Wayward Bus / Distant Plastic Trees

Wayward Bus / Distant Plastic Trees

First two Magnetic Fields albums to be released on vinyl for the first time The Magnetic Fieldsâ€™ first two albums, The Wayward Bus and Distant Plastic Trees, will make their debut appearance on vinyl in December 2016, packaged together as a two-LP set. Distant Plastic Trees, the Magnetic Fieldsâ€™ first album, was originally released in England and Japan in 1991. To the amusement of frontman Stephin Merritt, who composed and recorded the album electronically with virtually no live instruments, Distant Plastic Trees was called â€œa contender for album of the yearâ€ by Folk Roots magazine. But the nomination did not come entirely out of nowhere: Merrittâ€™s accordion player, the novelist Daniel Handler, later noted that â€œthis tinny and intimate recording, in quiet defiance of the reigning roar of pop music, recalls both the early, scratchy field recordings of folk music and the first experiments in electronic musicâ€”precisely the sort of stylistic balance the Magnetic Fields liked to achieve.â€ The album includes the early-â€™90s college radio single â€œ100,000 Firefliesâ€ which had earlier appeared as a single on Harriet Records and was later covered by Superchunk. For its domestic debut, Distant Plastic Trees was paired with the Magnetic Fieldsâ€™ 1992 album The Wayward Bus on a single CD that came out on the bandâ€™s own PoPuP Records imprint before its re-release on Merge in 1994. While both albums feature singer Susan Anway (formerly of early-â€™80s Boston punk band V;), the latter introduced several new players who would subsequently make regular appearances on Merrittâ€™s various musical projects. â€œWith the 1991 debut album Distant Plastic Trees, the Magnetic Fieldsâ€™ composer and frontman Stephin Merritt introduced the first incarnation of the Magnetic Fields. On this album, deadpan vocalist Susan Anway sings lyrics of heartbreak and surrealism over a bed of inscrutable instruments played and programmed by Merritt,â€ Handler explains. â€œThe second album, The Wayward Bus, adds cellist Sam Davol, tuba player Johny Blood and percussionist Claudia Gonson to create a plinky, orchestral sound in tribute to pop producer Phil Spector and his â€˜Wall of Sound.â€™â€ The album artwork on both Distant Plastic Trees and The Wayward Bus was created by watercolorist Wendy Smith, who had also painted album covers for the Rough Trade band Weekend (a musical project from members of Young Marble Giants). Her beautiful wrap-around paintings, now printed in a larger format, along with remastered audio make this two-LP set an exciting addition to the Magnetic Fields discography.
Country USA
Brand Import
Manufacturer Merge Records
Binding Vinyl
ItemPartNumber MRG 75
Model MRG 75
ReleaseDate 2011-04-19
UnitCount 2
UPCs 673855007533
EANs 0673855007533

Country	USA
Brand	Import
Manufacturer	Merge Records
Binding	Vinyl
ItemPartNumber	MRG 75
Model	MRG 75
ReleaseDate	2011-04-19
UnitCount	2
UPCs	673855007533
EANs	0673855007533

Wayward Bus / Distant Plastic Trees

You might also like...