Isn't Anything

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Isn't Anything
Isn't Anything cover
Studio album by My Bloody Valentine
Released November 1988
Recorded Spring/Summer 1988
Genre Shoegazing
Length 37:48
Label Creation Records (UK), Sire Records (US)
Producer My Bloody Valentine
Professional reviews
My Bloody Valentine chronology
You Made Me Realise
(1988)		 Isn't Anything
(1988)		 Feed Me with Your Kiss
(1988)

Isn't Anything is the official debut full-length album by My Bloody Valentine, released in November 1988 after three years of issuing EPs and mini-LPs. It came out on Creation Records in the U.K., and is currently available on Sire Records in the U.S.

Contents

[edit] Background

When the band's original vocalist Dave Conway left, to be replaced by Bilinda Butcher, Kevin Shields returned to their avant-garde roots, and began to explore the possibilities offered by the studio facilities available after signing to Creation Records.[1] The first fruits of this experimentation was the single/EP "You Made Me Realise", released in July 1988. Isn't Anything was eagerly awaited, and didn't disappoint, with UNCUT's David Stubbs calling it "one of the most important, influential British rock albums of the Eighties".[1] While recording the album, the band got by on about two hours sleep a night, something which has been suggested is reflected in the vocals.[1] "Several Girls Galore" has been described as "a cubist take on the Jesus and Mary Chain".[1]

[edit] Style

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Displaying strong influence from Cocteau Twins, Dinosaur Jr, and The Jesus and Mary Chain, Isn't Anything established My Bloody Valentine as one of the leading forces in indie music. The album comprises burned-out torch-style songs ("Lose My Breath," "No More Sorry," and "All I Need"), jagged guitar anthems "(When You Wake) You're Still In A Dream," "Feed Me With Your Kiss") and dream-pop melodies ("Several Girls Galore," "Sueisfine"). The titular word in "Sueisfine" was always sung as "suicide" live, but the pronunciation is ambiguous on the album.

A music video was shot for the song "Feed Me With Your Kiss." This video is mainly noteworthy because neither Shields nor Butcher play their usual Fender Jaguar and Fender Jazzmaster respectively in it, instead opting for a Gibson ES, Charvel Surfcaster, and Fender Jaguar.

[edit] Track listing

  1. "Soft as Snow (But Warm Inside)" (Kevin Shields, Colm O'Ciosoig) – 2:21
  2. "Lose My Breath" (Bilinda Butcher, Shields) – 3:37
  3. "Cupid Come" (Butcher, Shields) – 4:27
  4. "(When You Wake) You're Still in a Dream" (O'Ciosoig, Shields) – 3:16
  5. "No More Sorry" (Butcher, Shields) – 2:48
  6. "All I Need" (Shields) – 3:04
  7. "Feed Me With Your Kiss" (Shields) – 3:54
  8. "Sueisfine" (Shields, O'Ciosoig) – 2:12
  9. "Several Girls Galore" (Butcher, Shields) – 2:21
  10. "You Never Should" (Shields) – 3:21
  11. "Nothing Much to Lose" (Shields) – 3:16
  12. "I Can See It (But I Can't Feel It)" (Shields) – 3:10

Initial vinyl LP copies came with a free bonus 7" which was packaged in a plain white sleeve. The songs on it were titled "Instrumental A" (3:19) and "Instrumental B" (4:36). "Instrumental B" featured a Public Enemy drum loop (from "Security Of The First World") which was later used by Madonna in her 1990 hit single, "Justify My Love."

[edit] Personnel

[edit] Awards

[edit] References

  1. ^ a b c d Stubbs, David (1999) "Sweetheart Attack: My Bloody Valentine's Isn't Anything is the Eighties rock album", UNCUT, February 1999
v • d • e
My Bloody Valentine
Bilinda Butcher · Debbie Googe · Colm O'Ciosoig · Kevin Shields
Dave Conway · Tina
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Tycoon · Lazy Records · Creation Records · Sire Records · Island Records
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