Mogwai Young Team

Mogwai Young Team (also known as Young Team) is the debut studio album by Scottish post-rock band Mogwai. Produced by Paul Savage and Andy Miller, the album was released on 21 October 1997 through the Chemikal Underground record label.

Mogwai Young Team
Studio album by
Mogwai
Released21 October 1997 (1997-10-21)
RecordedSummer 1997
StudioMCM Studios (Hamilton, Scotland)
GenrePost-rock, noise rock, instrumental rock
Length64:31
LabelChemikal Underground
Producer
Mogwai chronology
4 Satin
(1997)		 Mogwai Young Team
(1997)		 Kicking a Dead Pig
(1998)

Mogwai Young Team was re-released in May 2008 on Chemikal Underground, packaged as a remaster of the original album with a second disc containing rare tracks from the Young Team sessions and live recordings. Of the second disc, only "Young Face Gone Wrong" was previously unreleased; the following three tracks had earlier appeared on various compilation albums and other releases.

Overview

Mogwai Young Team was recorded in summer 1997 at MCM Studios (now known as Gargleblast Studios) in Hamilton, Scotland, and was produced by Paul Savage and Andy Miller. It is largely instrumental, with one notable exception ("R U Still in 2 It", which features vocals from Aidan Moffat of Arab Strap), although many songs feature recordings of various individuals speaking, whether over the phone ("Tracy"), reading ("Yes! I Am a Long Way from Home"), or just rambling ("Katrien").[1] It features limited instrumentation, consisting mainly of guitar, bass and drums, although other instruments can sometimes be heard throughout the album, such as glockenspiel ("Tracy"), piano ("Radar Maker", "With Portfolio", "A Cheery Wave from Stranded Youngsters") and flute ("Mogwai Fear Satan"). The band had only written three of the songs before they entered the studio.[2]

The cover, a photo taken and inverted by Brendan O'Hare, is of a Fuji Bank branch (since acquired by Mizuho Financial Group) located in Shibuya, Tokyo, Japan.[3] The "MYT" logo found inside the cover was created by Adam Piggot and is based on a popular mark used by young gangs in Glasgow, Scotland; a "Young Team" is specific to an area: "Sighthill Young Team", for example.

The band took up pseudonyms for the liner notes on the album. Stuart Braithwaite was dubbed pLasmatroN. John Cummings took the nickname Cpt. Meat after his obsession for eating chops. Martin Bulloch adopted the alias bionic because of his heart pacemaker. Dominic Aitchison chose the name DEMONIC because of his childhood fear and nightmares of Lucifer, which would also inspire the album's end song Mogwai Fear Satan. Brendan O'Hare, who was the oldest of the group by six years at 27 and had already been in several recording bands, was named +the relic+.

Reception
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[4]
Encyclopedia of Popular Music[5]
The Guardian[6]
NME9/10[7]
Pitchfork9.7/10 (1999)[8]
9.2/10 (2008)[9]
PopMatters9/10[10]
Record Collector[11]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide[12]

Mogwai Young Team peaked at number 75 on the UK Albums Chart.[13] The album sold more than 60,000 copies in the United Kingdom.[14]

In 2003, Mogwai Young Team was listed at number 97 on Pitchfork's Top 100 Albums of the 1990s.[15]

In 2013, Mogwai Young Team was ranked number 177 on NME's Greatest Albums of All Time list.[16]

Track listing
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Yes! I Am a Long Way from Home"Dominic Aitchison5:57
2."Like Herod"
11:41
3."Katrien"
  • Aitchison
  • Braithwaite
5:24
4."Radar Maker"Cummings1:35
5."Tracy"
  • Aitchison
  • Braithwaite
  • Cummings
7:19
6."Summer (Priority Version)"
  • Aitchison
  • Braithwaite
3:28
7."With Portfolio"
3:10
8."R U Still in 2 It"
7:20
9."A Cheery Wave from Stranded Youngsters"
  • Braithwaite
  • Bulloch
2:18
10."Mogwai Fear Satan"
  • Aitchison
  • Braithwaite
  • Bulloch
16:19
Total length:64:31
Re-release bonus disc
No.TitleLength
1."Young Face Gone Wrong" (outtake from Young Team recording sessions)2:58
2."I Don't Know What to Say" (outtake from Young Team recording sessions, originally released on NME's Radio 1 Sound City CD, 1998)1:15
3."I Can't Remember" (originally released on Glasgow EP compilation 7" on 'Plastic Cowboy' label, 1998)3:14
4."Honey" (cover, originally released on A Tribute to Spacemen 3 CD on 'Rocket Girl' label, 1998)4:18
5."Katrien" (live)5:31
6."R U Still in 2 It" (live)8:01
7."Like Herod" (live)7:53
8."Summer (Priority)" (live)2:59
9."Mogwai Fear Satan" (live)10:26

