Is this album as bad as many of the critics contend?
Hard Harry412 says HELL NO! 'Without a Sound' is another classic Dino album that features some excellent guitar heroics!
Also there is quite a bit more distortion on this album then their last one, so it is ludicrous to think they were trying to sell out at this point!
Still for some reason this album always gets passed over by the critics and yes even the band themselves, like J basically refused to play 'Feel the Pain' for a number of years live probably because he didn't want people to think he was selling out or trying to be too popular so some other non-sense. Gosh I hate the politics that infects some of Alternative Rock... just like what you like and to heck with what others say!!!
Sadly even this anti-'Without a Sound' attitude even infected myself there for awhile, then after years of hearing some of the latest emo type stuff that kids are listening to today I thought 'Hey 'Without a Sound' isn't really that bad compared to this wussy crud'!!!
'Where You Been' is jam packed with goodness, lets have a track by track run down:
'Out There' - A mid-tempo number that features amazing layered distorted 'crunchy' guitars! This songs starts out the album perfectly with a great intro guitar solo! Usually with a DJ song one has to wait a few chorus and verses in to get to Js solo, but not here!
Also the video is awesome, it has J on top of a friggin' mountain like he is some kind of guitar god of the mountains!!
'Start Choppin'' - A decent pop song and for awhile it was the song that DJ was most known for. Because of that they didn't want to play it in concerts for awhile because many Alt Rockers don't want to be all popular and stuff which seems sort of self-defeating, but they actually have come full circle and are starting to play it live again now. I think this music video was the first time I was ever exposed to DJ so I like it for that reason.
'What Else Is New' - My favorite DJ song on my favorite DJ album! I worship the drums and bass on this song, it is all bottom-endey and stuff and reminds me a lot of Juliana Hatfields song 'Lost and Saved' It is another one that starts out with an awesome guitar solo too! I have never really cared for the second half of the song though where it goes acoustic and gets all mellow though, but you have to end a song some how I guess.
'On The Way' - A more up-tempo punkish number to speed things up on this album and it makes sense because the first few tracks are a little slow-ish
'Not The Same' - Whoa! J takes a big risk and goes all experimentalistic with this song. Acoustic guitar and Timpanis? This was a major departure from the trademark noise rock sound that J had usually churned out. First few listens it is not that great, but after listening to this song... oh probably at least 100 hundred times by now (hey it is my 2nd favorite album all time folks!) I have grown to appreciate its downer-vibe. Also since I am not a hormone addled teen anymore and am now a little calmer adult I have come to appreciate the creative risk that was involved in this track
'Get Me' - Surprisingly I didn't know until years later that this song was released as a single... and with a music video to! I have really grown to like this song, it really is the sort of 'Ear Bleeding Country' that DJ had first envisioned themselves as sounding like.
'Drawerings' - This song is really just sort of a rehash of 'Get Me' but the two songs do complement each other pretty well. I think of it as 'Get Me 2.0' now that we are in the internet age!
'Hide' - This is the closest DJ comes to heavy metal most of the time! This song helps to up the tempo of the album as a whole. I just like the whole flow of 'Where You Been'!
'Goin' Home' - A real mellow acoustic number. DJ had just started making songs like this with this album so it is a real triumph for DJ to grow as a band and make a song like this!
'I Ain't Sayin' - A great album closer! Js lead guitar on this one is epic and makes the song!
'Keeblin' - Why didn't this B-side make it on the record? Were they not confident about it? Didn't want to release an acoustic guitar only type song yet as they had just started venturing down that path? Still I am glad it is on the remastered version I have! It is one of my favorite DJ songs, damn it is HEAVY brother! I don't think J had written such a deep song until he had written this one.
Speaking of the re-mastered version, it is freakin' awesome! It sounds so much better then the olden version. The old version didn't really stand up all that well compared to some other major label alt rock albums (like say 'Nevermind') but now this remastered version certainly does. Frankly I think this album can go toe to toe with 'Nevermind', I am serious! 'Nevermind' doesn't have anything like 'Not The Same' on it!
Heck I even like the album cover! It is all darkish and really matches the vibe of DJs music. Also the Space Alien on the back is cool too. It is all blueish and stuff. Hey that is my favorite color! Also having an Alien on there was very cool for that time period, like the X Files was popular around that time. Hard to believe that the Alt Rock slackers of DJ might have actually followed a trend! But still it is cool ya' know.
... but over the years I have come around on it and really like it! The one thing that I can say positive about this album is I think this is the only Dinosaur Jr. album where J Mascis really made an attempt to really sing! I give J big time credit for trying and to be honest he is not half bad on some of the songs on here.
Many of the songs on here are great! 'The Wagon' is a classic Dino rocker and one of their more popular live songs.
Also 'Water' is an interesting exercise in psychedelic-ia.
There are some bad songs on here, which is pretty rare for Dinosaur Jr., and it includes 'Flying Cloud' which I just have never been that really into.
