Golden Smog - Down By the Old Mainstream
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Music CD Cover
Artist: Golden SmogEdition: Music CD
CD Release Date: 1996-01-16
Music Label: Rykodisc
Accessories: Soundtracks:
- V
- Ill Fated
- Pecan Pie
- Yesterday Cried
- Glad & Sorry
- Won't Be Coming Home
- He's a Dick
- Walk Where He Walked
- Nowhere Bound
- Friend
- She Don't Have to See You
- Red Headed Stepchild
- Williamton Angel
- Radio King
Free Music Notes for Down By the Old Mainstream
Free Music Review: Jeff plays bass, Mark and Kraig play rhythm, Dan & Gary play lead...
Hit: 5 Stars
This was the first full-length Golden Smog album. It was not a planned event; the songs were mostly things that members had cooked up separately or in various pairings. Gary Louris, Marc Perlman, Kraig Johnson and Dan Murphy, all based in the Minneapolis area, had been playing pickup gigs together for some time. Finding themselves with spare time and material, they decided to smog together an album. They invited Jeff Tweedy, recently divorced from Uncle Tupelo, to help make the record.
Much of _...Old Mainstream_'s charm lies in its loose, unconcerned vibe. For that same reason, the more heavily-produced and polished followup _Weird Tales_ might be a better starting place. But for of all that album's high points, _Down By the Old Mainstream_ makes for a more consistent listen - the quality is steady throughout, and the songs fit right together. If _Weird Tales_ hits you over the head, this one sneaks up on you - somewhere around the third or fourth listening, right about the time you get to "Williamton Angel" or "Radio King", you'll be sitting up and saying, "wow, this is good!".
I had the privlege of seeing these guys play two years ago, and even without Mr. Tweedy, they were awesome. I can't wait for the new album.
Down By the Old Mainstream Poster
Made by a sloppy bunch of midwesterners with names like Jarret Decatur, Raymond Virginia, and Leonardson Saratoga (better known to us as the Jayhawks' Gary Louris and Mark Perlman, Wilco's Jeff Tweedy, Soul Asylum's Dan Murphy, and a couple of their friends), Down by the Old Mainstream is like a piece of pecan pie, both literally and figuratively. Literally because, well, the CD design looks like a pecan pie. Figuratively because more than a dozen slices of wholesome goodness are packed inside--a little messy and syrupy at times, but altogether filled with the comforts of home. It's best not to question why guys from successful rock bands--roots, country, and mainstream--would get together ad hoc, apparently to make a record none could make in their main gigs, and then fill it with the same kind of roots, country, and mainstream rock songs we've heard from them all along. Sure enough, Golden Smog sounds a lot like the Jayhawks on Louris's "V," like Wilco on Tweedy's "Walk Where He Walked," and like Soul Asylum on Murphy's "Red Headed Stepchild." Still, there's a joy, looseness, and conviviality that comes across in songs like "He's a Dick" and "Pecan Pie" that only Down By's brand of stress-free anonymity and lack of purpose could produce. What Golden Smog misses in factory polish, it makes up for in homemade warmth--just like the goodies Grandma used to make. --Roni SarigAlternative Rock Music CDs
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