Early Plague Years

• Artist: Thinking Plague
• Rating:
• Release Date: September 19, 2000
• Type: Compilation (best of), Lyrics are included with the album
• Genre: Rock

Review

Early Plague Years combines Thinking Plague's first two albums on one CD. Moonsongs was a 1986 cassette released the next year on LP by Dead Man's Curve. ...A Thinking Plague was first released on LP in 1984, then on cassette in 1986. Both were long out of print and impossible to find. The remastering is fabulous, giving these albums a sound far superior to what they ever had. Due to time limitations, a few edits had to be done. "Warheads" misses four bars toward the end, the improv "Collarless Fog That One Day Soon" fades out two minutes earlier, and the percussion section on "Moonsongs" has been shortened a bit. Nothing dramatic and all seamless, but one can't help but wonder why Cuneiform put the second album first on the CD. Fans of Thinking Plague and of American avant-prog bands like the Motor Totemist Guild, U Totem, and 5uu's will be delighted, but newcomers to this style should begin with In This Life or In Extremis. ~ François Couture, All Music Guide

Tracks

Track Title	Composers	Performers	Time
Warheads	Mike Johnson, Robbie Johnson	Thinking Plague	(8:17)
Etude for Combo	Mike Johnson	Thinking Plague	(7:01)
Collarless Fog That One Day Soon	Bob Drake, Mark Fuller, Susanne Lewis, Mike Johnson, Mark McCoin, Eric Moon	Thinking Plague	(3:25)
Inside Out	Bob Drake, Susanne Lewis	Thinking Plague	(4:13)
Moonsongs [Original 1986 Mix]	Mike Johnson	Thinking Plague	(15:32)
I Do Not Live	Mike Johnson	Thinking Plague	(5:04)
Possessed	Mike Johnson	Thinking Plague	(8:19)
How to Clean Squid	Mike Johnson	Thinking Plague	(5:02)
A Light Is on and Name the World	Bob Drake	Thinking Plague	(1:32)
The Taste That Lingers On		Thinking Plague	(2:12)
Four Men in the Rain	Bob Drake	Thinking Plague	(2:33)
Thorns of Blue and Red/The War	Katie Floyd	Thinking Plague	(15:28)

Credits

Mark Fuller (Timbales), Mark McCoin (Percussion), Mark McCoin (Voices), Bob Drake (Producer), Mike Johnson (Guitar), Bob Drake (Guitar (Bass)), Bob Drake (Voices), Susanne Lewis (Cover Painting), Mike Johnson (Drums), Mike Johnson (Synthesizer), Glenn Nitta (Sax (Soprano)), Bob Drake (Synthesizer), Bob Drake (Noise), Susanne Lewis (Voices), Mike Johnson (Piano), Bob Drake (Drums), Mark McCoin (Drums), Bill Ellsworth (Layout Concept), Mark Fuller (Drums), Mark Derryberry (Engineer), Mike Johnson (Percussion), Bill Ellsworth (Design), Mark McCoin (Sampling), Mike Johnson (Metal Pipes), Bob Drake (Percussion), Fred Hess (Sax (Alto)), Bob Drake (Organ), Bob Drake (Balalaika), Mike Johnson (Voices), Mark Fuller (Simmons Drums), Bob Drake (Engineer), Mike Johnson (Noise)