Crooked Rain, Crooked Rain

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For the 1996 compilation album, see Crooked Rain, Crooked Rain: LA's Desert Origins.
Crooked Rain, Crooked Rain
Studio album by
Pavement
ReleasedFebruary 14, 1994
RecordedAugust–September 1993
Studio
Genre
Length42:16
LabelMatador
ProducerPavement
Pavement chronology
Westing (By Musket and Sextant)
(1993) 		Crooked Rain, Crooked Rain
(1994) 		Wowee Zowee
(1995)
Singles from Crooked Rain, Crooked Rain
  1. "Cut Your Hair"
    Released: February 1994
  2. "Gold Soundz"
    Released: June 1994
  3. "Range Life"
    Released: January 1995

Crooked Rain, Crooked Rain is the second studio album by American indie rock band Pavement, released on February 14, 1994, by Matador Records. The album saw the band move on towards a more accessible rock sound than that of their more lo-fi debut Slanted and Enchanted and achieve moderate success with the single "Cut Your Hair". The album also saw original drummer Gary Young replaced by Steve West. It was a UK Top 20 hit upon release, although it was not so successful in the US charts.

Release[edit]

Crooked Rain, Crooked Rain was released on February 14, 1994, by Matador Records.[2] As of 2009, the album had sold about 500,000 copies.[3]

In 2004, Matador released Crooked Rain, Crooked Rain: LA's Desert Origins, a compilation containing the album in its entirety, as well outtakes and other rarities from the same era.[4]

Critical reception[edit]

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[5]
Chicago Sun-Times[6]
Entertainment WeeklyB+[7]
Los Angeles Times[8]
NME8/10[9]
Rolling Stone[10]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide[11]
Select4/5[12]
Spin Alternative Record Guide9/10[13]
The Village VoiceA[14]

AllMusic's Stephen Thomas Erlewine gave Crooked Rain a perfect 5-star rating, describing it as "the Reckoning to Slanted & Enchanted's Murmur". He concluded that the album was "a vibrant, dynamic, emotionally resonant album that stands as a touchstone of underground rock in the '90s and one of the great albums of its decade."[5] Robert Christgau of the Village Voice gave the album an A grade, describing it as "a tour de force melody wise".[14] Entertainment Weekly's David Browne gave the album a B+, writing that "Crooked Rain, Crooked Rain is just a bunch of guys dwelling on topics like skateboarding, plane crashes, girls, and mocking Stone Temple Pilots. When they set those sentiments to bumpy-road drones or a bit of a country lilt...the result has a subtle, ingratiating beauty."[7] Los Angeles Times critic Richard Cromelin gave the album 3.5 out of 4 stars. Cromelin wrote that the album contains "some of the Meat Puppets' loopiness, a Stones/Burritos folk-country resonance, and a chirpy pop tunefulness--along with enough contrary abrasiveness to keep you from getting too comfortable with them."[8]

Legacy[edit]

In 2003, the album was ranked number 210 on Rolling Stone magazine's list of the 500 greatest albums of all time, and 212 in a 2012 revised list.[15] In the 2020 update of the list, the album's rank dropped to number 434.[16] It was also ranked number 10 on their best albums of the Nineties.[17] In 2003, it was ranked number 8 on Pitchfork's list Top 100 Albums of the 1990s,[18] and in 2010, the song "Gold Soundz" was listed as number one on Pitchfork's 200 Greatest Songs of the 1990s.[19] In July 2014, Guitar World ranked Crooked Rain, Crooked Rain at number 21 in their "Superunknown: 50 Iconic Albums That Defined 1994" list.[20] The photo in the middle of the cover was taken from the March 1978 issue of National Geographic. The album was also included in the book 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die.[21]

Track listing[edit]

All tracks are written by Stephen Malkmus, except "Hit the Plane Down", which was written by Scott Kannberg

No.TitleLength
1."Silence Kid" ([note 1])3:01
2."Elevate Me Later"2:51
3."Stop Breathin"4:28
4."Cut Your Hair"3:07
5."Newark Wilder"3:53
6."Unfair"2:33
7."Gold Soundz"2:41
8."5-4=Unity"2:09
9."Range Life"4:54
10."Heaven Is a Truck"2:30
11."Hit the Plane Down"3:36
12."Fillmore Jive"6:38
Notes
  1. ^ Due to an ink splodge on the back of the original artwork, the song "Silence Kid" has become erroneously known as "Silence Kit". This misnomer persisted when designer Mark Ohe printed it onto the back of the reissue Crooked Rain, Crooked Rain: LA's Desert Origins, despite the interior artwork showing the correct name in print several times, including written in Stephen Malkmus' own handwriting.[22][23]

Personnel[edit]

