Dinosaur (Dinosaur Jr. album)
Dinosaur is the debut studio album by the alternative rock band Dinosaur Jr.[5] It was released in 1985 on Homestead Records.[6] The album exhibits a folkier side of the band than on future releases, but some of the tracks on the album showed off a much heavier, more hardcore punk-based side to the band in songs such as "Does it Float", "Mountain Man" and "Bulbs of Passion."
| Dinosaur | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
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| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | July 16, 1985 | |||
| Recorded | "At Chris Dixon's house" | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | 40:25 | |||
| Label | Homestead | |||
| Producer | Self-Produced | |||
| Dinosaur Jr. chronology | ||||
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| Singles from Dinosaur | ||||
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| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [2] |
| Entertainment Weekly | B[3] |
| Pitchfork Media | 6.2/10[4] |
The album was originally released when the band was still known simply as Dinosaur, before a lawsuit forced the name change to Dinosaur Jr. Therefore, it was originally a self-titled album, but subsequent issues kept the Dinosaur title.
Reception
Critical reception of the album was mixed to positive. In a retrospective review for AllMusic, Stephen Thomas Erlewine gave the albums 3 stars out of a possible 5, describing Dinosaur as having a few standout songs but overall as "impressive, but uneven" due to the band's struggling to integrate hardcore punk, hard rock with touches of experimental music.[2] Pitchfork Media ranked the album at 6.2 out of 10, describing it as "a fucking mess" with overlong songs drawing on too many styles to be consistent.[4]
Track listing
All songs written by J Mascis.
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Forget the Swan" | 5:09 |
| 2. | "Cats in a Bowl" | 3:35 |
| 3. | "The Leper" | 4:04 |
| 4. | "Does It Float" | 3:18 |
| 5. | "Pointless" | 2:46 |
| 6. | "Repulsion" | 3:04 |
| 7. | "Gargoyle" | 2:11 |
| 8. | "Severed Lips" | 4:02 |
| 9. | "Mountain Man" | 3:28 |
| 10. | "Quest" | 4:27 |
| 11. | "Bulbs of Passion" | 4:13 |
| Total length: | 40:25 | |
"Bulbs of Passion" was not featured on the original vinyl LP; it was a b-side to the "Repulsion" single. Subsequent reissues on cassette and compact disc featured it as the last song. The 2005 reissue on Merge Records placed "Bulbs of Passion" as the first track at J Mascis' request. "Yeah, I asked for that," J recalls, "because [that song] gave our new direction - it felt like we were our own sound."[7] Also featured was a 1987 live performance of "Does It Float" as a bonus track to close out the album.
Personnel
- Dinosaur Jr.
- J Mascis - vocals, guitar, tom tom, cymbal, big muff
- Lou Barlow - bass, vocals, synthesizer (credited as casio)
- Murph - drums, vocals, synthesizer (credited as casio)
Additional Personnel
- Chris Dixon and Glen - engineering
- Jason Talerman - photography
- Maura Jasper - cover art
- Lou Barlow - back cover art
References
- Pitchfork Staff (September 10, 2018). "The 200 Best Albums of the 1980s". Pitchfork. Retrieved April 25, 2023.
Compared to the scatterbrained cowpunk goth of their 1985 self-titled debut...
- Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. Dinosaur at AllMusic. Retrieved August 31, 2011.
- Sinclair, Tom (April 11, 2005). "EW reviews the latest album reissues". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved April 30, 2018.
- Harvell, Jess (April 7, 2005). "Dinosaur Jr.: Dinosaur / You're Living All Over Me / Bug: Pitchfork review". Pitchfork. Retrieved May 7, 2021.
- Trammell, Matthew (26 November 2015). "Three Decades of "Dinosaur"". The New Yorker.
- "Dinosaur".
- Attfield, Nicholas William James. You're Living All over Me. New York: Continuum, 2011. Print.