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Pain Makes You Beautiful

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Pain Makes You Beautiful
Studio album by
The Judybats
Released1993
RecordedLong View Farm Studios, North Brookfield, Massachusetts[1]
GenrePop, rock, alternative rock
Length44:06
LabelSire/Warner Bros.
ProducerKevin Moloney
The Judybats chronology
Down in the Shacks Where the Satellite Dishes Grow
(1992) 		Pain Makes You Beautiful
(1993) 		Full-Empty
(1994)

Pain Makes You Beautiful is the third album by the American band the Judybats, released in 1993 by Sire Records.[2][3] The album contains the band's most successful single, "Being Simple", which peaked at No. 7 on the Billboard Modern Rock Tracks chart.[4] The band supported the album with a North American tour.[5]

Production

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Pain Makes You Beautiful saw a significant lineup change for the band, with the departure of keyboardist Peggy Hambright and bassist Timothy Stutz and the arrival of bassist Paul Noe and drummer Dave Kenkins.[6][7] Recorded live in the studio, the album was produced by Kevin Moloney,[8][9] who helped the band to shorten and rearrange their songs.[10] The recording studio, Long View Farm Studios, was a country barn, built above horse stables.[11] Many of the songs' lyrics were inspired by the lives of frontman Jeff Heiskell and his friends.[12]

In 2023, Heiskell stated that he loved Moloney's production on the album, which introduced more "organic sounds", and added that he felt the band's earlier records had been overproduced by comparison.[11]

Critical reception

[edit]
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[6]
Chicago Tribune[13]
The Republican[14]

Trouser Press stated that "the musicianship is at a consistently high caliber, and the songwriting is tremendously diverse."[7] The Chicago Tribune concluded that "Heiskell, a dominant vocal presence live, is still too mannered on record; he's like a drawling male Annie Lennox, with every intonation sounding studied and self-conscious."[13] The Republican wrote: "Flying in the face of grunge trends, they pack a rippling batch of melodies into crisp pop tracks like the exhilarating 'Ugly on the Outside'."[14] The Washington Post determined that "the Judybats slip loose of their New South neo-folk-rock mold, though not singer/lyricist Jeff Heiskell's sometimes annoying conceits."[15] The Associated Press deemed the album "lightweight pop ... overloaded with ponderous pretensions."[16]

In a retrospective review, Stewart Mason of AllMusic thought the album traded the band's "folky eccentricities" for "a more identifiably alternative rock groove that's considerably less unique", and that Moloney "steers things a little too far to adult album alternative territory at times".[6]

Track listing

[edit]

All music by the Judybats, lyrics by Jeff Heiskell.

  1. "All Day Afternoon" – 3:27
  2. "Ugly on the Outside" – 3:47
  3. "Being Simple" – 4:13
  4. "An Intense Beige" – 3:25
  5. "Geography" – 3:03
  6. "Wasting Time" – 4:15
  7. "Incredible Bittersweet" – 4:03
  8. "Scarlett" – 3:24
  9. "Trip Me Up" – 3:16
  10. "La Dulcinea" – 3:30
  11. "My Dead Friend" – 4:36
  12. "Pain (Makes You Beautiful)" – 3:12

Personnel

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The Judybats

  • Jeff Heiskell – lead vocals
  • Ed Winters – electric guitars
  • Johnny Sughrue – acoustic & electric guitars, vocals
  • Paul Noe – bass, guitar, vocals
  • Dave Jenkins – drums & percussion

Technical

  • Kevin Moloney – producer, mixer, engineer
  • Michael H. Brauer – mixer ("All Day Afternoon")
  • Bruck Dawit – assistant mixer ("All Day Afternoon")
  • Jesse Henderson – second engineer
  • Erik Flettrich – second engineer (mixing)
  • Stephen Marcussen – mastering
  • Perry Iannone – strings ("All Day Afternoon", "Wasting Time")
  • Christine Cano – art direction and design
  • Michael Wilson – photography

References

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  1. ^ McLennan, Scott (June 9, 1994). "Studio gets new owners". Telegram & Gazette. p. C6.
  2. ^ "The JudyBats Biography, Songs, & Albums". AllMusic.
  3. ^ Nordling, Elise (June 27, 1997). "You Say It's Your Birthday: The Judybats' Johnny Sughrue". MTV. Archived from the original on October 22, 2022.
  4. ^ Whitburn, Joel (2008). Joel Whitburn Presents Rock Tracks 1981-2008. Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin: Record Research Inc. ISBN 0-89820-174-8 – via Google Books.
  5. ^ Luhrssen, Dave (April 22, 1993). "Mixed Bag". Entertainment. The Milwaukee Journal. p. 3.
  6. ^ a b c Mason, Stewart. "The JudyBats - Pain Makes You Beautiful Album Reviews, Songs & More | AllMusic". AllMusic.
  7. ^ a b Zwirn, Michael. "Judybats". Trouser Press. Retrieved 22 October 2022.
  8. ^ Sculley, Alan (April 30, 1993). "Slugger's Life Judybats Tune Up, Make Some Trades, Come Out Swinging". InRoads. Daily Press. Newport News. p. 14.
  9. ^ "Pain Makes You Beautiful by Judybats". Billboard. 105 (16): 52. April 17, 1993.
  10. ^ Mayhew, Don (April 8, 1993). "Judybats Not Like Most Alternative Rock Bands". The Fresno Bee. p. E4.
  11. ^ a b Edelstein, Marc (January 16, 2023). "Jeff Heiskell Discusses the Judybats' Exquisite 'Pain Makes You Beautiful' at 30". PopMatters. Retrieved April 28, 2023.
  12. ^ Maestri, Cathy (April 2, 1993). "Musical portraits of JudyBats". The Press-Enterprise. p. AA10.
  13. ^ a b Caro, Mark (March 18, 1993). "JudyBats Pain Makes You Beautiful". Tempo. Chicago Tribune. p. 7.
  14. ^ a b O'Hare, Kevin (March 14, 1993). "Judybats, 'Pain Makes You Beautiful'". The Republican. p. E2.
  15. ^ Jenkins, Mark (May 7, 1993). "A Broader Swing of the 'Bats". The Washington Post. p. N16.
  16. ^ Dishneau, David (March 12, 1993). "Heavy Lyrics Drown Melody". TGIF. The Palm Beach Post. The Associated Press. p. 16.
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