The Lonesome Crowded West

The Lonesome Crowded West
Studio album by Modest Mouse
Released November 18, 1997
Recorded Moon Music, Olympia, Washington, May/June 1997 except tracks 1,6,7 at Avast Studios, Seattle, Washington
Summer 1997
Genre Indie rock, Punk rock, Experimental rock
Length 73:58
Label Up UP044
Producer Calvin Johnson, Isaac Brock, Scott Swayze
Modest Mouse chronology

The Fruit That Ate Itself
(1997)		 The Lonesome Crowded West
(1997)		 Night on the Sun
(1999)
Professional ratings
Review scores
Source Rating
AllMusic
Almost Cool (8.5/10)
PopMatters (Very positive)
The A.V. Club (Very Positive)
Pitchfork Media (10/10)
Robert Christgau A-[1]
Rolling Stone
The Rolling Stone Album Guide
Spin (8/10)
Tiny Mix Tapes

The Lonesome Crowded West is the second full-length album recorded by alternative rock[1] band Modest Mouse. The album was released on Up Records on November 18, 1997, on both compact disc and vinyl LP.

Many consider the album to be one of the best indie rock albums of the 1990s: Pitchfork Media ranked it #29 in their list 100 Greatest Albums of the 1990s,[2] and the song "Trailer Trash" #63 in their list of the 200 Greatest Songs of the decade.[3] Spin ranked it #59 in their list the 100 Greatest Albums, 1985–2005,[4] and Entertainment Weekly included the album in their list The Indie Rock 25.[5] The A.V. Club has described the album as the band's breakthrough recording.[6] In June 2012, Pitchfork.tv released a forty-five minute documentary on the album. The documentary included archival footage taken during live performances and original recording/mix sessions.[7]

The album was reissued on CD and vinyl by Isaac Brock's Glacial Pace record label in 2014 along with This Is A Long Drive For Someone With Nothing To Think About.

The two towers pictured on the album's cover are The Westin Seattle.

Track listing

All songs written and composed by Modest Mouse. 

No. Title Length
1. "Teeth like God's Shoeshine"   6:53
2. "Heart Cooks Brain"   4:03
3. "Convenient Parking"   4:08
4. "Lounge (Closing Time)"   7:03
5. "Jesus Christ Was an Only Child"   2:36
6. "Doin' the Cockroach"   4:18
7. "Cowboy Dan"   6:14
8. "Trailer Trash"   5:49
9. "Out of Gas"   2:31
10. "Long Distance Drunk"   3:42
11. "Shit Luck"   2:22
12. "Truckers Atlas"   10:57
13. "Polar Opposites"   3:29
14. "Bankrupt on Selling"   2:53
15. "Styrofoam Boots/It's All Nice on Ice, Alright"   6:53

Vinyl edition

The double-vinyl edition released on Up Records includes an extra track, "Baby Blue Sedan", and a slightly re-ordered track listing. Rather than having a gatefold cover to house both records, or putting both records in a single cover, the double-vinyl release was shipped in two different covers. The 2014 vinyl reissue on Glacial Pace contains the same track listing and two-cover configuration.

Side one
No. Title Length
1. "Teeth like God's Shoeshine"   6:53
2. "Heart Cooks Brain"   4:03
3. "Convenient Parking"   4:08
4. "Baby Blue Sedan"   4:04
Side two
No. Title Length
1. "Doin' the Cockroach"   4:18
2. "Cowboy Dan"   4:18
3. "Trailer Trash"   5:49
4. "Jesus Christ Was an Only Child"   2:36
Side three
No. Title Length
1. "Out of Gas"   2:31
2. "Long Distance Drunk"   3:42
3. "Shit Luck"   2:22
4. "Truckers Atlas"   10:57
Side four
No. Title Length
1. "Polar Opposites"   3:29
2. "Bankrupt on Selling"   2:53
3. "Lounge (Closing Time)"   7:03
4. "Styrofoam Boots/It's All Nice on Ice, Alright"   6:53

Personnel

Modest Mouse

Additional musicians

Additional personnel

Dedications

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Robert Christgau Consumer Guide
  2. ↑ "Pitchfork Media Top 100 Albums of the 1990s, page 8.". Retrieved 2010-10-21.
  3. ↑ "Pitchfork Staff Lists: The Top 200 Tracks of the 1990s: 20-1.". Retrieved 2010-10-01.
  4. ↑ "Spin's 100 Greatest Albums, 1985-2005". Retrieved 2010-10-21.
  5. ↑ "Entertainment Weekly, The Indie Rock 25.". Retrieved 2010-10-22.
  6. ↑ "It Was 10 Years Ago Today: 18 Reasons 1997 Might Be The Next 1967.". Retrieved 2010-10-21.
  7. ↑ "Pitchfork.tv Presents Documentary on Modest Mouse's The Lonesome Crowded West". Pitchforkmedia. 2012-06-18. Retrieved 2013-02-19.