Mezcal Head

Mezcal Head
Studio album by Swervedriver
Released 5 August 1993
Genre Alternative rock, shoegazing
Label Creation (U.K.)
A&M Records (U.S.)
Producer Alan Moulder
Swervedriver chronology
Raise
(1991)		 Mezcal Head
(1993)		 Ejector Seat Reservation
(1995)

Mezcal Head was the second album to be released by British alternative rock band Swervedriver in 1993.[1] This was the second album by the band, and was released two years after their first album, Raise.

Background and release

In 1993, Swervedriver re-emerged with the core of Adam Franklin and Jimmy Hartridge, along with newly recruited drummer Jez Hindmarsh (a.k.a. "Jez"), and released the album Mezcal Head. The album gave them their most successful single, "Duel" (NME's Single of the Week), for which a music video was released. Adam and Jimmy both perform bass on the album as they were left without a bassist when Adi Vines departed before recording began. "Never Lose That Feeling," from the 1992 EP of the same name, and the extended krautrock/drone/saxophone instrumental "Never Learn" were added as a bonus track to the U.S. version of the CD. Swervedriver toured U.S. arenas with Smashing Pumpkins and Shudder to Think in October and November 1993.

Reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[2]
Pitchfork8.0/10[3]
PopMatters[4]
MusicHound[5]
A.V. ClubA[6]
The Austin Chronicle[7]
No Ripcord[8]

The album was ranked at number 265 on Spin's "The 300 Best Albums of the Past 30 Years (1985–2014)" list.[9] Alternative Press also ranked it #39 and #90 on their "90 Greatest Albums of the 90s" and "Top 99 Albums of '85 to '95" lists respectively.[10][11]

Track listing

The album features 10 tracks, including the single "Duel". The album had one bonus track for the U.S release and two bonus tracks for the Japanese release.

  1. "For Seeking Heat"
  2. "Duel"
  3. "Blowin' Cool"
  4. "MM Abduction"
  5. "Last Train to Satansville"
  6. "Harry & Maggie"
  7. "A Change Is Gonna Come"
  8. "Girl on a Motorbike"
  9. "Duress"
  10. "You Find It Everywhere"

U.S Bonus Track:

  1. "Never Lose That Feeling/Never Learn"

Japan Bonus Tracks

  1. "Planes over the Skyline"
  2. "Year of the Girl"

Sony BMG reissued the album in 2008 in the UK as a "Remastered and Expanded" edition (Hi-Speed Soul/Second Motion released it in the US in 2009) with four bonus tracks

  1. "Never Lose That Feeling"
  2. "Planes Over the Skyline"
  3. "Hitcher"
  4. "Cars Converge on Paris"

More information

The U.K. CD has "Mickey" and "Dragging It Under" printed on the CD as tracks 4 and 6. The U.S. CD has "Harry and Maggie (Dragging It Under)" printed on the CD as track 6. The U.S. promo is identical to the official release except that it has the word "PROMOTIONAL" printed on the CD. The Japanese edition comes with a biography and lyrics.[12]

The tracks Duel and Last Train to Satansville were featured in the Sega Saturn, Sony PlayStation and 3DO versions of the game Road Rash.

The track "Duel" was featured on the 2008 video game Burnout Paradise

References

  1. ↑ Swervedriver - Mezcal Head
  2. ↑ Allmusic review
  3. ↑ Pitchfork Media review
  4. ↑
  5. ↑
  6. ↑
  7. ↑
  8. ↑
  9. ↑ Unterberger, Andrew (11 May 2015). "The 300 Best Albums of the Past 30 Years (1985-2014)". Spin. Retrieved 6 August 2015.
  10. ↑
  11. ↑
  12. ↑ Swervedriver Discography

External links

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