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Wowee Zowee

 
Album Review: Wowee Zowee

  • Artist: Pavement
  • Rating: StarStarStarStarHalf Star
  • Release Date: 1995 04
  • Total Time: 55:51
  • Genre: Rock

Review

With its vast array of musical styles, Wowee Zowee isn't as accessible as Crooked Rain, Crooked Rain or as immediate as the bracing, noisy pop of Slanted & Enchanted. Pavement never abandon their warped pop aesthetic, they simply expand it, incorporating elements of folk-rock, English music hall, soul, jazz, country, as well as adding asides to such contemporaries as Suede ("We Dance"), Ween ("Brinx Job"), and Stereolab ("Half a Canyon"). Alternating between majestic epics like "Grounded" and ragged narratives like "Rattled by the Rush" and "Father to a Sister of Thought," to song fragments like "Brinx Job" and the punkish "Serpentine Pad," the record might seem disjointed at first. After repeated listens, the songs play off each other, creating a dense collage of '90s rock & roll that recasts the past and present into one rich, kaleidoscopic, and blissfully cryptic world view. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine, All Music Guide

Tracks

Track TitleComposersPerformersTime
We Dance Stephen Malkmus Pavement (3:01)
Rattled by the Rush Stephen Malkmus Pavement (4:16)
Black Out Stephen Malkmus Pavement (2:10)
Brinx Job Stephen Malkmus Pavement (1:31)
Grounded Stephen Malkmus Pavement (4:14)
Serpentine Pad Scott Kannberg Pavement (1:16)
Motion Suggests Stephen Malkmus Pavement (3:15)
Father to a Sister of Thought Stephen Malkmus Pavement (3:30)
Extradition Stephen Malkmus Pavement (2:12)
Best Friends Arm Stephen Malkmus Pavement (2:19)
Grave Architecture Stephen Malkmus Pavement (4:16)
AT & T Pavement (3:32)
Flux = Rad Pavement (1:45)
Fight This Generation Stephen Malkmus Pavement (4:22)
Kennel District (Lyrics) Scott Kannberg Pavement (2:59)
Pueblo Stephen Malkmus Pavement (3:25)
Half a Canyon Stephen Malkmus Pavement (6:10)
Western Homes Scott Kannberg Pavement (1:49)

Credits

Pavement (Main Performer), Doug Easley (Pedal Steel), Doug Easley (Engineer), Bryce Goggin (Mixing), Davis McCain (Engineer), Steve West (Drums), Stephen Malkmus (Guitar), Stephen Malkmus (Guitar (Electric)), Stephen Malkmus (Vocals), Bob Nastanovich (Percussion), Rich Costey (Mixing), Sibel Firat (Cello), Mark Ibold (Bass), Mark Venezia (Engineer), Spiral Stairs (Guitar), Spiral Stairs (Vocals), Scott Kannberg (?), A Firat (?)
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Wikipedia: Wowee Zowee
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Wowee Zowee
Studio album by Pavement
Released April 11, 1995
Recorded November 1994
Genre Indie rock
Length 55:51
Label Matador/Warner Bros. Records (1995)
Matador/Atlantic Records (1996)
Matador Records (1997-present)
Producer Pavement
Professional reviews
Pavement chronology
Crooked Rain, Crooked Rain
(1994)
Wowee Zowee
(1995)
Brighten the Corners
(1997)

Wowee Zowee was the third studio album by Pavement. The album showcased a more experimental and spontaneous side of the group, returning them to the clatter and unpredictability of their early recordings after the classic rock vibe of 1994's Crooked Rain, Crooked Rain. The cover art was painted by New York-based artist Steve Keene.

The album is regarded as Pavement's most experimental record. Rolling Stone speculated that the relative success of their previous album (having sold 169,000 copies by this time[citation needed]) was a reason for this album's eclectic nature; the magazine's review claimed Pavement were afraid of success. Stephen Malkmus later refuted this, attributing the stylistic shift to excessive marijuana consumption.

The songs "Grounded," "Flux=Rad," "Pueblo," and "Kennel District" were originally written at the same time as the songs that became Crooked Rain, Crooked Rain, and rough versions appear on Crooked Rain, Crooked Rain: LA's Desert Origins disc 2.

The album was recorded at Easley Studios in Memphis, Tennessee, with the exception of some tracks recorded at Random Falls, in NY.

"Motion Suggests" is featured on a Grandaddy compilation entitled "Below the Radio".

The album's title is an homage to former drummer, Gary Young, who would frequently yell "Wowee zowee!" when excited.[citation needed]

Matador Records released an expanded 2CD edition of this album under the title Wowee Zowee: Sordid Sentinels Edition on November 6 2006. [1]

Track listing

  1. "We Dance" – 3:01
  2. "Rattled by the Rush" – 4:16
  3. "Black Out" – 2:10
  4. "Brinx Job" – 1:31
  5. "Grounded" – 4:14
  6. "Serpentine Pad" – 1:16
  7. "Motion Suggests" – 3:15
  8. "Father to a Sister of Thought" – 3:30
  9. "Extradition" – 2:12
  10. "Best Friend's Arm" – 2:19
  11. "Grave Architecture" – 4:16
  12. "AT&T" – 3:32
  13. "Flux=Rad" – 1:45
  14. "Fight This Generation" – 4:22
  15. "Kennel District" – 2:59 (Spiral Stairs)
  16. "Pueblo" – 3:25
  17. "Half a Canyon" – 6:10
  18. "Western Homes" – 1:49

Singles



 
 
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Album Review. Copyright © 2009 All Media Guide, LLC. Content provided by All Music Guide ®, a trademark of All Media Guide, LLC. All rights reserved.  Read more
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