El Moodio is an album by the American band Eleventh Dream Day, released in 1993.[1][2] The band supported the album with a North American tour.[3] It was Eleventh Dream Day's final album for Atlantic Records.[4]

El Moodio
Studio album by
Released1993
StudioSorcerer Sound
LabelAtlantic
ProducerJim Rondinelli
Eleventh Dream Day chronology
Two Sweeties
(1992)
El Moodio
(1993)
Ursa Major
(1994)

Production

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Recorded in New York, the album was produced by Jim Rondinelli.[5] Nine of its 10 songs were written by Janet Beveridge Bean and Rick Rizzo.[6] Matthew O'Bannon joined as the second guitar player.[7] The band started the album with Brad Wood, in Chicago, and also recorded songs that were released on 2013's New Moodio.[8] Velvet Crush's Ric Menck played drums on "That's the Point".[9]

Critical reception

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Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic     [10]
Calgary HeraldB+[11]
Robert Christgau   [12]
The Encyclopedia of Popular Music     [13]
Los Angeles Times    [14]
MusicHound Rock: The Essential Album Guide     [15]
Rolling Stone     [16]
(The New) Rolling Stone Album Guide     [17]

Rolling Stone concluded that "the lion's share of the material reveals a knack for emotionally charged scenes, underscored by Bean's brusque drums," writing that "the root of great rock & roll isn't originality but spirit—and Eleventh Dream Day has passion to burn."[16] The Washington Post determined that the album "still doesn't unite the band's influences—the Velvet Underground, Neil Young and the Dream Syndicate, to name just a few—into a distinctive whole."[18] Greil Marcus, in Artforum, wrote that "on 'Rubber Band', singer/guitarist Rick Rizzo asks the musical question, How far can a phrase be stretched before every trace of the meaning it began with is gone?, and doesn't answer it."[19]

USA Today praised "the shimmery harmonies, grabby melodies and guitar-rock intensity."[20] The Calgary Herald called the album "outsider rock that doesn't try to overthrow the system, that just wants to hang on and hope—and rock with a controlled rage."[11] The Gazette opined that "when Rizzo and Matthew O'Bannon's guitars work alchemy in the ballads, the band approaches grandeur."[21] The Virginian-Pilot deemed El Moodio "an album of moody, nervous guitars and edgy singing."[22]

Track listing

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No.TitleLength
1."Makin' Like a Rug" 
2."Figure It Out" 
3."After This Time Is Gone" 
4."Murder" 
5."Honeyslide" 
6."That's the Point" 
7."Motherland" 
8."The Raft" 
9."Bend Bridge" 
10."Rubberband" 

References

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  1. ^ Rogers, Ray (Apr 1993). "Sweet dreams are made of these — El Moodio by Eleventh Dream Day". Interview. Vol. 23, no. 4. p. 42.
  2. ^ Moran, Caitlin (Apr 17, 1993). "Albums — El Moodio by Eleventh Dream Day". Melody Maker. Vol. 69, no. 16. p. 30.
  3. ^ Rothschild, David (5 Feb 1993). "Family Affair". Friday. Chicago Tribune. p. R.
  4. ^ "Eleventh Dream Day Biography by Jason Ankeny". AllMusic. Retrieved 22 July 2023.
  5. ^ Kot, Greg (2 Apr 1993). "Eleventh Dream's (new) Day Chicago group on track with a hot album". Friday. Chicago Tribune. p. 5.
  6. ^ McDonnell, Evelyn (29 June 1993). "Drifting Away". The Village Voice. Vol. 38, no. 26. p. 74.
  7. ^ Eichenberger, Bill (March 4, 1993). "Rackety Rock". Weekender. The Columbus Dispatch. p. 8.
  8. ^ Mervis, Scott (17 Jan 2013). "Meanwhile, Eleventh Dream Day...". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. p. W8.
  9. ^ Smith, Andy (May 5, 1993). "Eleventh Dream Day keeps it rough and deep". The Providence Journal. p. E4.
  10. ^ "El Moodio Review by Ned Raggett". AllMusic. Retrieved 22 July 2023.
  11. ^ a b Muretich, James (11 July 1993). "Recent Releases". Calgary Herald. p. B9.
  12. ^ "Eleventh Dream Day". Robert Christgau. Retrieved 22 July 2023.
  13. ^ Larkin, Colin (2006). The Encyclopedia of Popular Music. Vol. 3. MUZE. p. 255.
  14. ^ Tinkham, Chris (25 July 1993). "In Brief". Calendar. Los Angeles Times. p. 69.
  15. ^ MusicHound Rock: The Essential Album Guide. Visible Ink Press. 1999. p. 384.
  16. ^ a b Young, Jon (Jul 8, 1993). "Recordings — El Moodio by Eleventh Dream Day". Rolling Stone. No. 660/661. p. 116.
  17. ^ (The New) Rolling Stone Album Guide. Simon & Schuster. 2004. p. 275.
  18. ^ Jenkins, Mark (30 Apr 1993). "Eleventh Dream Not Yet Realized". The Washington Post. p. N17.
  19. ^ Marcus, Greil (Mar 1993). "El Moodio". Artforum. Vol. 31, no. 7. p. 8.
  20. ^ Gundersen, Edna (19 Apr 1993). "Jamming tunes from out-of-towners". USA Today. p. 6D.
  21. ^ Lepage, Mark (21 Aug 1993). "Windy City band hits the ground running with a riff-rock twist". The Gazette. p. E2.
  22. ^ Morrison, Jim (June 11, 1993). "Reviews". Preview. The Virginian-Pilot. p. 18.