Twice Removed
Twice Removed | ||||
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Studio album by Sloan | ||||
Released | August 30, 1994 | |||
Recorded | 1994 | |||
Genre | Indie rock | |||
Length | 44:48 | |||
Label | Geffen Records (DGC) | |||
Producer | Jim Rondinelli, Sloan | |||
Sloan chronology | ||||
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Singles from Twice Removed | ||||
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Professional ratings | |
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Review scores | |
Source | Rating |
AllMusic | [1] |
Robert Christgau | (B+)[2] |
Twice Removed is the second album by Canadian rock band Sloan, released on Geffen Records in 1994. The album took seven weeks and cost $120,000 to record.[3] It is considered to be one of the band's best albums, as well as one of the greatest Canadian albums of all time. More melodic than their previous album, Smeared, Geffen gave the record little promotion because it defied the label's commercially dominant grunge rock style of the time. Furthermore, the band was dropped from Geffen after Twice Removed's release.[4] After the band's trouble with the label, they took time off from touring and writing, and were rumoured to have broken up.
Artwork
Inside are hand-drawn pictures of a drum kit and two men. Other images include a lady talking on the phone, a motorbike, and two dogs. On the back of the liner notes are drawings of cars and a binder with the title "Sloan" on it. On the back of the case, a snare drum with all the tracks' names on Twice Removed engraved into its side is displayed.
Commercial performance
Twice Removed peaked at #25 on the RPM Canadian Albums Chart.[5] By February 1997, the album had sold 58,000 units in Canada.[3] The album was certified Gold in Canada on October 20, 1998.[6]
Legacy
In 1996, the music magazine Chart conducted a reader poll to determine the best Canadian albums of all time. Twice Removed topped that poll.[7] When the magazine conducted a follow up poll in 2000, Twice Removed lost the top spot to Joni Mitchell's Blue, but still placed third. In the third poll, in 2005, Twice Removed reclaimed the top spot.[8]
It was also ranked fourteenth in Bob Mersereau's 2007 book The Top 100 Canadian Albums.
In 2012, the album received a deluxe reissue on vinyl. This edition includes another three discs: one containing demo versions of the Twice Removed songs; another containing B-sides that were originally intended for the album but left off; and a 7-inch, 45 RPM disc containing songs that, in the words of guitarist Jay Ferguson, "didn't really fit anywhere else in the package". The release also includes a 12x12,32-page color booklet containing photos, interviews and other stories from the band's members. The reissue was made available exclusively via the band's website.[4]
In 2015, the album was named the winner in the 1990s category of the inaugural Slaight Family Polaris Heritage Prize, an annual Canadian music award for classic albums released prior to the creation of the Polaris Music Prize.[9]
Track listing
All songs credited to Sloan.
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
---|---|---|---|
1. | "Penpals" | Chris Murphy/Sloan | 3:08 |
2. | "I Hate My Generation" | Jay Ferguson/Sloan | 2:26 |
3. | "People of the Sky" | Andrew Scott/Sloan | 3:37 |
4. | "Coax Me" | Chris Murphy/Sloan | 3:26 |
5. | "Bells On" | Chris Murphy/Sloan | 3:55 |
6. | "Loosens" | Patrick Pentland/Sloan | 5:26 |
7. | "Worried Now" | Patrick Pentland/Sloan | 2:40 |
8. | "Shame Shame" | Chris Murphy/Sloan | 3:04 |
9. | "Deeper Than Beauty" | Chris Murphy/Sloan | 2:40 |
10. | "Snowsuit Sound" | Jay Ferguson/Sloan | 3:47 |
11. | "Before I Do" | Andrew Scott/Sloan | 7:04 |
12. | "I Can Feel It" | Patrick Pentland/Sloan | 3:28 |
Japanese Bonus Tracks
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
---|---|---|---|
13. | "D Is for Driver" | Chris Murphy/Sloan | 2:24 |
B-Sides
- "Coax Me (Icks Nay on the Evie Stay Micks)" (Coax Me 7")
- "One Professional Care" (Coax Me 7")
- "I Can Feel It (demo)" (promo 7")
Trivia
- Jennifer Pierce from Jale appears once again as a backup singer on "I Can Feel It".
- Lyrics for the first track on the album, "Penpals", were taken from broken English fan letters to Kurt Cobain, which the band rummaged through when they were signed to Geffen in the early ’90s.[4][10]
- "Penpals" is referenced in the graphic novel Lost at Sea by Bryan Lee O'Malley when one character sings the lyrics from it.
References
- ↑ Allmusic review
- ↑ Robert Christgau review
- 1 2 SLOAN REUINTES FOR ENCLAVE SET. Billboard. Retrieved May 25, 2014.
- 1 2 3 Kamin, Adam (22 November 2012). "Sloan's Jay Ferguson talks re-issue of Twice Removed". blogTO. Fresh Daily. Retrieved 5 January 2013.
- ↑ "Top Albums/CDs - Volume 60, No. 7, September 05 1994". RPM. Retrieved May 25, 2014.
- ↑ "Gold Platinum Database: Sloan - Twice Removed". Music Canada. Retrieved September 5, 2012.
- ↑ Number 1 Canadian Album
- ↑ "Sloan's Twice Removed Named Top Canadian Album Of All Time". Chart. Retrieved 2011-03-27.
- ↑ "Joni Mitchell, Cowboy Junkies, Sloan and Peaches Take Home Polaris Heritage Prizes". Exclaim!, October 9, 2015.
- ↑ "Entertainment Weekly Popwatch Blog". Retrieved 2007-03-19.