Personnel

Mogwai

Additional musicians

Production

Artwork and design

  • Keith Cameron – liner notes (for 2008 deluxe reissue)
  • Brendan O'Hare – cover photography
  • Neale Smith – photography

Charts
1997 chart performance for Mogwai Young Team
Chart (1997) Peak
position
Scottish Albums (OCC)[17] 69
UK Albums (OCC)[13] 75
UK Independent Albums (OCC)[18] 10
2023 chart performance for Mogwai Young Team
Chart (2023) Peak
position
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)[19] 169
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[20] 65
Scottish Albums (OCC)[21] 3
UK Albums (OCC)[22] 62

Certifications
Region CertificationCertified units/sales
United Kingdom (BPI)[23]
2023 release 		Silver 60,000‡

‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

Release history
Country Release date Record label Format Catalogue #
United States 21 October 1997 Jetset CD TWA07CD
2LP TWA07
United Kingdom 27 October 1997 Chemikal Underground CD CHEM018CD
2LP CHEM018
Australia/New Zealand 28 October 1997 Spunk CD URA013
United Kingdom 26 May 2008 Chemikal Underground 2CD reissue CHEM106CD
4-LP box set CHEM106
Worldwide 10 February 2023 Chemikal Underground CD (remastered) CHEM262CD
Coloured 2LP (remastered) CHEM262

Notes
  1. "Bright light ! An unofficial mogwai web site". Archived from the original on 19 December 2016. Retrieved 1 February 2010.
  2. Wolk, Douglas (May 1999). "Our Gang". CMJ New Music Monthly. Retrieved 17 April 2010.
  3. 1 Chome-20-22 Ebisu, Shibuya-ku, Tōkyō-to 150-0013, Japan
  4. Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "Young Team – Mogwai". AllMusic. Retrieved 2 December 2010.
  5. Larkin, Colin (2009). "Mogwai". The Encyclopedia of Popular Music (4th ed.). Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-972636-3. Retrieved 5 March 2017.
  6. Sullivan, Caroline (31 October 1997). "Mogwai: Mogwai Young Team (Chemikal Underground)". The Guardian.
  7. Mulvey, John (25 October 1997). "Mogwai – Mogwai Young Team". NME. Archived from the original on 17 August 2000. Retrieved 6 April 2016.
  8. Mirov, Nick (10 October 1999). "Mogwai: Young Team". Pitchfork. Archived from the original on 10 October 1999. Retrieved 3 March 2021.
  9. Berman, Stuart (16 June 2008). "Mogwai: Young Team [Deluxe Edition]". Pitchfork. Retrieved 24 February 2019.
  10. Mathers, Ian (16 July 2008). "Mogwai: Young Team". PopMatters. Retrieved 5 March 2017.
  11. Dosanjh, Ash (July 2008). "Mogwai – Young Team: Deluxe Edition". Record Collector (351). Retrieved 5 March 2017.
  12. Sheffield, Rob (2004). "Mogwai". In Brackett, Nathan; Hoard, Christian (eds.). The New Rolling Stone Album Guide (4th ed.). Simon & Schuster. p. 551. ISBN 0-7432-0169-8.
  13. "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 18 June 2018.
  14. Simmonds, Jeremy (2003). "Mogwai". In Buckley, Peter (ed.). The Rough Guide to Rock. Rough Guides. pp. 684–6. ISBN 978-1-84353-105-0.
  15. "Top 100 Albums of the 1990s". Pitchfork. 17 November 2003. Archived from the original on 17 February 2009. Retrieved 18 June 2018.
  16. "The 500 Greatest Albums Of All Time: 200-101". NME. 25 October 2013. Retrieved 8 April 2023.
  17. "Official Scottish Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 18 June 2018.
  18. "Official Independent Albums Chart Top 50". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 17 July 2018.
  19. "Ultratop.be – Mogwai – Mogwai Young Team" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 19 February 2023.
  20. "Offiziellecharts.de – Mogwai – Mogwai Young Team" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved 17 February 2023.
  21. "Official Scottish Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 18 February 2023.
  22. "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 17 February 2023.
  23. "British album certifications – Mogwai – Young Team". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 24 February 2023.
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