Hear Me Out: Dog Days' Best In Show, Part 1 (1989-95)
Somewhere along the way, record labels figured out what most businesses already knew: there were good and bad times to sell your wares. The Christmas shopping season was a given; there were also benefits to selling in spring (with Easter, Mother's Day, Father's Day, graduation etc.) and early fall (as kids went back to school and parents started thinking about St. Nick). So, record labels developed a strong tendency to release what they considered their best shots at hit records during these peak selling weeks. If you look at a full year's worth of releases, you'll probably notice a glut in April, May, September and October. Which makes my collecting habit a somewhat boring proposition eight months of the year.
The start of the year is typically devoid of noteworthy releases as retailers and consumers alike recover from the damage Christmas shopping has wrought. January and February seldom see much of anything on the albums front this year, for some strange reason, saw a much higher than normal average with new albums from the likes of Dropkick Murphys, Bad Religion, The Bronx and Eels. As we get into late March, some of the heavy hitters come out, ushering in what I like to call the "spring shopping season". This year, spring shopping season began on March 19 with Clutch's Earth Rocker and ended on June 4 with Queens Of The Stone Age's ...Like Clockwork.
Looking ahead, the summer dead zone is particularly dry; in fact, the next release I'm looking forward to with a great deal of anticipation is the new one from Nine Inch Nails... on September 3. That leaves us with over two full months of trying to come up with things to talk about on this blog. Which got me thinking about the dog days of summer, and more specifically wondering how many of what we now consider classic (or at least great) albums were released in the heart of summer?
As it turns out, there aren't all that many (wow, really?). However, in the interest of not wasting your time, here are some examples of great albums from the last quarter century that went where other albums fear to tread: July and August.
BEASTIE BOYS
Paul's Boutique
Released: July 25, 1989
Has any album been more influential on hip-hop than this? The Beasties' sophomore album's revolutionary use of samples literally rewrote the rule book; we'll never hear another album so masterfully crafted from spare parts into a glorious work of art. Its place in history wasn't immediately set in stone, but over time casual observers and aficionados alike recognize Paul's Boutique as an all-time classic.
RED HOT CHILI PEPPERS
Mother's Milk
Released: August 16, 1989
The tragic loss of original guitarist Hillel Slovak was a sad event indeed. However, if you subscribe to the theory of everything happening for a reason, you need look no further than the first album they recorded after his passing. Newbie John Frusciante brought a little rock to the funk party, broadening the band's sound and making for a very good album while paving the way for their true breakthrough in 1991.
JANE'S ADDICTION
Ritual de lo Habitual
Released: August 21, 1990
Nothing's Shocking (released two summers earlier) caught the attention and admiration of critics and fans alike. The follow-up wasn't quite as highly received by critics, but the public lapped it up thanks to hit single Been Caught Stealing. That's not why Ritual de lo Habitual is great, though; it's the album's division. The first half very much a rock record, the second a heartfelt and pained mix of whimsy and melancholy. If there was ever a reminder that records have two sides, this is it.
METALLICA
Metallica
Released: August 12, 1991
Oh, you know, only the album that has sold more copies than ANY OTHER ALBUM since its 1991 release.
Metalheads have a tendency of shitting on this album for "ruining" Metallica. I'll never change their minds, and neither will Metallica. Fact remains, this is far and away Metallica's best NON-metal record.
PEARL JAM
Ten
Released: August 27, 1991
This one turned out to be no slouch either. It took a long time to gain its momentum, so summer had nothing to do with its success. Ten remains Pearl Jam's most successful album, selling nearly as many copies as the rest of their studio albums combined. You cannot understate the impact of this record (even if Vs. was better).
MEGADETH
Countdown To Extinction
Released: July 14, 1992
Poised to do for Megadeth what the "black album" did for Metallica, Countdown To Extinction was successful at bringing Megadeth to a wider audience, while not compromising the band's sound to the same extreme as Metallica did. Dave Mustaine has fucked a lot of things up since this album was released, but this is the one thing he undoubtedly got right.
