monicker. (Early MBV is in fact just 2nd-rate J&MC!)
I never actually heard Chapterhouse; I just remember they were pretty much a running joke in Melody Maker in the early 1990s.
Exclusions: of the previously mentioned, I would say that Swervedriver, Curve, Boo Radleys and Verve don't really qualify. I can't exactly quantify my reasoning, but I'm sure being "too rockin' " has something to do with it...
Edit: thanks for the link, DA. Very useful!
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eyeresist is right about Ride's Nowhere being extended on the CD version... the original vinyl version ends at "Vapourtrail" but the CD adds the three last tracks from the Fall EP.
was Going Blank Again a double album? it only had 10 tracks.
definitely get some Slowdive CDs, especially Just For A Day and Souvlaki; two classic shoegaze albums. i believe the former was recently remastered with bonus tracks.
i totally agree with JAMC being the fathers of shoegaze. people will keep pointing at MBV's Isn't Anything as the first shoegaze album but for me it's Psychocandy, which predates it by more than two years. as for 21 singles, it does a good job at collecting the singles but JAMC were one of those bands that changed styles with each album... from shoegaze noise to slightly industrial dance to acoustic pop and back. 21 Singles is a good intro to the band if one isn't familiar with them, but their classic album is still Psychocandy.
Chapterhouse, for some reason they're always the blunt joke of the genre, dunno why. i thought Whirlpool was pretty good, maybe a touch too dancey though.
early Verve definitely qualifies for Shoegaze, especially the early singles, where a good number of songs are collected on Verve EP. the debut album A Storm in Heaven is also a Shoegaze classic.
never mind that the Boo Radleys hit it big with the sunny britpop of Wake Up! but again like Verve their early singles are definitely shoegaze... pick up Learning to Walk if you can find it; it collectes songs from early EPs and is an amazing collection of shoegaze work. Everything's Alright Forever is also a great shoegaze album, i can listen to "Does This Hurt?" over and over again. Giant Steps still retains the sonic shoegaze formula but the band experiments with song structure and arrangements... still it's an amazing album with a kaleidoscope of styles.
like DA said, Swervedriver is also very shoegazey, although more rock than many other shoegaze bands. Raise and Mezcal Head are very very good.
like Swervedriver, Catherine Wheel was also very rock, but still shoegaze. i can listen to Ferment and Chrome from days on end.
anyway, my not-so-thought-out top 10 shoegaze songs, in no particular order:
Dreams Burn Down - Ride
Morningrise - Slowdive
Black Metallic - Catherine Wheel
Gravity Grave - Verve
Nothing Natural - Lush
Boo Radleys - Does This Hurt?
Jesus and Mary Chain - You Trip Me Up
To Here Knows When - My Bloody Valentine
Swervedriver - Last Train to Satansville
Drive Blind - Ride