Also the studio version of 'Thumb' on here isn't really that good. The Mellotron playing the main riff is just sort of wussy Live however (when J plays the main riff with a guitar all distorted and grungey) it is an awesome mid-tempo jam!!!
'Bug' finds Dinosaur Jr. attempting to grow as musicians.
Whereas they were pretty much all noise on 'Your Living All Over Me', here they are attempting to craft a number of mid-tempo tunes. 'Pond Song' and 'Keep the Glove' showcase this move towards a more musical form.
There are still some rockers on 'Bug' though. 'Freak Scene' is legendary and might be one of Dinosaur Jr.s best known tunes.
One of my issues with this album though is that Lous bass seems to be turned down in the mix! I can understand why dude wanted to bail after this, frankly. Lou is my favorite bassist so hearing him get turned down is a big bummer to me. (Luckily though he will be back in the Dinosaur Jr. fold later! YES!)
Also another issue I have with this album is the cover art! Yuck, and actual BUG! It would be a few more albums before Dino would start making cover-art I like...
This sounds like an entire concert recorded in 1987! It is pretty interesting to hear how different Dino sounds today compared to then. (they have better equipment now for sure. Lous Bass sounds totally more bad-ass today then it did then based on comparing live recordings)
The album cover is pretty cool too! It is like an update on the 'Your Living All Over Me' cover with some little furry H.R. Pufnstuf extras chillin' about.
Some of these takes on the songs are pretty mellow in the middle of the set, but a few of the encore songs totally rock and these are the songs that make the album awesome!
The version of 'Mountain Man' on here it totally ferocious, sounds like maybe Black Flag did it instead of Dino! Sweet!
This has to be one of my favorite DJ albums (although it is not my fave)
It is just so freaking LOUD. DJ managed to capture some of the spirit of their live show in the studio for probably the first time with this album (I have seen them twice live)
There is not a bad song in the bunch. I constantly change my mind on which one is my fave. Right now I would say 'The Lung'. It used to be a staple concert opener for them so I think pretty highly of it because of that.
They are always putting different versions of this album out. The one I had back in the day had a live cover of 'Show me the way' at the end. Now my remastered 'contemporary' version has 'Just like Heaven' as the last song. They should make a super deluxe version with both songs on there to please all fans possible!
Also I really dislike the album cover! What the heck, is that a space alien? When I had my CD copy back in the early '90s I just pulled out the cover sleeve and tossed it I must admit.
Guess what? It is ok for alternative rockers to like Heavy Metal (like Metallica). Soundgarden made it safe to do so:
Soundgarden made a place for heavy metal in alternative rock. Their fellow Seattle rockers Green River may have spearheaded the grunge sound, but they relied on noise rock in the vein of the Stooges. Similarly, Jane's Addiction were too fascinated with prog rock and performance art to appeal to a wide array of metal fans. Soundgarden, however, developed directly out of the grandiose blues-rock of Led Zeppelin and the sludgy, slow riffs of Black Sabbath.
Something like 'Kill 'Em All' is especially tantalizing. It has real indie label production values. Hetfields and Hammetts twin guitar attack can churn out a sound that is listenable to noise rockers.
Also since J Mascis brought back guitar solos with Dinosaur Jr., it is A-OK to enjoy Hammetts solos!
Even Kurt Cobain liked Metallica!:
Is it true that the album cut "Whiplash" was Kurt Cobain's favorite Metallica song? Absolutely. He told me that himself. He came to one of our shows in Seattle, on the Black Album tour. I remember at one point, we were playing "Whiplash," and he looked at me and kept punching the air with his fist, and gave me a big thumbs-up sign. I was like, "Cool. Kurt, I know you love this song. This one's for you!" I knew Kurt kind of well, and I hung out with him quite a bit. He was a pretty big Metallica fan – I was surprised at how much of a Metallica fan he was. He loved Ride the Lightning. He loved that album.
'Kill 'Em All' is another album that is all killer/ no filler. My favorite track is the first one 'Hit the lights', The beginning drum into and guirar intro just rule!
Dino is my second favorite band! I love the loud noise rock they create. J.s guitar playing is also my favorite. I like his solos more then I like Eddie Van Halens!
'Dinosaur' is their first album and truth be told it is little more then a glorified demo in studio quality. One wonders how much they spent to record it. Wouldn't be surprised if it was less then for other legendary cheap-o debuts like Bathorys ($2,000) or Nirvanas ($600). However the lack of production isn't really an issue for an alternative rocker like me who actually likes noise rock and lo-fi type acts.
To me the highlight of this album is the amount of songs where Lou Barlow is the lead singer! It is probably more then half. It is nice to see Big Lou get a chance to shine. Not only is J my favorite guitar player, but Lou is my favorite bass player. He just gets this real cool loud bass sound to come out of that thing.
The highlight of this album is most likely 'Repulsion'. It has that signature Dinosaur Jr. sound and has become a regular on their set-list ever since.
