- Audio CD (19 Sep 2011)
- Number of Discs: 2
- Format: Double CD, Limited Edition
- Label: 4AD
- ASIN: B005A0NZEI
- Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 59,673 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)
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Product Description
Review
In her memoir, Paradoxical Undressing, Throwing Muses lead singer and songwriter Kristin Hersh describes bands that are like candy, "fun and bad for you in a way that makes you feel good". Hers, by contrast, is "spinach, I guess. We're ragged and bitter. But I swear to god, we're good for you."
Formed in Providence, Rhode Island in the early 1980s, Throwing Muses were first US band signed by 4AD. They were one of the most inventive bands of the late-80s boom in 'college' or 'alternative' rock - but those pigeonholes fail to convey anything of their concise, mercurial, hook-laden psychodramas.
Given the band's attitude towards conventional music business manoeuvres - somewhere between distrust and disgust - it's no surprise that Anthology isn't a traditional greatest hits album. Nearly all the band's best known songs - Dizzy, Counting Backwards, Not Too Soon, Firepile - are absent, the tracklist representing personal favourites. Just one song features from their breakthrough album, 1991's The Real Ramona.
Dizzy's absence is no surprise. The unrepresentatively goofy song, from the band's least impressive album, 1990's Hunkpapa, is their Shiny Happy People. As Anthology shows, this is a band at its best when marrying the associative tangle of Hersh's often striking lyrics ("I sing about dead rabbits and blow jobs," in her self-deprecating analysis) to shifting time patterns, jangling dissonance, and sudden rays of melody. Hersh's stepsister Tanya Donnelly, who left the band in 1991 to join the Breeders and later form Belly, wrote some great Throwing Muses songs, but their conventionality always sat awkwardly beside Hersh's work.
Throwing Muses are an island band. Water imagery recurs, and experiencing their best work is much like being turned by a wave; a big roller that leaves you, battered and elated, a good distance from where you started. The number of these moments on their first few albums and EPs, from 1986's self-titled debut through to The Fat Skier EP and 1988's House Tornado, is astonishing. This period dominates half of Anthology, and represents the high point of a nearly constantly impressive body of work.
There are occasional flashes of familiarity, usually from Throwing Muses' contemporaries: the first section of Marriage Tree replicates the knotty intricacy of Guided By Voices; traces of Jane's Addiction at their most incantatory attach to A Feeling; and Two Step's lugubrious surf guitar nods towards Pixies, who played support slots at Throwing Muses shows on the Boston club scene. These atypical moments only emphasise the unique shapes of this music. Most of the time, from the banshee screeches that claw through the aching ballad Hate My Way to the nervy energy of Fish, Throwing Muses are their own and only context. Hersh once told a friend, "I'd rather be good in private than bad in public". Here is a powerful public reminder of just how good her band's somewhat neglected legacy is.
--Chris Power
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
5 of 5 people found the following review helpful
Format:Audio CD
"Here I am, what a loser, waiting for years to go by" from Call Me, off their debut, pretty well sums up Throwing Muses career. Always on the sidelines, overshadowed by their more radio friendly peers. Embraced by a fanatical fanbase, who have funded the bands recording time for a new album in 2012, and credited as an inspiration by the likes of Radiohead, Throwing Muses are an enigma.
This compilation picks over the 25 years since the original s/t debut, not in any chronological order, but simply by skittering across the years, plucking songs from all their records, avoiding the obvious singles (which were often released to placate their US label, blind to their true worth, trying to sell them as a cute girl band) This is a stroke of genius by the band, as it showcases the sheer consistency and brilliance of the songs over a sustained period. Tracks from their last studio album in 2003, sit alongside those from the 1986 debut and the mid nineties college classic, University, and if you can tell which are which, you already know this band.
Like their former labelmates, Pixies, the unique songwriting, relentless energy and pure unadulterated quality shine through. These remastered versions lift the originals to a new height revealing how well written and performed the songs are.
Honestly, nobody on earth sound like Throwing Muses, especially on their first three or four releases. They stand up against anything the alternative scene can offer, and in most cases shine an embarassingly bright light on the lacklustre efforts of todays "indie" scenesters.
Long overdue the recognitition they deserve, grab this while you can, because if one thing is certain, it won't be available in any quantity for long. This is an excellent introduction to the band, sampling their entire career, but don't expect instant gratification. Anything this good makes you work for it, and as always , the effort is rewarded as you will have discovered THE most underated band on the planet. 25 years, still vibrant, still vital.
This compilation picks over the 25 years since the original s/t debut, not in any chronological order, but simply by skittering across the years, plucking songs from all their records, avoiding the obvious singles (which were often released to placate their US label, blind to their true worth, trying to sell them as a cute girl band) This is a stroke of genius by the band, as it showcases the sheer consistency and brilliance of the songs over a sustained period. Tracks from their last studio album in 2003, sit alongside those from the 1986 debut and the mid nineties college classic, University, and if you can tell which are which, you already know this band.
