Painful (album)

Painful is the sixth studio album by American indie rock band Yo La Tengo, released in 1993 by record label Matador, their first for the label.

Painful
Studio album by
Yo La Tengo
ReleasedOctober 5, 1993
Recorded1993
Genre
Length48:36
LabelMatador
Producer
  • Fred Brockman
  • Roger Moutenot
Yo La Tengo chronology
May I Sing with Me
(1992)		 Painful
(1993)		 Electr-O-Pura
(1995)
Singles from Painful
  1. "Big Day Coming"
    Released: 30 September 1993
  2. "From a Motel 6"
    Released: 7 January 1994
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[3]
Chicago Tribune[4]
Christgau's Consumer GuideA−[5]
Entertainment WeeklyB+[6]
Mojo[7]
NME8/10[8]
Pitchfork9.6/10[9]
Q[10]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide[11]
Spin Alternative Record Guide9/10[12]

Content

The album marked a creative shift from Yo La Tengo's previous work, blending atmospheric and ambient sounds with their famous noise jams. Painful features a much more melody-driven Yo La Tengo in its hazy, dream-like songwriting.

Two versions of the track "Big Day Coming" are present on the album and display the range of musical stylings Yo La Tengo works with; the first version features a simple organ melody accompanied by a soft bass counterpoint and Kaplan's guitar feedback echoing in the background, while the second version is a much more straightforward, shoegaze style with an accompanying organ solo towards the latter part of the song.

Release

On 2 December 2014, the album was reissued with bonus material as Extra Painful, available on double CD, double vinyl and as a digital download.[13]

Critical reception

In recent years, Painful has become regarded as a significant step for Yo La Tengo in their discography. In a biography of the band, AllMusic's Mark Deming dubbed it "their first masterpiece", seeing it push them "in a multitude of new directions, significantly expanding [their] palette of sounds and textures."[14] Reflecting on it in a 20th anniversary review, Spectrum Culture's Rodger Coleman called it "revelatory, ageless and sublime." He saw it as the album "where they first came together as a real band," as well as showing "a substantial refinement of sound and approach."[15]

Track listing
No.TitleWriter(s)VocalsLength
1."Big Day Coming"
  • Ira Kaplan
Kaplan7:04
2."From a Motel 6"
  • Ira Kaplan
  • Georgia Hubley
  • Hubley
  • Kaplan
4:08
3."Double Dare"
  • Ira Kaplan
Kaplan3:28
4."Superstar-Watcher"
  • Yo La Tengo
 1:42
5."Nowhere Near"
  • Georgia Hubley
Hubley6:01
6."Sudden Organ"
  • Ira Kaplan
Kaplan4:42
7."A Worrying Thing"
  • Ira Kaplan
Kaplan2:53
8."I Was the Fool Beside You for Too Long"
  • Yo La Tengo
Kaplan5:04
9."The Whole of the Law"
  • Hubley
  • Kaplan
2:19
10."Big Day Coming"
  • Ira Kaplan
Kaplan4:14
11."I Heard You Looking"
  • Yo La Tengo
 7:01
Extra Painful bonus disc
No.TitleLength
1."Nowhere Near" (demo)7:14
2."From A Motel 6" (live acoustic)3:44
3."Tunnel Vision" (unreleased instrumental demo)1:43
4."Sudden Organ" (demo)7:35
5."Smart Window" (unreleased Painful session)3:16
6."Big Day Coming" (live acoustic)3:10
7."Slow Learner" (unreleased demo)6:38
8."Double Dare" (demo)3:24
9."A Worrying Thing" (demo)2:57
10."I Heard You Looking" (live)9:17
Extra Painful bonus downloadable additional tracks
No.TitleLength
1."Double Dare (Sominextraction)" (live, CBGB, 1/31/92)5:41
2."What She Wants" (live, House Of Music, West Orange)2:54
3."Ashes On The Ground" (live, SIR, 9/29/93))5:14
4."Nutricia" (recorded At Snack Time by Fred Brockman)5:04
5."For Shame Of Doing Wrong (Slide Version)" (live, House Of Music, West Orange)4:37
6."Superstar Watcher" (recorded At Snack Time by Fred Brockman)1:45
7."Big Day Coming" (live, Reckless Records, 4/26/92)19:02
8."I Was The Fool Beside You For Too Long" (live , SIR, 9/29/93)4:43
9."Shaker" (live, The Batschkapp, Frankfurt, 1/3/94)3:07
10."Artificial Heart" (live, Shank Hall, 5/11/93)2:39
11."Whole Of The Law Loops" (Painful Sessions, Water Music & James Apartment 1992)2:45
12."Nowhere Near" (live, Lounge Ax, Chicago 11/13/93)6:04
13."Sleeping Pill" (excerpt From "Ian Mackaye", Room Temperature, Brooklyn 2/20/93)2:12
14."Big Day Coming" (live, SIR, 9/29/93)3:45
15."Sudden Organ" (live, SIR, 9/29/93)7:04
Shaker 7" reissue
No.TitleLength
1."Shaker" 
2."For Shame Of Doing Wrong" (8-Track Version - the CD single contained a different version which is on the download coupon) 
Notes
  • An exact reproduction of the original single Shaker 7" came with the vinyl edition.
  • 15 additional bonus tracks were available for download

Personnel

References
  1. "The Top 25 College Radio Albums of All Time". CMJ New Music Report. Vol. 74, no. 5. CMJ Network, Inc. January 6, 2003. p. 20. Retrieved July 21, 2022.
  2. Ankeny, Jason. "Yo La Tengo – Biography". AllMusic. Retrieved May 11, 2016.
  3. Deming, Mark. "Painful – Yo La Tengo". AllMusic. Retrieved March 27, 2015.
  4. Kot, Greg (November 11, 1993). "Melody Lingers On". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved October 12, 2016.
  5. Christgau, Robert (2000). "Yo La Tengo: Painful". Christgau's Consumer Guide: Albums of the '90s. St. Martin's Griffin. ISBN 0-312-24560-2. Retrieved March 27, 2015.
  6. "Yo La Tengo: Painful". Entertainment Weekly. October 8, 1993. p. 54.
  7. Chick, Stevie (February 2015). "Yo La Tengo: Extra Painful". Mojo. No. 255. p. 102.
  8. "Yo La Tengo: Painful". NME. November 6, 1993. p. 29.
  9. Berman, Stuart (December 2, 2014). "Yo La Tengo: Extra Painful". Pitchfork. Retrieved March 27, 2015.
  10. "Yo La Tengo: Extra Painful". Q. No. 342. January 2015. p. 139.
  11. Sheffield, Rob (2004). "Yo La Tengo". In Brackett, Nathan; Hoard, Christian (eds.). The New Rolling Stone Album Guide (4th ed.). Simon & Schuster. pp. 896–97. ISBN 0-7432-0169-8.
  12. Sheffield, Rob (1995). "Yo La Tengo". In Weisbard, Eric; Marks, Craig (eds.). Spin Alternative Record Guide. Vintage Books. pp. 443–44. ISBN 0-679-75574-8.
  13. Cosloy, Gerard (21 October 2014). "Yo La Tengo > Coming December 2 : Yo La Tengo's 'Extra Painful' 2XLP / 2XCD". Matador Records. Retrieved December 9, 2014.
  14. Deming, Mark. "Yo La Tengo Biography, Songs & Albums". AllMusic. Retrieved August 20, 2023.
  15. Coleman, Rodger (March 27, 2013). "Yo La Tengo: Painful | 20 Years Later". Spectrum Culture. Retrieved August 20, 2023.


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