Dinosaur Jr.: Brilliant or crap?

It's odd how they took "Show Me the Way" off of You're Living All Over Me and put "Just Like Heaven" on in it's place. I thought "Heaven" was a post-Bug single.

I hope in the remastering they took out the 2 second space between "Kracked" and "Sludgefeast" that was on the CD version.

truly great band btw. one of my all-time favourites. many diss on post-'where you been' material but it's still great stuff, and i thought j's decisions to get kevin shields producing AND to get thalia zedek in on vox were inspired (esp. as thalia is about the only singer as croaky as ol' j.) can't worship dinosaur enough. (yeah yeah i know, mis-spent youth etc.)

for some reason 'bug' is my favourite though, probably because it's the one i've listened to the most, i've had my copy of that record for 15 years now (almost to the day - i distinctly remember buying it, it was one of my first record purchases w/my 'own money'...)

interviewed Lou about these last night; he was not at all involved in the reissues.

What sort of crazy sense does that make? Repulsion would have been a better choice if they were going to fuck with the playing order. But I like Forget the Swan just fine where it is.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Dinosaur Jr. Reissues on Merge!!

On March 22nd, 2005 Merge records will reissue the legendary Dinosaur Jr. CDs – Dinosaur, You’re Living All Over Me, and Bug.

(Chapel Hill, NC) It’s hard to believe, but it was 20 years ago when Dinosaur first roamed the back roads and byways of central Massachusetts. J Mascis, Lou Barlow and Murph formed their band in 1984 in the sleepy college town of Amherst, MA, and went on to change the face of rock forever…whether they actually ever intended to or not.

Long before the folks in Seattle were raiding thrift stores for flannel, Dinosaur Jr. laid the groundwork for a seismic shift in the underground rock scene. These first three albums, with their sonic wall of melodic bass, furious drums and stunning guitar wizardry, coupled with an almost laissez faire vocal delivery, became the sonic blueprint for what would become known as “alternative rock” over the next decade. Dinosaur Jr. single-handedly moved the indie scene from the rigid ideology and rapid fire bursts of hardcore and post-punk into a new era of introspective yet no less powerful expression. Instead of dismissing the influences of 60s and 70s rock, as had been the rallying cry of punk, Dinosaur Jr. embraced the heavy guitar riffs and melodic underpinnings of a bygone era, and created a full on sonic assault that took the world by surprise if not by storm. Some folks called it the perfect union of Sonic Youth and Neil Young, and when it’s all said and done that’s as good a reference point as any.

The influence that Dinosaur Jr. has had on their peers and future generations of musicians/bands is immeasurable. Now, 20 years since the release of their self-titled debut that left folks scratching their heads (yet at the same time hungry for more) Merge is honored to bring these three classic CDs back into print after years of scattered availability and $40+ pricetags on Ebay and Amazon.

Originally released on two of the most influential independent labels of the times – Homestead and SST – Dinosaur, You’re Living All Over Me and Bug will now be available to an entirely new generation of music fans. If there is any justice these recordings will be just as influential the second time around…

All three CDs have been remastered and will be reissued with original cover artwork but the new booklets will contain never-before seen images that are sure to electrify longtime fans. Bonus materials include a rare live track – “Does It Float” – which captures the power and sheer chaos of early Dinosaur shows, as well as videos for classic tracks “Little Fury Things”, “Just Like Heaven”, “Freak Scene” and a recently-discovered, never before seen video for “No Bones”. Also included are extensive new liner notes for all three albums compiled by music writer/gadfly Byron Coley featuring interviews/commentary from Thurston Moore, Mike Watt and Robert Pollard. Acclaimed filmmaker Allison Anders also contributed liner notes for Bug. But really, who needs extra bells and whistles? These albums contain so much raw power and melodic tension that they speak well enough for themselves, as seminal pieces of American rock and roll history.

