Colossal Youth
Encyclopedia
Colossal Youth is the first and only LP
by Young Marble Giants
, released in 1980 on Rough Trade Records
. Young Marble Giants were offered the opportunity to record the album after Rough Trade heard just two songs by the band on the local Cardiff
music compilation, Is The War Over?.
in North Wales
for £1000. The band was able to record fast and cheaply by using many of their first takes on the record in a deliberate attempt to keep the music 'alive'. The only overdubbing
on the record is a slide guitar
on "Include Me Out" and distorted vocals on "Eating Noddemix".
singer-songwriter Kurt Cobain
said in a 1992 Melody Maker
interview that Colossal Youth was one of the five most influential records he had ever heard.
In May 2009 the album was performed live in its entirety as part of the All Tomorrow's Parties
-curated Don't Look Back
series.
The re-release including the following bonus tracks, taken from the Final Day single, Testcard EP, and some B-sides:
LP album
The LP, or long-playing microgroove record, is a format for phonograph records, an analog sound storage medium. Introduced by Columbia Records in 1948, it was soon adopted as a new standard by the entire record industry...
by Young Marble Giants
Young Marble Giants
Young Marble Giants were a post-punk band formed in Cardiff, Wales in 1978. A trio, their music was constructed around the powerful and minimal instrumentation of brothers Philip and Stuart Moxham along with the vocals of Alison Statton.-History:...
, released in 1980 on Rough Trade Records
Rough Trade Records
Rough Trade Records is an independent record label based in London. It was formed in 1978 by Geoff Travis who had opened a record store off Ladbroke Grove...
. Young Marble Giants were offered the opportunity to record the album after Rough Trade heard just two songs by the band on the local Cardiff
Cardiff
Cardiff is the capital, largest city and most populous county of Wales and the 10th largest city in the United Kingdom. The city is Wales' chief commercial centre, the base for most national cultural and sporting institutions, the Welsh national media, and the seat of the National Assembly for...
music compilation, Is The War Over?.
Recording
The album was recorded in three and half days at Foel Studios http://www.foelstudio.co.uk/clients.htm near WelshpoolWelshpool
Welshpool is a town in Powys, Wales, or ancient county Montgomeryshire, from the Wales-England border. The town is low-lying on the River Severn; the Welsh language name Y Trallwng literally meaning 'the marshy or sinking land'...
in North Wales
North Wales
North Wales is the northernmost unofficial region of Wales. It is bordered to the south by the counties of Ceredigion and Powys in Mid Wales and to the east by the counties of Shropshire in the West Midlands and Cheshire in North West England...
for £1000. The band was able to record fast and cheaply by using many of their first takes on the record in a deliberate attempt to keep the music 'alive'. The only overdubbing
Overdubbing
Overdubbing is a technique used by recording studios to add a supplementary recorded sound to a previously recorded performance....
on the record is a slide guitar
Slide guitar
Slide guitar or bottleneck guitar is a particular method or technique for playing the guitar. The term slide refers to the motion of the slide against the strings, while bottleneck refers to the original material of choice for such slides: the necks of glass bottles...
on "Include Me Out" and distorted vocals on "Eating Noddemix".
Influence
NirvanaNirvana (band)
Nirvana was an American rock band that was formed by singer/guitarist Kurt Cobain and bassist Krist Novoselic in Aberdeen, Washington in 1987...
singer-songwriter Kurt Cobain
Kurt Cobain
Kurt Donald Cobain was an American singer-songwriter, musician and artist, best known as the lead singer and guitarist of the grunge band Nirvana...
said in a 1992 Melody Maker
Melody Maker
Melody Maker, published in the United Kingdom, was, according to its publisher IPC Media, the world's oldest weekly music newspaper. It was founded in 1926 as a magazine targeted at musicians; in 2000 it was merged into "long-standing rival" New Musical Express.-1950s–1960s:Originally the Melody...
interview that Colossal Youth was one of the five most influential records he had ever heard.
- "This music relaxes you, it's total atmospherics. It's just nice, pleasant music. I love it. The drum machine has to have the cheesiest sound ever. We're going to be on a Young Marble Giants compilation, doing 'Credit in the Straight World'. I had a crush on the singer for a while—didn't everyone?
- "I didn't know much about them—the Moxham brothers, right? I heard they might be getting back together again recently. (NB: Stuart Moxham just produced one side of the new Beat HappeningBeat HappeningBeat Happening is an American punk band formed in Olympia, Washington in 1982. Calvin Johnson, Heather Lewis and Bret Lunsford have been the band's continual members...
album [You Turn Me OnYou Turn Me OnYou Turn Me On is the fifth album by indie rock band Beat Happening.-Track listing:All tracks written by Beat Happening# "Tiger Trap" – 6:53# "Noise" – 3:23# "Pinebox Derby" – 3:07# "Teenage Caveman" – 4:35# "Sleepy Head" – 4:07...
