Dinosaur [Remastered] [Remaster]

Performer: Dinosaur Jr.
Engineer: Chris Dixon; Glen; Chris Dixon
Producer: Dinosaur, Jr.; Dinosaur; Dinosaur, Jr.
Distributor: Alternative Dis. Alliance

Notes: Dinosaur Jr.: J. Mascis (vocals, guitar, percussion); Lou Barlow (vocals, bass, Casio); Murph (vocals, drums, casio). Dinosaur Jr.: Lou Barlow (bass instrument); J Mascis (drums); Murph. Personnel: J Mascis (vocals, guitar, cymbals, tom tom); Murph (vocals, keyboards, drums); Lou Barlow (vocals, keyboards). Liner Note Author: Byron Coley. Recording information: Chris Dixon's House. Photographers: Jason Talerman; Jens J�rgensen. Dinosaur Jr.'s first album, entitled DINOSAUR, is a generally overlooked artifact of the band's sizeable catalog. In fact, it's so often ignored that many assume the group's groundbreaking second release, YOU'RE LIVING ALL OVER ME, was actually the debut. Nevertheless, DINOSAUR is an ambitious collection of speedy, fuzzed-out, guitar-driven songs that scream with urgency. Most importantly, however, it offers an honest glimpse into the early years of one of alternative rock's founding fathers. Guitar innovator J Mascis and bass-mangling cohort Lou Barlow take the listener on a brief foray into dark indie-metal on tracks like "Bulbs of Passion" and "Mountain Man," providing stark contrast to the more lo-fi pop specimens "Forget the Swan" and "Quest." Most songs race by at a rate faster than a punk-rock basement jam session. Overall, it's a portrait of a band on the verge of greatness. DINOSAUR is not for the faint of heart, but will justly reward the patient patron. Released before the group was forced to change its name to Dinosaur Jr. by an obscure psychedelic group, the band's debut, Dinosaur, is a noisy, impressive, but uneven array of pseudo-hardcore numbers, sonic experiments, and sprawling hard rock. Although the band doesn't land on any one distinctive style, its ambition of marrying Neil Young and Sonic Youth sounds intriguing, and it has enough outstanding moments to indicate that the group was capable of the stylistic breakthrough it achieved on You're Living All Over Me. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine

Spin (p.111) - "The self-titled debut has punk pluck..." Magnet (p.88) - "[With] crossover metal before that was cool....DINOSAUR JR holds up as a brilliant album...." Kerrang (Magazine) (p.53) - "Their hardcore roots showed in the thrashing rockers, while Mascis' budding gift for melody and songcraft flourishes." Mojo (Publisher) (p.108) - 3 stars out of 5 - "[T]here are moments where the disparate influences meld into something that's utterly specific to these three people."

Formed in Amherst, Massachusetts during the mid-1980s, Dinosaur Jr. crafted punky, ramshackle songs that featured J. Mascis' sleepy vocals and meandering, feedback-drenched guitars. After a series of well received indie releases, culminating with 1988's BUG, bassist Lou Barlow departed to form Sebadoh, and the band (Mascis and drummer Murph) signed with a major label. In 1991, the group released their masterpiece, GREEN MIND, an album that displayed a poppier, dreamier sound. However, Dinosaur Jr. was essentially a Mascis solo project by this point, and although Murph and other musicians appeared on subsequent albums, Dino Jr. remained a Mascis-driven vehicle until he officially went solo in the late '90s.

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