Dinosaur:
Bulbs Of Passion
Forget The Swan
Cats In A Bowl
The Leper
Does It Float
Pointless
Repulsion
Gargoyle
Severed Lips
Mountain Man
Quest
Does It Float (Live) ***

You’re Living All Over Me:
Little Fury Things
Kracked
Sludgefeast
The Lung
Raisans
Tarpit
In A Jar
Lose
Poledo
Just Like Heaven
Little Fury Things (video) ***
Just Like Heaven (video ) ***

Bug:
Freak Scene
No Bones
They Always Come
Yeah We Know
Let It Ride
Pond Song
Budge
The Post
Don’t
Keep The Glove
Freak Scene (Video) ***
No Bones (Video) ***

*** = bonus material

-----------------------------

from mac:

we're proud to be reissuing these three records that, to us, were huge when they came out and are still hugely important today. i think they can be described, unlike most records that are casually given this title, as "classics". as such, having these albums in print and sounding great is in itself a reason for us to reissue these -- even if there were no bonus tracks of any kind.

the way these albums affected people when they were first released (when i'm sure most of us got them on LP) was without any of the covers or b-sides people are asking for them to contain now. For example, "Show Me the Way" was never on the album YLAOM, it was a bonus track the first time it appeared. Maybe that inclusion was against the band's will and they're rectifying that now? I don't know.

i love reissues that have tons of bonus stuff, and i understand not wanting to buy something more than once (it's bizarre how now albums that only came out 2 or 3 years ago are already being reissued), but i have to say: if you already own these and you are happy with the way they sound, there's no need to bitch and moan about it -- just don't buy them.

as a label we were up for any kind of reissue concept as long as it didn't impinge on the integrity of the original records. the final releases are the result of what the band wanted on them. i think there were two things going on with what the track listings ended up being: 1) a paucity of any kind of extra studio outtakes, etc. and 2) how happy / unhappy J/the band was with what did exist.

there is a live track as you can see, and excellent live Dino recordings exist, but i think both J and Merge thought that a great live collection was a separate project -- even gathering the material for these three albums has been a long process, and adding live albums to these releases would both raise the list price and would have meant that these records would have been out of print for at least another year.

extra things are great, the original classic albums are the best, and the remasters sound great (J attended). we knew not everyone would be pleased but then, when are they? and i take it back about bitching and moaning -- that's what msg boards are for...

Lee also joined J. on a stellar "Little Fury Things."

Brian's back!

# Juliette & the Licks featuring Juliette Lewis

ouch!

I like Dinosaur Jr, but I think perhaps they should remain a fond memory.

And J. Mascis is still God.

this is pretty good on first listen.

New album is fantastic. I'm seeing the guys in Texas tonight, with the Black Keys on a double bill - that's an excellent pairing, a great new band on tour with Dino Jr as the opening-band vets, and it'll introduce the guys to the Keys audience - perfect if you ask me.

Been listening to some Dino Jr lately. Where You Been was one of the first albums I ever bought. I'm kind of sad (but not surprised) to see no mention of the excellent Hand It Over on this thread. I think it might be the most consistent and varied of the Dino major label records. The solos on "Alone" slay me.

I'll stump for Hand It Over, my 2nd favorite Dinosaur album after YLAOM, so good, so underrated, especially the middle stretch of the album from "Can't We Move This" to "Mick."

i think i've posted my love for 'hand it over' on some other dino jr thread, but allow me to say it again - so good! my fave dino jr album. i have a sneaking suspicion that kevin shields played guitar on the track 'i'm insane', even though it wasn't credited. at the very least, it sounds like he engineered the guitar sound on that track.

yeah, the liner notes only explicitly credit him with vocals on 2 other tracks but there's also the vague "some other stuff recorded at MBV studio with Kevin Shields" note, so who knows.

i need to get this album. i'm insane is one of my fave djr tracks

the piccolo trumpet line in that song is one of the greatest single things in their entire catalogue. stays in my head for days sometimes

Dino Jr is sort of an excercise in pass/fail. But if you listen to him shread the cover of Maggott Brain(with Mike Watt) - he gets at least a nod towards classic. If it matters, Goin Home is a great example of what he can do when he's not tryong trying to tear the roof off.

Glad to see some HIO love! Too bad it got lost in the shuffle when it came out. I do think there is some Kevin Shields influence in the production even if KS didn't actually do anything.

you basically can't fuck w/"in a jar" imo