Like their former labelmates, Pixies, the unique songwriting, relentless energy and pure unadulterated quality shine through. These remastered versions lift the originals to a new height revealing how well written and performed the songs are.
Honestly, nobody on earth sound like Throwing Muses, especially on their first three or four releases. They stand up against anything the alternative scene can offer, and in most cases shine an embarassingly bright light on the lacklustre efforts of todays "indie" scenesters.
Long overdue the recognitition they deserve, grab this while you can, because if one thing is certain, it won't be available in any quantity for long. This is an excellent introduction to the band, sampling their entire career, but don't expect instant gratification. Anything this good makes you work for it, and as always , the effort is rewarded as you will have discovered THE most underated band on the planet. 25 years, still vibrant, still vital.
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
Format:Audio CD
YOU'VE probably never heard of Throwing Muses and are wondering if you should take a chance on this - trust me, it's money well spent. Started at age 14 by Kristin Hersh (who you *might* know), the Muses were one of the seminal bands of the 80s/90s, and recently reformed.
However, this whole package is amazing, from the first disc containing tracks the band chose themselves, to the second disc full of rare b-sides, the essays, artwork, book and case. It's just a brilliant piece of work.
Fans will already have this (and if not, buy it now) but others should also give it a go because Throwing Muses deserve to be heard by a wider audience.
However, this whole package is amazing, from the first disc containing tracks the band chose themselves, to the second disc full of rare b-sides, the essays, artwork, book and case. It's just a brilliant piece of work.
Fans will already have this (and if not, buy it now) but others should also give it a go because Throwing Muses deserve to be heard by a wider audience.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
Format:Audio CD
"Here I am, what a loser, waiting for years to go by" from Call Me, off their debut, pretty well sums up Throwing Muses career. Always on the sidelines, overshadowed by their more radio friendly peers. Embraced by a fanatical fanbase, who have funded the bands recording time for a new album in 2012, and credited as an inspiration by the likes of Radiohead, Throwing Muses are an enigma.
This compilation picks over the 25 years since the original s/t debut, not in any chronological order, but simply by skittering across the years, plucking songs from all their records, avoiding the obvious singles (which were often released to placate their US label, blind to their true worth, trying to sell them as a cute girl band) This is a stroke of genius by the band, as it showcases the sheer consistency and brilliance of the songs over a sustained period. Tracks from their last studio album in 2003, sit alongside those from the 1986 debut and the mid nineties college classic, University, and if you can tell which are which, you already know this band.
Like their former labelmates, Pixies, the unique songwriting, relentless energy and pure unadulterated quality shine through. These remastered versions lift the originals to a new height revealing how well written and performed the songs are.
Honestly, nobody on earth sound like Throwing Muses, especially on their first three or four releases. They stand up against anything the alternative scene can offer, and in most cases shine an embarassingly bright light on the lacklustre efforts of todays "indie" scenesters.
Long overdue the recognitition they deserve, grab this while you can, because if one thing is certain, it won't be available in any quantity for long. This is an excellent introduction to the band, sampling their entire career, but don't expect instant gratification. Anything this good makes you work for it, and as always , the effort is rewarded as you will have discovered THE most underated band on the planet. 25 years, still vibrant, still vital.
Anthology (Deluxe Book)
This compilation picks over the 25 years since the original s/t debut, not in any chronological order, but simply by skittering across the years, plucking songs from all their records, avoiding the obvious singles (which were often released to placate their US label, blind to their true worth, trying to sell them as a cute girl band) This is a stroke of genius by the band, as it showcases the sheer consistency and brilliance of the songs over a sustained period. Tracks from their last studio album in 2003, sit alongside those from the 1986 debut and the mid nineties college classic, University, and if you can tell which are which, you already know this band.
Like their former labelmates, Pixies, the unique songwriting, relentless energy and pure unadulterated quality shine through. These remastered versions lift the originals to a new height revealing how well written and performed the songs are.
Honestly, nobody on earth sound like Throwing Muses, especially on their first three or four releases. They stand up against anything the alternative scene can offer, and in most cases shine an embarassingly bright light on the lacklustre efforts of todays "indie" scenesters.
Long overdue the recognitition they deserve, grab this while you can, because if one thing is certain, it won't be available in any quantity for long. This is an excellent introduction to the band, sampling their entire career, but don't expect instant gratification. Anything this good makes you work for it, and as always , the effort is rewarded as you will have discovered THE most underated band on the planet. 25 years, still vibrant, still vital.
Anthology (Deluxe Book)
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