Beaster

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For other uses, see Beaster (disambiguation).
Beaster
File:Sugar Beaster.jpg
EP by Sugar
Released April 6, 1993
Recorded The Outpost, Stoughton, Massachusetts
Genre Alternative rock
Length 30:51
Label Rykodisc, Creation Records
Producer Bob Mould, Lou Giordano
Sugar chronology
Copper Blue
(1992)Copper Blue1992		 Beaster
(1993)		 File Under: Easy Listening
(1994)File Under: Easy Listening1994

Beaster was Sugar's 1993 EP. The songs were recorded at the same time as the band's acclaimed first album, Copper Blue[citation needed], however, it has a much denser, heavier sound than that record[citation needed]. The EP is a loosely conceptual work built around dark religious imagery[citation needed].

"JC Auto" is short for "Jesus Christ Autobiography."[citation needed] The Judas Cradle, also known as the Judas Chair, was a torture device allegedly used by the Spanish Inquisition[citation needed].

Track listing

All songs written and composed by Bob Mould; except where indicated. 

Original album (2012 edition - Disc one)
No. Title Writer(s) Length
1. "Come Around"     4:52
2. "Tilted"     4:08
3. "Judas Cradle"     6:15
4. "JC Auto"     6:13
5. "Feeling Better"     6:22
6. "Walking Away"     3:00
2012 edition - Disc two - DVD
No. Title Writer(s) Length
1. "Tilted" (Promo video)    
2. "The Act We Act"      
3. "A Good Idea"      
4. "Changes"      
5. "Beer Commercial"   David Barbe  
  • DVD tracks 2 to 5 were filmed live At Finsbury Park 13th June 1993

Credits

All songs written by Bob Mould and published by Granary Music (BMI)

Produced & engineered by Bob Mould and Lou Giordano. Recorded at The Outpost, Stoughton, MA. Mixed at Carriage House, Stamford, CT

  • Mix assistant: Tom Bender
  • Mastered by Howie Weinberg at Masterdisk, New York
  • Art direction: Bob Mould/Kevin O'Neill
  • Photography: Sandra-Lee Phipps & Russell Kaye

Quotes

"I'm sure some people are going to perceive this as some sort of step backwards from the previous album. Some people will say it's self-indulgent. Almost anything short of community service usually is. People who have seen the band live will know this is not the case. This is the other side of Sugar that some people haven't seen yet, a style that we really enjoy. The presentation of the material is very demanding, very open to extrapolation, very fresh to us. You can make whatever you want out of it, that's what music is supposed to be about. Sometimes the experience of making music, or listening to music, shouldn't be overanalyzed and dissected. To me, that's what this piece of work is about." - Bob Mould [1]

Reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source Rating
AllMusic 4/5 stars [2]
Robert Christgau (2-star Honorable Mention) [3]
Pitchfork Media (9.0/10)[4]
Rolling Stone Album Guide 4/5 stars [5]
Q 4/5 stars [6]
Select 5/5 stars [7]

"Audibly a disciple of Hendrix, McGuinn and Page, and propelled by the supreme engine room of bassist David Barbe and drummer Malcolm Travis, Mould's sound is dense but never turgid," wrote Mat Snow for Q. "Better still, his melodic instinct to head for the heights of epiphany remains intact; though on the face of it not a song here should raise even the thinnest wintry smile, tune-wise they beam with vitality and engagement."[6]

A retrospective review in Q maintained the 4|5 rating. "Mould called Beaster 'the bad Sugar' (destined, sadly, to be followed by the 'crap Sugar' of File Under: Easy Listening)," wrote Danny Eccleston, "and alongside his solo Workbook, it's about the best thing in his bulging portfolio."[8]

"It starts with an acoustic guitar," wrote David Cavanagh for Select, "achieves limitless levels of beauty in its 30 minutes and ends with the most gorgeous piece of music Bob Mould has been involved with since his heart-stopping solo on 'Green Eyes' off Flip Your Wig."[7]

"Rarely has a band rocked out with such bleak intensity and utter conviction," opined The Times. "A vast cathedral of noise and despair, erected and demolished in half an hour flat, this is an album which has to be heard to be believed."[9]

"Sugar are about the turmoil of the interior life," observed Melody Maker, "which is maybe why an album like Beaster is best listened to loud on the headphones at home rather than live."[10]

"The dark but insidiously catchy companion to Copper Blue confirms what those in the know had predicted," concluded The Daily Telegraph, "Sugar are definitely The Next Big Thing."[11]

Charts

Album
Chart (1993/2012) Peak
position
UK Albums Chart[12] 3
US Billboard Pop Albums[13] 130
US Billboard Heatseekers Albums[13] 4
US Billboard Heatseekers Albums[13] 8[A]
US Billboard Independent Albums[13] 46[A]
Notes
  • A^ Chart placing refers to 2012 release Copper Blue/Beaster.
Single
Title Chart (1993) Peak
position
"Tilted" b/w "JC Auto (Live)" (Limited edition 7") UK Singles Chart[12] 48

References

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External links

  1. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  2. ↑ Rabid, Jack. Beaster at AllMusic. Retrieved 29 January 2007.
  3. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found. Also posted at Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  4. ↑ [1]
  5. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 Q, May 1993
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 Select, May 1993
  8. ↑ Q, June 1996
  9. ↑ The Times, c. May 1993, precise date unknown
  10. ↑ Melody Maker, c. May 1993, precise date unknown
  11. ↑ The Daily Telegraph, c. May 1993, precise date unknown
  12. ↑ 12.0 12.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  13. ↑ 13.0 13.1 13.2 13.3 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
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