Red Medicine

Red Medicine is the fourth studio album by the American post-hardcore band Fugazi, released on June 12, 1995, by Dischord Records. It is the band's most commercially successful album, peaking at number 126 on the U.S. Billboard 200 and number 18 on the UK Albums Chart.

Red Medicine
Studio album by
Fugazi
ReleasedJune 12, 1995
RecordedJanuary–February 1995
Studio
Genre
Length43:48
LabelDischord
ProducerFugazi
Fugazi chronology
In on the Kill Taker
(1993)		 Red Medicine
(1995)		 End Hits
(1998)

Background

On Red Medicine, Fugazi began to move into more experimental styles of music, including noise punk, psychedelia ("By You") and dub ("Version").[4]

Writing and recording

The group began work on Red Medicine in 1994, after touring in support of In on the Kill Taker. The writing of the album involved several months of jam sessions and recording at Guilford House, a secluded country estate located in Guilford, Connecticut.

The album's recording sessions took place from January to February 1995 at Inner Ear Studios in Arlington, Virginia. The band worked with the engineer Don Zientara, but did not choose to work with the producer Ted Niceley again. Fugazi opted to retreat from the in-your-face production values of In on the Kill Taker and instead worked to create an ambient sound which would display greater depth. To achieve this, the band handled the production themselves and, in doing so, became more confident with in-studio experimentation.[5] This is evident in the incorporation of short, sampled segues, ("Do You Like Me", "Birthday Pony"), instruments such as the clarinet (as heard on "Version"), and alternate tunings used on songs such as "Latest Disgrace" and "By You".[4] Footage of the band both writing and recording the album can be seen in the film Instrument.

Release
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[6]
Chicago Tribune[7]
Encyclopedia of Popular Music[8]
The Great Rock Discography6/10[9]
MusicHound Rock3/5[10]
The Philadelphia Inquirer[11]
Rolling Stone[4]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide[12]
Spin7/10[13]
Uncut8/10[14]

Critical reception

The album was a critical success: Mark Kemp of Rolling Stone called the album "rock solid".[4] Andy Kellman of AllMusic wrote, "With more drive and playful goings-on, the arrangements sound much looser than on Kill Taker, while remaining just as gut-kicking and brainy."[6]

Publication Country Accolade Year Rank
Pitchfork US Top 100 Favorite Records of the 1990s 1999 64[15]
2003 42[16]
LAS Magazine US 90 Albums of the 90s 2000 25[17]
Music Underwater US Top 100 Albums 1990-2003 2004 85[17]

Tour

Fugazi embarked on an extensive worldwide tour in support of the album, performing a total of 172 dates between March 1995 and November 1996.[18][19]

Influence

Dennis Lyxzén of Refused considers Red Medicine to be his favorite Fugazi album and admitted that the band were influenced by it while recording Songs to Fan the Flames of Discontent and The Shape of Punk to Come.[20] Mike Sullivan of Russian Circles cited the album, alongside Shellac's At Action Park, as a major influence on his guitar-playing, noting that they "literally changed the way [he] looked at music".[21] John Frusciante described the album as a "masterpiece".[22] Pelican's Trevor de Brauw included Red Medicine among the 10 albums that influenced his guitar-playing, praising the harmonized guitar-leads on the track "Long Distance Runner," calling them "so sparse but...so emotionally effective. Paired with the lyrics, it packed a real wallop."[23] Travis Shettel of Piebald listed Red Medicine as one of three albums (the others being Frame and canvas by Braid and Here's Where the Strings Come In by Superchunk) that had a profound influence on their music-making, even admitting that they "stole more bits and pieces and ideas from these three albums than I would like to admit."[24]

Both Refused[25] and No Knife[26] covered "Bed for the Scraping". Red Hot Chili Peppers play "Latest Disgrace" as the introduction to "Parallel Universe" on their Live at Slane Castle video.[27]

Track listing

All songs by Guy Picciotto, Ian MacKaye, Joe Lally, and Brendan Canty.

