Painful indie rock band Yo La Tengo , released in 1993 by record label Matador , their first for the label.
Painful Released October 5, 1993 Recorded 1993 Genre Length 48 :36 Label Matador Producer
Fred Brockman
Roger Moutenot
"Big Day Coming" "From a Motel 6"
The album marked a creative shift from Yo La Tengo's previous work, blending atmospheric and ambient sounds with their famous noise jams. Painful features a much more melody-driven Yo La Tengo in its hazy, dream-like songwriting.
Two versions of the track "Big Day Coming" are present on the album and display the range of musical stylings Yo La Tengo works with; the first version features a simple organ melody accompanied by a soft bass counterpoint and Kaplan's guitar feedback echoing in the background, while the second version is a much more straightforward, shoegaze style with an accompanying organ solo towards the latter part of the song.
On 2 December 2014, the album was reissued with bonus material as Extra Painful , available on double CD, double vinyl and as a digital download.[13]
Critical reception
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In recent years, Painful has become regarded as a significant step for Yo La Tengo in their discography. In a biography of the band, AllMusic 's Mark Deming dubbed it "their first masterpiece", seeing it push them "in a multitude of new directions, significantly expanding [their] palette of sounds and textures."[14] Spectrum Culture ' s Rodger Coleman called it "revelatory, ageless and sublime." He saw it as the album "where they first came together as a real band," as well as showing "a substantial refinement of sound and approach."[15]
Track listing
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Title Writer(s) Vocals 1. "Big Day Coming" Kaplan 7:04 2. "From a Motel 6"
Ira Kaplan
Georgia Hubley 4:08 3. "Double Dare" Kaplan 3:28 4. "Superstar-Watcher" 1:42 5. "Nowhere Near" Hubley 6:01 6. "Sudden Organ" Kaplan 4:42 7. "A Worrying Thing" Kaplan 2:53 8. "I Was the Fool Beside You for Too Long" Kaplan 5:04 9. "The Whole of the Law" 2:19 10. "Big Day Coming" Kaplan 4:14 11. "I Heard You Looking" 7:01
Extra Painful bonus disc Title 1. "Nowhere Near" (demo) 7:14 2. "From A Motel 6" (live acoustic) 3:44 3. "Tunnel Vision" (unreleased instrumental demo) 1:43 4. "Sudden Organ" (demo) 7:35 5. "Smart Window" (unreleased Painful session) 3:16 6. "Big Day Coming" (live acoustic) 3:10 7. "Slow Learner" (unreleased demo) 6:38 8. "Double Dare" (demo) 3:24 9. "A Worrying Thing" (demo) 2:57 10. "I Heard You Looking" (live) 9:17
Extra Painful bonus downloadable additional tracks Title 1. "Double Dare (Sominextraction)" (live, CBGB, 1/31/92) 5:41 2. "What She Wants" (live, House Of Music, West Orange) 2:54 3. "Ashes On The Ground" (live, SIR, 9/29/93)) 5:14 4. "Nutricia" (recorded At Snack Time by Fred Brockman) 5:04 5. "For Shame Of Doing Wrong (Slide Version)" (live, House Of Music, West Orange) 4:37 6. "Superstar Watcher" (recorded At Snack Time by Fred Brockman) 1:45 7. "Big Day Coming" (live, Reckless Records, 4/26/92) 19:02 8. "I Was The Fool Beside You For Too Long" (live , SIR, 9/29/93) 4:43 9. "Shaker" (live, The Batschkapp , Frankfurt, 1/3/94) 3:07 10. "Artificial Heart" (live, Shank Hall , 5/11/93) 2:39 11. "Whole Of The Law Loops" (Painful Sessions, Water Music & James Apartment 1992) 2:45 12. "Nowhere Near" (live, Lounge Ax, Chicago 11/13/93) 6:04 13. "Sleeping Pill" (excerpt From "Ian Mackaye", Room Temperature, Brooklyn 2/20/93) 2:12 14. "Big Day Coming" (live, SIR, 9/29/93) 3:45 15. "Sudden Organ" (live, SIR, 9/29/93) 7:04
Shaker 7" reissue Title 1. "Shaker" 2. "For Shame Of Doing Wrong" (8-Track Version - the CD single contained a different
version which is on the download coupon)
Notes An exact reproduction of the original single Shaker 7" came with the vinyl edition.
15 additional bonus tracks were available for download Personnel
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Georgia Hubley – drums, percussion, vocals, guitar, organIra Kaplan – vocals, guitar, organ, percussionJames McNew – bass, vocals, guitar, percussion References
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^ "The Top 25 College Radio Albums of All Time" . CMJ New Music Report . Retrieved July 21, 2022 .^ a b Ankeny, Jason. "Yo La Tengo – Biography" . AllMusic . Retrieved May 11, 2016 . ^ Deming, Mark. "Painful – Yo La Tengo" . AllMusic . Retrieved March 27, 2015 . ^ Kot, Greg (November 11, 1993). "Melody Lingers On" . Chicago Tribune . Retrieved October 12, 2016 .^ Christgau, Robert (2000). "Yo La Tengo: Painful" . Christgau's Consumer Guide: Albums of the '90s St. Martin's Griffin . ISBN 0-312-24560-2 . Retrieved March 27, 2015 .^ "Yo La Tengo: Painful". Entertainment Weekly ^ Chick, Stevie (February 2015). "Yo La Tengo: Extra Painful". Mojo ^ "Yo La Tengo: Painful". NME ^ Berman, Stuart (December 2, 2014). "Yo La Tengo: Extra Painful" . Pitchfork . Retrieved March 27, 2015 . ^ "Yo La Tengo: Extra Painful". Q ^ Sheffield, Rob (2004). "Yo La Tengo". In Brackett, Nathan; Hoard, Christian (eds.). The New Rolling Stone Album Guide Simon & Schuster . pp. 896–97 . ISBN 0-7432-0169-8 ^ Sheffield, Rob (1995). "Yo La Tengo". In Weisbard, Eric; Marks, Craig (eds.). Spin Alternative Record Guide Vintage Books . pp. 443–44. ISBN 0-679-75574-8 ^ Cosloy, Gerard (21 October 2014). "Yo La Tengo > Coming December 2 : Yo La Tengo's 'Extra Painful' 2XLP / 2XCD" . Matador Records . Retrieved December 9, 2014 . ^ Deming, Mark . "Yo La Tengo Biography, Songs & Albums" . AllMusic . Retrieved August 20, 2023 .^ Coleman, Rodger (March 27, 2013). "Yo La Tengo: Painful | 20 Years Later" . Spectrum Culture . Retrieved August 20, 2023 .
External links
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