SMASHING PUMPKINS
Siamese Dream
Released: July 27, 1993
Corgan and company's breakthrough was a lightning bolt, a statement that the alt-rock explosion that was happening all around us didn't have to be so damned angry about everything. Oh, sure, there was plenty of angst on this record, but Siamese Dream drips with melody as much as it does malice. It's not surprising that Today and Disarm resonated so sharply with my generation; they spoke to us not in whelps and screams, but whispers and fragile moans. It was a different flavour in 1993, but it went down smooth.
MANIC STREET PREACHERS
The Holy Bible
Released: August 26, 1994
Meanwhile in the UK, a Britrock war was in its infancy; Radiohead had broken through stateside, while singles by Blur and Oasis were starting to catch on as well. Soon, all hell would break loose as people chose sides and championed their favourites, forever forbidden from cheering on the other side. Content to have nothing to do with the impending battle, Manic Street Preachers released an ugly, impenetrable album rife with obscure political references and the troubled thoughts of guitarist Richey Edwards. That Edwards would disappear a little over five months after The Holy Bible's release (never to be found) makes it not just MSP's most poignant and haunting record, but probably the single most poignant and haunting record to come out of the entire Britrock era.
BLIND MELON
Soup
Released: August 15, 1995
Critics dismissed Soup as drugged-up drivel upon its release, damning it as a sophomore slump and condemning it to bargain bins. Fate had other plans; when Shannon Hoon overdosed eight weeks after its release, the record suddenly became more meaningful to the same people who trashed it as nonsense not so long prior.
If those people had really listened to the album in August, they'd have heard a beautiful (albeit damaged) portrait of a man trying to make sense of his fame and addictions. No, Soup didn't have a successor to No Rain; what it did have was an album full of tracks that were mostly better than that.
RANCID
...And Out Come The Wolves
Released: August 22, 1995
When Green Day brought their sugary brand of punk to the mainstream with stunningly profitable results, many of the teens who snapped up Dookie went looking for more of the same. What they found in Rancid was all of the punk with none of the sugar. ...And Out Come The Wolves was gritty and hard, but also showed an uncanny gift for hooks that ensured no matter how harsh the message, a good backbeat and solid melody could bring it to the masses.
Stay tuned for Part 2 coming soon, where we'll cover 1997-2012.
The start of the year is typically devoid of noteworthy releases as retailers and consumers alike recover from the damage Christmas shopping has wrought. January and February seldom see much of anything on the albums front this year, for some strange reason, saw a much higher than normal average with new albums from the likes of Dropkick Murphys, Bad Religion, The Bronx and Eels. As we get into late March, some of the heavy hitters come out, ushering in what I like to call the "spring shopping season". This year, spring shopping season began on March 19 with Clutch's Earth Rocker and ended on June 4 with Queens Of The Stone Age's ...Like Clockwork.
Looking ahead, the summer dead zone is particularly dry; in fact, the next release I'm looking forward to with a great deal of anticipation is the new one from Nine Inch Nails... on September 3. That leaves us with over two full months of trying to come up with things to talk about on this blog. Which got me thinking about the dog days of summer, and more specifically wondering how many of what we now consider classic (or at least great) albums were released in the heart of summer?
As it turns out, there aren't all that many (wow, really?). However, in the interest of not wasting your time, here are some examples of great albums from the last quarter century that went where other albums fear to tread: July and August.
Paul's Boutique
Released: July 25, 1989
Has any album been more influential on hip-hop than this? The Beasties' sophomore album's revolutionary use of samples literally rewrote the rule book; we'll never hear another album so masterfully crafted from spare parts into a glorious work of art. Its place in history wasn't immediately set in stone, but over time casual observers and aficionados alike recognize Paul's Boutique as an all-time classic.
