Starlite Walker
Starlite Walker | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Studio album by | ||||
Released | October 24, 1994 | |||
Recorded | June 1994 | |||
Genre | Alternative country[1] | |||
Length | 32:46 | |||
Label | Drag City | |||
Producer | Davis McCain, Doug Easley, Silver Jews | |||
Silver Jews chronology | ||||
|
Review scores | |
---|---|
Source | Rating |
AllMusic | [2] |
The Encyclopedia of Popular Music | [3] |
Entertainment Weekly | B[4] |
MusicHound Rock: The Essential Album Guide | [5] |
The New Rolling Stone Album Guide | [6] |
Record Collector | [7] |
Starlite Walker is the first studio album by indie rock group Silver Jews.[8][9] It was released in 1994 as an LP and CD on Drag City (DC55) in America and on Domino (WIG15) in Europe.[10][11]
Production
[edit]Starlite Walker was recorded in 1994 at Easley Recordings, in Memphis, Tennessee.[2] It was produced by Davis McCain, Doug Easley, and the band.[5] David Berman claimed that "Trains Across the Sea" was the first song that he ever composed.[12]
In a documentary about the band, Berman stated that the early development of the album was influenced by his job as a security guard at the Whitney: "We were working at the Whitney with all this conceptual art, and we were learning about it … and so I thought, “Well let’s just make this record that looks like a record, and has song titles and everything, but the songs would be the ones we make at home that sound terrible.”[13]
Critical reception
[edit]Trouser Press wrote that "while it gets laid-back enough at times to pass for a long-lost New Riders of the Purple Sage album, Starlite Walker possesses enough temperate charm to soothe even the most savage discordophile."[14] Drowned in Sound wrote that the album "may very well be the greatest jam session of half-formed ideas ever made."[15]
Track listing
[edit]All tracks composed by David Berman; except where indicated
- "Introduction II"
- "Trains Across the Sea"
- "The Moon Is the Number 18"
- "Advice to the Graduate"
- "Tide to the Oceans" (Berman, Stephen Malkmus)
- "Pan American Blues"
- "New Orleans"
- "The Country Diary of a Subway Conductor"
- "Living Waters"
- "Rebel Jew"
- "The Silver Pageant"
Personnel
[edit]Personnel
[edit]- The Silver Jews
- David Berman – lead vocals, guitar, piano, percussion
- Stephen Malkmus – guitar, backing vocals, piano, bass, percussion
- Steve West – drums, backing vocals, percussion
- Bob Nastanovich – drums, backing vocals, percussion, synthesizer
- Additional personnel
- Doug Easley – pedal steel guitar; whistle on "Living Waters"
- David McCain — pink noise
- Andra Sherman — triangle
- Dan Mackta — Wurlitzer electric piano on "The Country Diary of a Subway Conductor"
- David McCain – engineer, producer
- Doug Easley – engineer, producer
- Billy Smith – photography
References
[edit]- ^ Buckley, Peter (2003). The Rough Guide to Rock. Rough Guides. p. 775. ISBN 978-1-84353-105-0.
- ^ a b Phares, Heather. "Starlite Walker - Silver Jews | Songs, Reviews, Credits". AllMusic. Retrieved January 10, 2021.
- ^ Larkin, Colin (2006). The Encyclopedia of Popular Music. MUZE. p. 457. ISBN 978-0-19-531373-4.
- ^ Browne, David (January 27, 1995). "The latest in indie music". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved January 10, 2021.
- ^ a b MusicHound Rock: The Essential Album Guide. Visible Ink Press. 1999. p. 1015. ISBN 978-1-57859-061-2.
- ^ The New Rolling Stone Album Guide. Simon & Schuster. 2004. p. 735.
- ^ "Starlite Walker - Record Collector Magazine".
- ^ Phares, Heather. "Silver Jews Biography, Songs, & Albums". AllMusic. Retrieved January 10, 2021.
- ^ Bevan, David (September 6, 2012). "SILVER JEWS – 'STARLITE WALKER'". Spin. Retrieved January 10, 2021.
- ^ "Silver Jews - Starlite Walker | Drag City". Drag City. Retrieved January 10, 2021.
- ^ "Silver Jews - Starlite Walker (CD) | Domino Mart". Domino Recording Company. Retrieved January 10, 2021.
- ^ Hogan, Marc; Sodomsky, Sam (August 9, 2019). "15 Songs That Defined David Berman's Heavy Magic". Pitchfork. Retrieved January 10, 2021.
- ^ Deluca, Leo (2018-10-19). "Silver Jews' 'American Water' Turns 20". Stereogum. Retrieved 2024-05-29.
- ^ Sprague, Deborah; Simon, Jesse. "Silver Jews". Trouser Press. Retrieved January 10, 2021.
- ^ Porter, Bruce (June 30, 2009). "Alt Country Week: Silver Jews - A Morality Play in Six Acts". Drowned in Sound. Archived from the original on August 15, 2019. Retrieved January 10, 2021.