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Crooked Rain, Crooked Rain

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For the 2004 compilation album, see Crooked Rain, Crooked Rain: LA's Desert Origins.

Crooked Rain, Crooked Rain
Studio album by
Pavement
ReleasedFebruary 14, 1994
RecordedAugust–September 1993
Studio
Genre
Length42:16
LabelMatador
ProducerPavement
Pavement chronology
Westing (By Musket and Sextant)
(1993) 		Crooked Rain, Crooked Rain
(1994) 		Wowee Zowee
(1995)
Singles from Crooked Rain, Crooked Rain
  1. "Cut Your Hair"
    Released: February 1994
  2. "Gold Soundz"
    Released: June 1994
  3. "Range Life"
    Released: January 1995

Crooked Rain, Crooked Rain is the second studio album by American indie rock band Pavement, released on February 14, 1994, by Matador Records. The album saw the band move on towards a more accessible rock sound than that of their more lo-fi debut Slanted and Enchanted and achieve moderate success with the single "Cut Your Hair". The album also saw original drummer Gary Young replaced by Steve West. It was a UK Top 20 hit upon release, although it was not so successful in the US charts.

Release[edit]

Crooked Rain, Crooked Rain was released on February 14, 1994, by Matador Records.[2] As of 2009, the album had sold about 500,000 copies.[3]

In 2004, Matador released Crooked Rain, Crooked Rain: LA's Desert Origins, a compilation containing the album in its entirety, as well outtakes and other rarities from the same era.[4]

Critical reception[edit]

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[5]
Chicago Sun-Times[6]
Entertainment WeeklyB+[7]
Los Angeles Times[8]
NME8/10[9]
Rolling Stone[10]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide[11]
Select4/5[12]
Spin Alternative Record Guide9/10[13]
The Village VoiceA[14]

AllMusic's Stephen Thomas Erlewine gave Crooked Rain a perfect five-star rating, describing it as "the Reckoning to Slanted & Enchanted's Murmur". He concluded that the album was "a vibrant, dynamic, emotionally resonant album that stands as a touchstone of underground rock in the '90s and one of the great albums of its decade."[5] Robert Christgau of the Village Voice gave the album an A grade, describing it as "a tour de force melodywise".[14] Entertainment Weekly's David Browne gave the album a B+, writing that "Crooked Rain, Crooked Rain is just a bunch of guys dwelling on topics like skateboarding, plane crashes, girls, and mocking Stone Temple Pilots. When they set those sentiments to bumpy-road drones or a bit of a country lilt...the result has a subtle, ingratiating beauty."[7] Los Angeles Times critic Richard Cromelin gave the album 3.5 out of 4 stars. Cromelin wrote that the album contains "some of the Meat Puppets' loopiness, a Stones/Burritos folk-country resonance, and a chirpy pop tunefulness--along with enough contrary abrasiveness to keep you from getting too comfortable with them."[8]

Legacy[edit]

In 2003, the album was ranked number 210 on Rolling Stone magazine's list of the 500 greatest albums of all time, and 212 in a 2012 revised list.[15] In the 2020 update of the list, the album's rank dropped to number 434.[16] It was also ranked number 10 on their best albums of the Nineties.[17] In 2003, it was ranked number 8 on Pitchfork's list Top 100 Albums of the 1990s,[18] and in 2010, the song "Gold Soundz" was listed as number one on Pitchfork's 200 Greatest Songs of the 1990s.[19] In July 2014, Guitar World ranked Crooked Rain, Crooked Rain at number 21 in their "Superunknown: 50 Iconic Albums That Defined 1994" list.[20] The photo in the middle of the cover was taken from the March 1978 issue of National Geographic. The album was also included in the book 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die.[21]

Track listing[edit]

All tracks are written by Stephen Malkmus, except "Hit the Plane Down", which was written by Scott Kannberg

No.TitleLength
1."Silence Kid" ([note 1])3:01
2."Elevate Me Later"2:51
3."Stop Breathin"4:28
4."Cut Your Hair"3:07
5."Newark Wilder"3:53
6."Unfair"2:33
7."Gold Soundz"2:41
8."5-4=Unity"2:09
9."Range Life"4:54
10."Heaven Is a Truck"2:30
11."Hit the Plane Down"3:36
12."Fillmore Jive"6:38
Notes
  1. ^ Due to an ink splodge on the back of the original artwork, the song "Silence Kid" has become erroneously known as "Silence Kit". This misnomer persisted when designer Mark Ohe printed it onto the back of the reissue Crooked Rain, Crooked Rain: LA's Desert Origins, despite the interior artwork showing the correct name in print several times, including written in Stephen Malkmus' own handwriting.[22][23]

Personnel[edit]

Credits adapted from the album's liner notes.[24]