No.TitleLead vocalsLength
1."Do You Like Me"Picciotto3:16
2."Bed for the Scraping"MacKaye2:50
3."Latest Disgrace"Picciotto3:34
4."Birthday Pony"MacKaye3:08
5."Forensic Scene"Picciotto3:05
6."Combination Lock" 3:06
7."Fell, Destroyed"Picciotto3:46
8."By You"Lally5:11
9."Version" 3:20
10."Target"Picciotto3:32
11."Back to Base"MacKaye1:45
12."Downed City"Picciotto2:53
13."Long Distance Runner"MacKaye4:17

Personnel

Technical

  • Jem Cohen – cover art, photography
  • Fugazi – cover art, mixing, photography, primary artist
  • Joey P. – photography
  • Don Zientara – engineer

Chart positions

Album
Red Medicine (1995)
Chart Position
UK Albums (OCC)[28] 18
US Billboard 200[29] 126
US Heatseekers Albums (Billboard)[30] 2

References
  1. Kellman, Andy. "Fugazi | Biography & History". AllMusic. Retrieved October 2, 2021.
  2. Jeff Terich. August 30, 2012. 10 Essential ’90s Post-Hardcore Albums. treblezine.com
  3. Law, Sam (January 12, 2021). "20 classic albums that are 20 years old in 2021". Kerrang!. Retrieved October 2, 2021.
  4. Kemp, Mark (July 13, 1995). "Red Medicine". Rolling Stone. Retrieved March 3, 2009.
  5. "Interview with Guy Picciotto of Fugazi (2001)". Morphizm. Retrieved March 19, 2009.
  6. Kellman, Andy. "Red Medicine – Fugazi". AllMusic. Retrieved March 17, 2010.
  7. Roth, Jason (July 13, 1995). "Fugazi: Red Medicine (Dischord)". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved May 8, 2017.
  8. Larkin, Colin (2011). "Fugazi". The Encyclopedia of Popular Music (5th concise ed.). Omnibus Press. ISBN 978-0-85712-595-8.
  9. Martin C. Strong (1998). The Great Rock Discography (1st ed.). Canongate Books. ISBN 978-0-86241-827-4.
  10. Gary Graff, ed. (1996). MusicHound Rock: The Essential Album Guide (1st ed.). London: Visible Ink Press. ISBN 978-0-7876-1037-1.
  11. DeLuca, Dan (July 2, 1995). "Fugazi: Red Medicine (Dischord)". The Philadelphia Inquirer.
  12. Wolk, Douglas (2004). "Fugazi". In Brackett, Nathan; Hoard, Christian (eds.). The New Rolling Stone Album Guide (4th ed.). Simon & Schuster. pp. 315–16. ISBN 0-7432-0169-8.
  13. Strauss, Neil (September 1995). "Fugazi: Red Medicine". Spin. Vol. 11, no. 6. p. 111. Retrieved May 8, 2017.
  14. "Full Disc-Losure". Uncut. April 2021. p. 79. Retrieved October 2, 2021.
  15. "Pitchfork's Top 100 Albums of the 1990s [1999] | Book awards | LibraryThing". www.librarything.com. Retrieved September 13, 2020.
  16. "Top 100 Albums of the 1990s". Pitchfork. November 17, 2003. Retrieved June 6, 2012.
  17. "Fugazi: Red Medicine". www.acclaimedmusic.net. Retrieved September 13, 2020.
  18. Lewis, Angela (May 11, 1995). "pop". The Independent. Retrieved February 16, 2020.
  19. Perlah, Jeff. Guitar World. March 2002.
  20. Bray, Ryan (June 30, 2015). "Refused's Dennis Lyxzén Revisits Fugazi's Red Medicine". Consequence.
  21. Michael (October 16, 2010). "Interviews: Russian Circles". Scene Point Blank. Retrieved July 14, 2020.
  22. Miller, Eric T. (October 1, 2004). "John Frusciante: Perfect From Now On". Magnet.
  23. Jonathan Horsley (May 23, 2019). "Pelican's Trevor de Brauw: the 10 guitar albums that blew my mind". MusicRadar. Retrieved September 13, 2020.
  24. "Piebald's Travis Shettel: A Conversation with An Accidental Gentlemen". Good People Bad Habits. August 7, 2017. Retrieved September 13, 2020.
  25. Adams, Gregory (May 28, 2015). "Refused "My War" (Black Flag cover) / "Bed for the Scraping" (Fugazi cover) (live video)". Exclaim!. Retrieved March 7, 2019.
  26. "Various - Everybody Wants Somewhere: A Tribute To Fugazi". Discogs. Retrieved March 7, 2019.
  27. "Red Hot Chili Peppers - Live At Slane Castle". Discogs. Retrieved March 7, 2019.
  28. "Fugazi | Artist | Official Charts". UK Albums Chart. Retrieved September 13, 2020.
  29. "Fugazi Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved September 13, 2020.
  30. "Fugazi Chart History (Heatseekers Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved September 13, 2020.
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