Mother's Milk
Released: August 16, 1989
The tragic loss of original guitarist Hillel Slovak was a sad event indeed. However, if you subscribe to the theory of everything happening for a reason, you need look no further than the first album they recorded after his passing. Newbie John Frusciante brought a little rock to the funk party, broadening the band's sound and making for a very good album while paving the way for their true breakthrough in 1991.
Ritual de lo Habitual
Released: August 21, 1990
Nothing's Shocking (released two summers earlier) caught the attention and admiration of critics and fans alike. The follow-up wasn't quite as highly received by critics, but the public lapped it up thanks to hit single Been Caught Stealing. That's not why Ritual de lo Habitual is great, though; it's the album's division. The first half very much a rock record, the second a heartfelt and pained mix of whimsy and melancholy. If there was ever a reminder that records have two sides, this is it.
Metallica
Released: August 12, 1991
Oh, you know, only the album that has sold more copies than ANY OTHER ALBUM since its 1991 release.
Metalheads have a tendency of shitting on this album for "ruining" Metallica. I'll never change their minds, and neither will Metallica. Fact remains, this is far and away Metallica's best NON-metal record.
Ten
Released: August 27, 1991
This one turned out to be no slouch either. It took a long time to gain its momentum, so summer had nothing to do with its success. Ten remains Pearl Jam's most successful album, selling nearly as many copies as the rest of their studio albums combined. You cannot understate the impact of this record (even if Vs. was better).
Countdown To Extinction
Released: July 14, 1992
Poised to do for Megadeth what the "black album" did for Metallica, Countdown To Extinction was successful at bringing Megadeth to a wider audience, while not compromising the band's sound to the same extreme as Metallica did. Dave Mustaine has fucked a lot of things up since this album was released, but this is the one thing he undoubtedly got right.
Siamese Dream
Released: July 27, 1993
Corgan and company's breakthrough was a lightning bolt, a statement that the alt-rock explosion that was happening all around us didn't have to be so damned angry about everything. Oh, sure, there was plenty of angst on this record, but Siamese Dream drips with melody as much as it does malice. It's not surprising that Today and Disarm resonated so sharply with my generation; they spoke to us not in whelps and screams, but whispers and fragile moans. It was a different flavour in 1993, but it went down smooth.
The Holy Bible
Released: August 26, 1994
Meanwhile in the UK, a Britrock war was in its infancy; Radiohead had broken through stateside, while singles by Blur and Oasis were starting to catch on as well. Soon, all hell would break loose as people chose sides and championed their favourites, forever forbidden from cheering on the other side. Content to have nothing to do with the impending battle, Manic Street Preachers released an ugly, impenetrable album rife with obscure political references and the troubled thoughts of guitarist Richey Edwards. That Edwards would disappear a little over five months after The Holy Bible's release (never to be found) makes it not just MSP's most poignant and haunting record, but probably the single most poignant and haunting record to come out of the entire Britrock era.
BLIND MELON
Soup
Released: August 15, 1995
Critics dismissed Soup as drugged-up drivel upon its release, damning it as a sophomore slump and condemning it to bargain bins. Fate had other plans; when Shannon Hoon overdosed eight weeks after its release, the record suddenly became more meaningful to the same people who trashed it as nonsense not so long prior.
If those people had really listened to the album in August, they'd have heard a beautiful (albeit damaged) portrait of a man trying to make sense of his fame and addictions. No, Soup didn't have a successor to No Rain; what it did have was an album full of tracks that were mostly better than that.
RANCID
...And Out Come The Wolves
Released: August 22, 1995
When Green Day brought their sugary brand of punk to the mainstream with stunningly profitable results, many of the teens who snapped up Dookie went looking for more of the same. What they found in Rancid was all of the punk with none of the sugar. ...And Out Come The Wolves was gritty and hard, but also showed an uncanny gift for hooks that ensured no matter how harsh the message, a good backbeat and solid melody could bring it to the masses.
Stay tuned for Part 2 coming soon, where we'll cover 1997-2012.
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