Slanted and Enchanted
Slanted and Enchanted is the debut studio album by American indie rock band Pavement, released on April 20, 1992, by Matador Records. It is the only Pavement album to feature drummer Gary Young. The title Slanted and Enchanted is taken from the title of a cartoon made by Silver Jews frontman David Berman.[4] Its cover art was created by appropriating that of an existing album, Ferrante & Teicher's Keyboard Kapers.[5][6][7] The album received critical acclaim and is seen as a landmark for indie rock, with Rolling Stone ranking it 199th on its 2020 edition of "The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time". As of 2007, the album had sold 150,000 copies. In 2022, Alex Ross Perry adapted the album into a rock opera titled Slanted! Enchanted![8][9] Background and recordingSlanted and Enchanted was recorded at the home recording studio of Pavement drummer Gary Young on what was described as a "tight budget" over a span of ten days. The process was said to have been "relaxed."[10][11] Stephen Malkmus recorded playing a Fender Stratocaster, and Scott Kannberg recorded with a Fender Mustang and a Gibson SG. Kannberg played through a Fender Silverface Twin Reverb amplifier, and Malkmus played through a small boutique Epiphone amplifier that was borrowed from the father of one of his friends. They used ProCo TurboRat and Boss DS-1 distortion pedals.[11] Slanted and Enchanted was distributed to critics as early as 1991, months before its official release; the original distribution did not feature the entire band, as several members joined during its production.[12] The recording sessions were split between South Makepeace Studios in Brooklyn, New York (recorded December 24, 1990) and Louder Than You Think Studios in Stockton, California (recorded January 13–20, 1991).[10][13] Release historyThe album's first single, "Summer Babe", appeared in August 1991.[2][3] It was Pavement's last release of new material for the Chicago-based Drag City label before the band moved to Matador Records. The single contained the B-sides "Mercy Snack (The Laundromat)" and "Baptist Blacktick" that were included on Japanese versions in the CD, and later on the deluxe version of the album. A different mix of "Summer Babe" entitled "Summer Babe (Winter Version)" became the first track on the album. The song would go on to be ranked by Rolling Stone magazine as number 286 in its 2004 list of the 500 greatest songs of all time,[14][15] and as number 292 in the 2011 update of the list.[16] The album's second single, "Trigger Cut", was first released in the UK by Big Cat Records on July 13, 1992, before appearing in the US market through Matador the following month.[17] Slanted and Enchanted was officially released on April 20, 1992, to critical acclaim, originally reaching a peak of number 72 on the UK Albums Chart.[18] As of 2007, the album had sold 150,000 copies.[19] In 2002, Matador Records released Slanted and Enchanted: Luxe & Reduxe, a compilation containing Slanted and Enchanted in its entirety, as well outtakes and other rarities from the same era.[20] Matador released Luxe & Reduxe on October 20, 2002,[21] alongside the Slow Century DVD.[20] It features 48 songs, including the entire original disc and, in addition, 3 outtakes of which one is an unreleased song and the other two are alternate takes, plus the B-sides from the "Summer Babe" and "Trigger Cut" singles, 5 songs from two different John Peel sessions, the 4-track EP Watery, Domestic, and 13 tracks of a live performance of the band held at the Brixton Academy in London on December 14, 1992.[22][23] Luxe & Reduxe reached number 5 on the US Billboard Top Independent Albums chart[24][25] and number 152 on the US Billboard 200.[24][26] Music and lyrics
Andy Price of Guitar.com (July 21, 2021)[11]
Slanted and Enchanted is noted for its "stripped down" sound and heavy use of distortion.[10] Andy Price of Guitar.com described the album's sound as an "aural mess of dishevelled guitar noise, balanced by infectious hooks and a homemade aesthetic," and as a "combination of unkempt, dissonant chord structures, tangled, grubby riffs, tuneful, vibrant melodies and coolly delivered (but earnestly intelligent) lyrics."[11] Erik Davis of Spin wrote, "the distortion doesn't come from a can, nor is it 'texture' or 'noise.' It's a living thing, snaking through the strumming guitars."[27] The original Pavement EPs were recorded without the presence of bass guitar. Some tracks on Slanted and Enchanted, such as "Summer Babe", were recorded with bass, while others, such as "Fame Throwa", have detuned guitars substituting for bass guitar. Songs such as "Here" are said to be "entirely bass-free."