, 1992], another of Kurt's favorite bands). Isn't it weird how, when you hear something like that, you still get excited, even though you know you shouldn't?
- "I first heard Colossal Youth on the radio, after I started getting into KK RecordsK Records is an independent record label in Olympia, Washington, co-founded, owned, and operated by Calvin Johnson, formerly of the bands Cool Rays, Beat Happening, The Go Team, The Halo Benders and presently in the bands Dub Narcotic Sound System and The Hive Dwellers...
music when I lived in OlympiaOlympia, WashingtonOlympia is the capital city of the U.S. state of Washington and the county seat of Thurston County. It was incorporated on January 28, 1859. The population was 46,478 at the 2010 census...
. It was a year before I put out the BleachBleach (album)Bleach is the debut album by the American rock band Nirvana, released in June 1989 through the independent record label Sub Pop. The main recording sessions took place at Reciprocal Recording in Seattle, Washington between December 1988 and January 1989...
album."
- —Kurt Cobain
In May 2009 the album was performed live in its entirety as part of the All Tomorrow's Parties
All Tomorrow's Parties (music festival)
All Tomorrow's Parties is a music festival which takes place at Camber Sands holiday camp in East Sussex and Butlin's holiday camp in Minehead, Somerset, England....
-curated Don't Look Back
Don't Look Back (concert series)
Don't Look Back is a yearly series of concerts in which London based promoters All Tomorrow's Parties ask artists and bands to play one of their seminal albums live in its entirety...
series.
Track listing
- "Searching for Mr. Right"
- "Include Me Out"
- "The Taxi"
- "Eating Noddemix"
- "Constantly Changing"
- "N.I.T.A."
- "Colossal Youth"
- "Music for Evenings"
- "The Man Amplifier"
- "Choci Loni"
- "Wurlitzer Jukebox"
- "Salad Days"
- "Credit in the Straight World"
- "Brand - New - Life"
- "Wind in the Rigging"
The re-release including the following bonus tracks, taken from the Final Day single, Testcard EP, and some B-sides:
- "This Way"
- "Posed by Models"
- "Clock"
- "Clicktalk"
- "Zebra Trucks"
- "Sporting Life"
- "Final Day"
- "Radio Silents"
- "Cake Walking"
- "Ode to Booker T"
Cover Versions
- "Final Day" by Speed The Plough on Wonder Wheel (1991, East Side Digital)
- "Credit in the Straight World" by HoleHole (band)Hole is an American alternative rock band that originally formed in Los Angeles in 1989. The band is fronted by vocalist/songwriter and rhythm guitarist Courtney Love, who co-founded Hole with former songwriter/lead guitarist Eric Erlandson...
on Live Through ThisLive Through ThisLive Through This is the second studio album by American alternative rock band Hole. It was released by Geffen Records on April 12, 1994, just four days after frontwoman Courtney Love's husband, Kurt Cobain, was found dead in their home....
(1994) - "Eating Noddemix" by Adam GreenAdam Green (musician)Adam Green is an American singer-songwriter.Green's off-kilter style has achieved a moderate college radio following in the United States, and enjoys increasing popularity in a number of European countries, particularly Germany.-Career:Green attended Emerson College for one semester in 1998 before...
on Stop Me If You Think You´ve Heard This One Before (2003, Rough Trade RecordsRough Trade RecordsRough Trade Records is an independent record label based in London. It was formed in 1978 by Geoff Travis who had opened a record store off Ladbroke Grove...
) - "Final Day" by Belle & SebastianBelle & SebastianBelle and Sebastian are an indie pop band formed in Glasgow in January 1996. Belle and Sebastian are often compared with influential indie bands such as The Smiths, as well as classic acts such as Love, Bob Dylan and Nick Drake. The name Belle & Sebastian comes from Belle et Sébastien, a 1965...
on Stop Me If You Think You´ve Heard This One Before (2003, Rough Trade Records) - "Searching for Mr. Right" by SupercarSupercar (band)was a Japanese rock band active from 1995 to 2005, and who made their debut in 1997. Consisting of songwriter and vocalist Kōji Nakamura , guitarist Junji Ishiwatari , bassist Miki Furukawa , and drummer Kōdai Tazawa , Supercar is best known for combining alternative rock with electronic...
on Fine Time: A Tribute to New Wave (2004, Ki/oon Records) - "Final Day" by Galaxie 500Galaxie 500Galaxie 500 was an American alternative rock band that formed in 1987 and split up in 1991 after releasing three albums.-History:Guitarist Dean Wareham, drummer Damon Krukowski and bassist Naomi Yang had met at the Dalton School in New York City in 1981, but began playing together during their time...
on Peel SessionsPeel Sessions (Galaxie 500 album)-Track listing:All songs written by Galaxie 500 except as noted.# "Submission" - 4:10# "Final Day" - 2:54# "When Will You Come Home" - 5:11# "Moonshot" - 3:21# "Flowers" - 4:39# "Blue Thunder" - 3:49...
(2005, 20/20/20)