Credits adapted from the album's liner notes.[24]

Pavement

Technical

Charts and certifications[edit]

See also[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b Pitchfork Staff (28 September 2022). "The 150 Best Albums of the 1990s". Pitchfork. Retrieved 26 April 2023. Pavement's decision to graft a shadow history of '60s and '70s California folk-rock and psychedelia onto the abrasive, Fall-inspired noise of their previous sound made total sense...
  2. ^ "Pavement". Matador Records. Archived from the original on 23 July 2021. Retrieved 8 August 2021.
  3. ^ "The Over/Under: Pavement". Magnet Magazine. 21 April 2009. Retrieved 7 April 2018.
  4. ^ Blashill, Pat (25 November 2004). "Crooked Rain, Crooked Rain : L.A.'s Desert Origins". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on 21 January 2021. Retrieved 22 August 2021.
  5. ^ a b Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "Crooked Rain, Crooked Rain – Pavement". AllMusic. Retrieved 2 September 2011.
  6. ^ DeRogatis, Jim (13 March 1994). "Pavement Leads Stylish Sing-Along". Chicago Sun-Times. Archived from the original on 18 November 2018. Retrieved 18 November 2015.
  7. ^ a b Browne, David (11 March 1994). "Crooked Rain, Crooked Rain". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved 18 November 2015.
  8. ^ a b Cromelin, Richard (13 February 1994). "Pavement 'Crooked Rain, Crooked Rain' Matador". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 18 November 2015.
  9. ^ "Pavement: Crooked Rain, Crooked Rain". NME. 12 February 1994. p. 39.
  10. ^ Diehl, Matt (24 February 1994). "Crooked Rain, Crooked Rain". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 18 November 2015.
  11. ^ Sheffield, Rob (2004). "Pavement". In Brackett, Nathan; Hoard, Christian (eds.). The New Rolling Stone Album Guide (4th ed.). Simon & Schuster. pp. 624–25. ISBN 0-7432-0169-8.
  12. ^ Cusack, Elaine (March 1994). "Pavement: Crooked Rain". Select. No. 45. p. 75.
  13. ^ Weisbard, Eric (1995). "Pavement". In Weisbard, Eric; Marks, Craig (eds.). Spin Alternative Record Guide. Vintage Books. p. 290. ISBN 0-679-75574-8.
  14. ^ a b Christgau, Robert (5 April 1994). "Consumer Guide". The Village Voice. Retrieved 18 November 2015.
  15. ^ "500 Greatest Albums of All Time Rolling Stone's definitive list of the 500 greatest albums of all time". Rolling Stone. 2012. Retrieved 16 September 2019.
  16. ^ "The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time". Rolling Stone. 22 September 2020. Retrieved 2 May 2021.
  17. ^ "100 Best Albums of the Nineties". Rolling Stone. 10: Pavement, 'Crooked Rain, Crooked Rain'. Retrieved 2 September 2011.
  18. ^ "Top 100 Albums of the 1990s". Pitchfork. 17 November 2003. p. 10. Archived from the original on 17 March 2009.
  19. ^ "Staff Lists: The Top 200 Tracks of the 1990s". Pitchfork. 3 September 2010. Archived from the original on 3 August 2011. Retrieved 22 September 2013.
  20. ^ "Superunknown: 50 Iconic Albums That Defined 1994". GuitarWorld.com. 14 July 2014. Archived from the original on 15 July 2014. Retrieved 14 July 2014.
  21. ^ Dimery, Robert; Lydon, Michael (23 March 2010). 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die (Revised and Updated ed.). Universe. ISBN 978-0-7893-2074-2.
  22. ^ "Silence Kit???". Retrieved 24 July 2015.
  23. ^ "Crooked Rain Crooked Rain cover".
  24. ^ Crooked Rain, Crooked Rain (CD). Pavement. Matador Records. 1994. LC 11552.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  25. ^ Ryan, Gavin (2011). Australia's Music Charts 1988–2010 (PDF ed.). Mt Martha, Victoria, Australia: Moonlight Publishing. p. 214.
  26. ^ "Offiziellecharts.de – Pavement – Crooked Rain Crooked Rain" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved September 25, 2020.
  27. ^ "charts.nz – Pavement – Crooked Rain Crooked Rain". charts.nz. Hung Medien. Retrieved 26 June 2012.[permanent dead link]
  28. ^ "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved September 25, 2020.
  29. ^ a b c d e "Pavement Chart History". Billboard. Retrieved 25 September 2020.
  30. ^ "British album certifications – Pavement – Crooked Rain Crooked Rain". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 13 November 2020.
  31. ^ "Chart Log UK: Rodney P. – The Pussycat Dolls". zobbel.de. Retrieved 26 June 2012.

External links[edit]

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