Beyond the Valley of 1984
Encyclopedia
Beyond the Valley of 1984 is the second album by punk-metal band The Plasmatics
.
After the success of their first album and tour, the band began recording their follow-up album, Beyond the Valley of 1984. After the amount of time and money that was put into their last album, Bruce Kirkland at Stiff Records
agreed to put up the funds as long as Rod produced and the album was done in less than 3 weeks at a quarter of the cost of the first.
Given the recent turn of events, Rod proposed the name Beyond the Valley of 1984 and the tour, in 1981, became "The 1984 World Tour". In between touring drummers, Alice Cooper's
Neal Smith was brought in to do the drumming for the record, and the album, with its Orwellian
and apocalyptic theme and songs such as "Masterplan", "Pig is a Pig", and "Sex Junkie", was released a few months later.
The album was recorded at The Ranch in New York City, a studio owned by John Andrew "Andy" Parks, a singer-songwriter from Texas. A promotional tape exists with Andy doing the voice-over in an over-the-top Texan accent. The Ranch was equipped with a modified MCI JH-416 console, a 3M M-79 24-track and an Ampex
ATR-102
1/4-inch two-track. Engineer Eddie Ciletti was brought in during the second phase to overdub Guitars, vocals, electric chain saw and mix.
Mixing was "unconventional," for a punk record due to rather "strict" parameters established by Rod. The record would not have any wide stereo panning, and it had to be mixed at a level low enough so that he could conduct business over the phone. The mix was done almost entirely on Auratone monitors.
During recording for the album, The Plasmatics were booked on the Tom Snyder
late night TV show, where Tom Snyder introduced them as "possibly the greatest punk rock band in the entire world".
The album was re-released in 2000 by Plasmatics Media, Inc.
Plasmatics
The Plasmatics were an American heavy metal and punk band formed by Yale University art school graduate Rod Swenson with Wendy O. Williams. The band was a controversial group known for wild live shows that broke countless taboos...
.
After the success of their first album and tour, the band began recording their follow-up album, Beyond the Valley of 1984. After the amount of time and money that was put into their last album, Bruce Kirkland at Stiff Records
Stiff Records
Stiff Records is a record label created in London in 1976, by entrepreneurs Dave Robinson and Andrew Jakeman , and active until 1985. It was reactivated in 2007....
agreed to put up the funds as long as Rod produced and the album was done in less than 3 weeks at a quarter of the cost of the first.
Given the recent turn of events, Rod proposed the name Beyond the Valley of 1984 and the tour, in 1981, became "The 1984 World Tour". In between touring drummers, Alice Cooper's
Alice Cooper
Alice Cooper is an American rock singer, songwriter and musician whose career spans more than four decades...
Neal Smith was brought in to do the drumming for the record, and the album, with its Orwellian
Orwellian
"Orwellian" describes the situation, idea, or societal condition that George Orwell identified as being destructive to the welfare of a free society...
and apocalyptic theme and songs such as "Masterplan", "Pig is a Pig", and "Sex Junkie", was released a few months later.
The album was recorded at The Ranch in New York City, a studio owned by John Andrew "Andy" Parks, a singer-songwriter from Texas. A promotional tape exists with Andy doing the voice-over in an over-the-top Texan accent. The Ranch was equipped with a modified MCI JH-416 console, a 3M M-79 24-track and an Ampex
Ampex
Ampex is an American electronics company founded in 1944 by Alexander M. Poniatoff. The name AMPEX is an acronym, created by its founder, which stands for Alexander M. Poniatoff Excellence...
ATR-102
Ampex ATR-100
The Ampex ATR-100 is a multitrack tape recorder, designed by Ampex Corporation, of Redwood City, California. It was introduced at the Spring 1976 AES Conference in Los Angeles , and was geared towards the ultra high end studio market, and having been designed specifically as a stereo or...
1/4-inch two-track. Engineer Eddie Ciletti was brought in during the second phase to overdub Guitars, vocals, electric chain saw and mix.
Mixing was "unconventional," for a punk record due to rather "strict" parameters established by Rod. The record would not have any wide stereo panning, and it had to be mixed at a level low enough so that he could conduct business over the phone. The mix was done almost entirely on Auratone monitors.
During recording for the album, The Plasmatics were booked on the Tom Snyder
Tom Snyder
Thomas James "Tom" Snyder was an American television personality, news anchor and radio personality best known for his late night talk shows The Tomorrow Show, on the NBC television network in the 1970s and 1980s, and The Late Late Show, on the CBS Television Network in the 1990s...
late night TV show, where Tom Snyder introduced them as "possibly the greatest punk rock band in the entire world".
The album was re-released in 2000 by Plasmatics Media, Inc.
Track listing
- "Incantation" (Beauvoir, Rod Swenson) 2:13
- "Masterplan" (Stotts, Swenson) 3:10
- "Headbanger" (Stotts, Swenson) 3:25
- "Summer Nite" (Stotts, Swenson) 4:46
- "Nothing" (Beauvoir, Swenson) 3:42
- "Fast Food Service" (Stotts, Swenson) 1:22
- "Hit Man" [Live Milan] (Beech, Swenson) 3:46
- "Living Dead" (Stotts, Swenson) 3:46
- "Sex Junkie" (Beech, Stotts, Swenson) 3:08
- "Plasma Jam" [Live Milan] (Beech, Stotts) 8:08
- "Pig Is a Pig" (Beech, Swenson) 4:55
Personnel
- Wendy O. WilliamsWendy O. WilliamsWendy Orlean Williams , better known as Wendy O. Williams, was the lead singer for the American punk band the Plasmatics, as well as a solo artist...
: Vocals, ChainsawChainsawA chainsaw is a portable mechanical saw, powered by electricity, compressed air, hydraulic power, or most commonly a two-stroke engine... - Wes Beech: Rhythm Guitars
- Richie StottsRichie StottsRichard Eugene Stotts was the first guitarist and one of the founding members of the punk/metal group Plasmatics.In 1978, Richie was among the earliest musicians to sport a Mohawk,...
: Lead Guitars - Jean BeauvoirJean BeauvoirJean Beauvoir is an American singer bassist, guitarist and multi-instrumentalist.Beauvoir was born in Chicago to parents of Haitian background. He played drums as a child and switched to bass as a teenager. He was Gary U.S. Bonds's musical director at age 13; following this he sang in the doo wop...
: Bass, Piano, Synthesizers - Neal Smith: Drums, Percussion
Production
- Produced By Plasmatics & Rod Swenson
- Mixed By Eddie Ciletti (also recorded overdubs)