Pavement

Technical

Charts and certifications[edit]

See also[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b Pitchfork Staff (September 28, 2022). "The 150 Best Albums of the 1990s". Pitchfork. Retrieved April 26, 2023. Pavement's decision to graft a shadow history of '60s and '70s California folk-rock and psychedelia onto the abrasive, Fall-inspired noise of their previous sound made total sense...
  2. ^ "Pavement". Matador Records. Archived from the original on July 23, 2021. Retrieved August 8, 2021.
  3. ^ "The Over/Under: Pavement". Magnet Magazine. April 21, 2009. Retrieved April 7, 2018.
  4. ^ Blashill, Pat (November 25, 2004). "Crooked Rain, Crooked Rain : L.A.'s Desert Origins". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on January 21, 2021. Retrieved August 22, 2021.
  5. ^ a b Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "Crooked Rain, Crooked Rain – Pavement". AllMusic. Retrieved September 2, 2011.
  6. ^ DeRogatis, Jim (March 13, 1994). "Pavement Leads Stylish Sing-Along". Chicago Sun-Times. Archived from the original on November 18, 2018. Retrieved November 18, 2015.
  7. ^ a b Browne, David (March 11, 1994). "Crooked Rain, Crooked Rain". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved November 18, 2015.
  8. ^ a b Cromelin, Richard (February 13, 1994). "Pavement 'Crooked Rain, Crooked Rain' Matador". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved November 18, 2015.
  9. ^ "Pavement: Crooked Rain, Crooked Rain". NME. February 12, 1994. p. 39.
  10. ^ Diehl, Matt (February 24, 1994). "Crooked Rain, Crooked Rain". Rolling Stone. Retrieved November 18, 2015.
  11. ^ Sheffield, Rob (2004). "Pavement". In Brackett, Nathan; Hoard, Christian (eds.). The New Rolling Stone Album Guide (4th ed.). Simon & Schuster. pp. 624–25. ISBN 0-7432-0169-8.
  12. ^ Cusack, Elaine (March 1994). "Pavement: Crooked Rain". Select. No. 45. p. 75.
  13. ^ Weisbard, Eric (1995). "Pavement". In Weisbard, Eric; Marks, Craig (eds.). Spin Alternative Record Guide. Vintage Books. p. 290. ISBN 0-679-75574-8.
  14. ^ a b Christgau, Robert (April 5, 1994). "Consumer Guide". The Village Voice. Retrieved November 18, 2015.
  15. ^ "500 Greatest Albums of All Time Rolling Stone's definitive list of the 500 greatest albums of all time". Rolling Stone. 2012. Retrieved September 16, 2019.
  16. ^ "The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time". Rolling Stone. September 22, 2020. Retrieved May 2, 2021.
  17. ^ "100 Best Albums of the Nineties". Rolling Stone. 10: Pavement, 'Crooked Rain, Crooked Rain'. Retrieved September 2, 2011.
  18. ^ "Top 100 Albums of the 1990s". Pitchfork. November 17, 2003. p. 10. Archived from the original on March 17, 2009.
  19. ^ "Staff Lists: The Top 200 Tracks of the 1990s". Pitchfork. September 3, 2010. Archived from the original on August 3, 2011. Retrieved September 22, 2013.
  20. ^ "Superunknown: 50 Iconic Albums That Defined 1994". GuitarWorld.com. July 14, 2014. Archived from the original on July 15, 2014. Retrieved July 14, 2014.
  21. ^ Dimery, Robert; Lydon, Michael (March 23, 2010). 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die (Revised and Updated ed.). Universe. ISBN 978-0-7893-2074-2.
  22. ^ "Silence Kit???". Retrieved July 24, 2015.
  23. ^ "Crooked Rain Crooked Rain cover".
  24. ^ Crooked Rain, Crooked Rain (CD). Pavement. Matador Records. 1994. LC 11552.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  25. ^ Ryan, Gavin (2011). Australia's Music Charts 1988–2010 (PDF ed.). Mt Martha, Victoria, Australia: Moonlight Publishing. p. 214.
  26. ^ "Offiziellecharts.de – Pavement – Crooked Rain Crooked Rain" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved September 25, 2020.
  27. ^ "charts.nz – Pavement – Crooked Rain Crooked Rain". charts.nz. Hung Medien. Retrieved June 26, 2012.[permanent dead link]
  28. ^ "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved September 25, 2020.
  29. ^ a b c d e "Pavement Chart History". Billboard. Retrieved September 25, 2020.
  30. ^ "British album certifications – Pavement – Crooked Rain Crooked Rain". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved November 13, 2020.
  31. ^ "Chart Log UK: Rodney P. – The Pussycat Dolls". zobbel.de. Retrieved June 26, 2012.

External links[edit]

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