| Slanted and Enchanted | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Studio album by Pavement | ||||
| Released | April 20, 1992 | |||
| Recorded | January 13–20, 1991 at Louder Than You Think Studios, Stockton December 24, 1990 at South Makepeace Studios, Brooklyn ("Here")[1] |
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| Genre | Indie rock | |||
| Length | 38:41 | |||
| Label | Matador | |||
| Producer | Pavement | |||
| Pavement chronology | ||||
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Slanted and Enchanted is the debut studio album by American indie rock band Pavement, released in April 1992 on Matador Records. The album was distributed to critics as early as 1991, months before its official release; the original distribution did not feature the entire band as several members joined during its production. The recording sessions were split between South Makepeace Studios in Brooklyn, New York (recorded December 24, 1990) and Louder Than You Think Studios in Stockton, CA (recorded January 13–20, 1991). It was said that Gary Young's drumming was so shaky that Bob Nastanovich kept time for him, in addition to working as tour manager. . In 2003, the album was ranked number 134 on Rolling Stone magazine's list of the 500 greatest albums of all time.
A two-disc expanded version of the album, Slanted and Enchanted: Luxe & Reduxe, was released in 2002. Along with the original 14 tracks, it includes an additional ten tracks from recording sessions on disc one, and disc two consists of the four-track Watery, Domestic EP, seven other songs from recording sessions, and 13 live tracks (from a show at the Brixton Academy in London on December 14, 1992).
The album's name is taken from the title of a cartoon made by Silver Jews frontman David Berman.[2] Artwork was created by appropriating that of an existing album, Ferrante & Teicher's Keyboard Kapers - itself a re-released form of Dynamic Twin Pianos "re-packaged to conform with the brilliant 'New Look' of the United Artists Records product".
As of 2007, the album has sold 150,000 copies.
Music videos were shot for the songs "Here" and "Perfume-V" but they were not in rotation on MTV and were later included on the Slow Century DVD.
Contents |
| Professional ratings | |
|---|---|
| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| Allmusic | [3] |
| NME | (10/10)[4] |
| Pitchfork Media | (10.0/10.0)[5] |
| PopMatters | (Very Favorable)[6] |
| Robert Christgau | (A)[7] |
| Rolling Stone | [8] |
| Spin | (10/10)[9] |
| Sputnik Music | [10] |
Since its release in 1992, Slanted and Enchanted has appeared on many best-of lists and has been frequently cited as among the best albums of the 1990s and one of the most influential indie rock albums of all time. AllMusic's Stephen Thomas Erlewine, in a five out five stars review, called Slanted and Enchanted "a left-field classic" and "one of the most influential records of the '90s".[3] In 2002, Pitchfork awarded the album their maximum grade of 10.0/10.0 in a review of the album's reissue [5] and ranked it as the 5th greatest album of the 90s in 2003.[11] Robert Christgau, in a highly favourable review, awarded the album an A grade, claiming that Pavement are "good at both tune and noise" yet Slanted and Enchanted yields "a message complex enough to offer hope". Blender named Slanted and Enchanted the greatest indie album of all time.[7]
| Publication | Country | Accolade | Year | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pitchfork Media | US | Top 100 Albums of the 1990s [11] | 2003 | 5 |
| Rolling Stone | US | Essential Recordings of the '90s[12] | 2002 | * |
| 500 Greatest Albums of All Time[13] | 2003 | 134 | ||
| Slant Magazine | US | Best Albums of the '90s [14] | 2011 | 40 |
| Spin | US | Top 90 Albums of '90s [15] | 1999 | 5 |
| Top 100 Albums of the Last 20 Years[16] | 2005 | 4 | ||
| 125 Best Albums of the Past 25 Years[17] | 2010 | 9 |
(*) designates unordered lists.
All songs written by Stephen Malkmus, except "Two States" by Scott Kannberg
The Japanese release of the album featured the songs "Sue Me Jack" (3:02) and "So Stark (You're a Skyscraper)" (3:01) after "Our Singer".[18]
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