The Tenement Year
The Tenement Year is the sixth studio album by American rock band Pere Ubu, and their first album after reuniting following their 1982 break-up. 'Classic lineup' members Tony Maimone and Allen Ravenstine, along with fellow Cleveland scenester Jim Jones and Henry Cow percussionist Chris Cutler found themselves playing with David Thomas for his 1987 album Blame the Messenger, and, discovering they sounded much like Pere Ubu, began incorporating a few Ubu numbers while touring for that album. Eventually, an official reunion was pursued, original drummer Scott Krauss was contacted, and thus the new lineup was completed and the old mantle assumed. The Tenement Year found the group veering in a loose, freewheeling, and decidedly more pop-oriented direction than in the past, though the pop leanings would become even more pronounced on subsequent albums.
The Tenement Year | ||||
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Studio album by | ||||
Released | March 1988 | |||
Genre | Alternative rock | |||
Label | Fontana (UK) Enigma (US) | |||
Producer | Paul Hamann | |||
Pere Ubu chronology | ||||
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Review scores | |
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Source | Rating |
AllMusic | [1] |
Chicago Sun-Times | [2] |
Encyclopedia of Popular Music | [3] |
Rolling Stone | [4] |
The Rolling Stone Album Guide | [5] |
Spin Alternative Record Guide | 7/10[6] |
The Village Voice | A[7] |
After being out-of-print for many years, a reissue was announced in early 2007.[8]
Track listing
- "Something's Gotta Give" – 5:13
- "George Had a Hat" – 4:02
- "Talk to Me" – 3:28
- "Busman's Honeymoon" – 4:35
- "Say Goodbye" – 4:58
- "Universal Vibration" – 2:43
- "Miss You" – 4:21
- "Dream the Moon" – 3:25
- "Rhythm King" – 4:26
- "The Hollow Earth" – 4:15
- "We Have the Technology" – 3:03
Personnel
- Pere Ubu
- David Thomas – vocals, trombone, melodeon, spike
- Jim Jones – guitar, backing vocals
- Allen Ravenstine – EML synthesizer, sax, backing vocals
- Tony Maimone – bass, backing vocals
- Chris Cutler – drums, percussion, noises
- Scott Krauss – drums
- Additional personnel
- John Kirkpatrick – melodeon on "Miss You" and "Busman's Honeymoon"
References
- Anderson, Rick. "The Tenement Year – Pere Ubu". AllMusic. Retrieved March 19, 2016.
- DeRogatis, Jim (May 30, 1993). "The Best of Pere Ubu on CD". Chicago Sun-Times. Archived from the original on March 12, 2017. Retrieved March 12, 2017.
- Larkin, Colin (2011). The Encyclopedia of Popular Music (5th concise ed.). Omnibus Press. ISBN 0-85712-595-8.
- Hochman, Steve (September 22, 1988). "Pere Ubu: The Tenement Year". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on April 30, 2009. Retrieved March 19, 2016.
- Coleman, Mark; Matos, Michaelangelo (2004). "Pere Ubu". In Brackett, Nathan; Hoard, Christian (eds.). The New Rolling Stone Album Guide (4th ed.). Simon & Schuster. pp. 626–27. ISBN 0-7432-0169-8.
- Weisbard, Eric; Marks, Craig, eds. (1995). Spin Alternative Record Guide. Vintage Books. ISBN 0-679-75574-8.
- Christgau, Robert (July 26, 1988). "Christgau's Consumer Guide". The Village Voice. Retrieved March 19, 2016.
- http://www.ubuprojex.net/ty.html