One Chord to Another

One Chord to Another
Studio album by Sloan
Released June 12, 1996 (Canada)
March 11, 1997 (Worldwide)
Recorded December 1995 - January 1996, Idea of East Recording Studio, Halifax, Nova Scotia[1]
Genre Alternative rock, Indie rock
Length 38:26
35:56 (US bonus CD)
Label murderecords (Canada)
The Enclave (US)
Producer Laurence Currie, Sloan
Sloan chronology

Twice Removed
(1994)		 One Chord to Another
(1996)		 Recorded Live at a Sloan Party
(1997)
Singles from One Chord to Another
  1. "The Good in Everyone"
    Released: 1996
  2. "Everything You've Done Wrong"
    Released: 1996
  3. "The Lines You Amend"
    Released: 1996
  4. "G Turns To D"
    Released: 1997
Professional ratings
Review scores
Source Rating
AllMusic [2]
Rolling Stone [3]
Robert Christgau [4]

One Chord to Another is the third studio album by Canadian rock band, Sloan. After rumours that they had broken up following the problems they faced with Geffen Records when Twice Removed was released, Sloan began touring and writing again in 1995 and released One Chord to Another on Murderecords in 1996. The album was recorded over a two-week period and cost $10,000 to make, $110,000 less than the cost of their previous album.[1] Like their previous album, One Chord to Another is a catchy, Beatles-influenced pop record. The band also experimented with instruments they had never used before on this album, such as trumpets and maracas.

Commercial and critical performance

The album debuted at No. 16 on the Canadian Albums Chart.[5] It was certified gold in Canada on November 21, 1996.[6] By February 1997, the album had sold 80,000 units in Canada.[7]

The album won the award for Best Alternative Album at the 1997 Juno Awards.[8] In a 2000 poll by music magazine Chart, One Chord to Another was voted the ninth greatest Canadian album of all time.[9] It was also ranked 34th in Bob Mersereau's 2007 book The Top 100 Canadian Albums.

Track listing

No. TitleWriter(s) Length
1. "The Good in Everyone"  P. Pentland, Sloan 2:17
2. "Nothing Left to Make Me Want to Stay"  C. Murphy, Sloan 2:35
3. "Autobiography"  C. Murphy, Sloan 3:18
4. "Junior Panthers"  J. Ferguson, Sloan 2:38
5. "G Turns to D"  C. Murphy, Sloan 3:24
6. "A Side Wins"  A. Scott, Sloan 3:11
7. "Everything You've Done Wrong"  P. Pentland, Sloan 3:29
8. "Anyone Who's Anyone"  C. Murphy, Sloan 2:48
9. "The Lines You Amend"  J. Ferguson, Sloan 2:32
10. "Take the Bench"  C. Murphy, Sloan 3:50
11. "Can't Face Up"  P. Pentland, Sloan 3:53
12. "400 Metres"  A. Scott, Sloan 4:31

Japanese Bonus Tracks

No. TitleWriter(s) Length
13. "Stood Up"  C. Murphy, Sloan 3:50
14. "Same Old Flame"  P. Pentland, Sloan 3:53

B-sides

Note: Prior to the release of One Chord to Another, Sloan released Same Old Flame / Stood up as a 7" single on murderecords. These songs were re-recorded for the first pressing of One Chord to Another in Japan, released on EMI. While these versions of Stood Up are a Chris Murphy original, the song by the same name on the Party Album is a cover of a Matthew Grimson song.

American and Japanese releases

One Chord To Another was not released until 1997 in the United States on the independent label, The Enclave. It was originally released in an LP-style cardboard gatefold jacket rather than a traditional plastic jewel box, and included a 10-track bonus CD of material entitled Recorded Live At A Sloan Party! This bonus CD consisted of cover versions and re-recordings of previous Sloan songs; it was recorded in the studio but was overdubbed with miscellaneous party-type sounds to give the impression of being recorded live at an intimate gathering of friends (somewhat akin to the Beach Boys' Party! album). To this date the "Sloan Party" CD has not been released in the band's native Canada and has only been available as an American import.

  1. Let's Get the Party Started – 2:28
  2. I Can Feel It – 3:54 (Patrick Pentland / Sloan)
  3. Dignified and Old – 3:12 (Jonathan Richman)
  4. Glitter and Gold – 3:02 (Barry Mann / Cynthia Weil)
  5. Over You – 3:20 (Bryan Ferry / Phil Manzanera)
  6. I Am the Cancer – 3:22 (Chris Murphy / Sloan)
  7. I Can't Let Go – 2:35 (Al Gorgoni / Chip Taylor)
  8. Stood Up – 3:28 (Matthew Grimson)
  9. On the Road Again / Transona Five – 4:42 (Tim Gane / Floyd Jones / Laetitia Sadier / Alan Wilson)
  10. I Wouldn't Want to Lose Your Love – 5:45 (Myles Goodwyn)

(Notes: All of track 1 and the last 2:35 of track 10 consist of party sound effects only; track 8 is a different song from the 1995 7" single.)

One Chord To Another was Sloan's first album to be released in Japan. They secured a distribution deal with EMI who released the album with new recordings of Stood Up and Same Old Flame. When Navy Blues was released in Canada, however, Sloan's distribution deal with Universal Canada led to new Japanese distribution with Universal Japan. Universal then released Sloan's first three albums in Japan. The new Universal Japan version of One Chord to Another was a one-disc release featuring Live at a Sloan Party as bonus tracks, making the original EMI release with its two exclusive tracks a rarity in the Sloan catalogue.

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 SLOAN REUINTES FOR ENCLAVE SET. Billboard. Retrieved May 25, 2014.
  2. ↑ Allmusic review
  3. ↑ Rolling Stone review
  4. ↑ CG: Sloan
  5. ↑ "Top Albums/CDs – Volume 63, No. 19, June 24, 1996". RPM. Retrieved May 27, 2011.
  6. ↑ "Gold Platinum Database: One Chord to Another - Sloan". Canadian Recording Industry Association. Retrieved 2012-09-19.
  7. ↑ Sloan Strives To Strike 'Chord' In U.S. Billboard. Retrieved 2014-05-25.
  8. ↑ "1997 Best Alternative Album: Sloan - One Chord to Another". junoawards.ca. Retrieved 2012-09-19.
  9. ↑ "Top 50 Canadian Albums Of All-Time (10 To 1)". Chart. Archived from the original on October 18, 2000. Retrieved May 27, 2011.