[11] Malkmus began to explore alternate guitar tunings, including different variations of Open D and Open G, which have since been dubbed "slacker tunings" due to their appearance on the album. Malkmus explained, "We didn't have a bass guitar on the early recordings. So tuning down gave us a lower sound but also a fullness to the sound. That's where I started. Then I simplified even more by bringing my G string up to A. I did a lot of things like that." The tracks "The Mouth a Desert", "Loretta's Scars and Jackals" and "False Grails: The Lonesome Era" are played in CGDGBE tuning. The tracks "Perfume-V", "Summer Babe" and "Conduit for Sale!" use DADABE tuning.[11] In addition to guitar distortion, feedback and noise, the album makes use of hooks that are consistent with those heard in pop songs. According to Price, "Though uninhibited experimentation was central to Pavement, the bubbling pop hooks that flowed throughout the record's run-time served to anchor the ears. The dissonant chords which shape the captivating 'In the Mouth a Desert' lead us into a fine example, as growling distortion hovers over the verse, snakey hooks periodically rise to have their moment in the sun, before receding into a wash of sound."[11] According to Stephen Thomas Erlewine of AllMusic, "Listening to Slanted & Enchanted is like listening to a college radio station that you can barely tune in—melodies are interrupted by shards of white noise, only to have a simple hook pull everything back into focus." Davis assessed, "There's something like the interstellar space noise picked up on shortwave radios. Some songs start off dope, then get raw power, while others open like thunder and then slip down a velvety slide." The sounds of the guitars have been described as "fuzzy [and] noisy". The album's opening track "Summer Babe (Winter Version)" has been stylistically described as dream pop. Malkmus' vocals are described as "languid".[1][28] Davis described the album's sound as consisting of "slapdash drums, bells, catchy choruses, sha-la-la-las, guitars played so loose and confident they're almost smiling at you."[27] The album has been noted for its stream of consciousness lyrical style.[10] Critical reception and legacy
Slanted and Enchanted received critical acclaim. In a contemporary review of the album, Robert Christgau of The Village Voice was highly positive, writing that Pavement are "always good at both tune and noise" and that the music on Slanted and Enchanted yields "a message complex enough to offer hope ... that the lyrics will catch up".[37] In Spin, Erik Davis designated Slanted and Enchanted as the magazine's "Platter du Jour" for March 1992, describing the album as "so fine it occasionally seems too perfect."[27] Steve Lamacq of NME called it "a marvellous piece of lazy rock'n'roll that does for the current American new wave what Teenage Fanclub's A Catholic Education did for British guitar music."[30]
Since its release, Slanted and Enchanted has appeared on many critics' best-of lists and is frequently cited as being among the most influential indie rock albums of the 1990s. In a retrospective review for AllMusic, Stephen Thomas Erlewine cited the album as "a left-field classic" and "one of the most influential records of the '90s". He praised the album's songwriting, and closed his review saying: "Some listeners may initially find the lo-fi sound of the record inaccessible, but the sheer strength of Pavement's songs settles in after a few plays."[1] In 2002, Pitchfork awarded the album their maximum grade of 10.0/10.0 in a review of the album's reissue,[39] and in 2003, the website ranked it as the fifth greatest album of the 1990s.[40] Rolling Stone called Slanted and Enchanted "the quintessential indie rock album" and placed the record on its list of the 500 greatest albums of all time.[41][42] In 2017, Billboard called it a "slacker masterpiece" and "the definitive indie rock album".[7] Andy Price wrote for Guitar.com, "Slanted and Enchanted was a felicitous moment-seizer. And one which prescribed the DIY ethos of independent music for decades to come."[11] Mike Powell of Pitchfork said: "Pavement weren't the only early-'90s band that turned noise into something like pop—Nirvana and Sonic Youth did the same—but the low-key charm of Slanted and Enchanted felt different. Whatever angst they might've felt was sublimated by a bookishness and sense of grandeur that made even their feedback seem sweet. [...] To gentle hearts inspired by punk's freedom but wigged out by its intensity, they served as proof that not every revolution demands a fight."[43] Accolades(*) designates unordered lists.
Track listingAll tracks are written by Stephen Malkmus and Scott Kannberg except where noted.
PersonnelPavement
Additional personnel
Charts
References
External links
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