Digital Underground - This Is an E.P. Release (1991)

"Nuttin' Nis Funky" by Digital Underground

As one of the Oakland's premier rappers, Shock G made a couple of guest appearances on Luniz material: on the Oakland-loaded remix of "I Got 5 On It" and as Shock Jesus on "5150".  We return, then, to Digital Underground for their Gold-certified This Is an E.P. Release released in 1991 by Tommy Boy Entertainment.  The EP capitalized on the group's appearance in the film Nothing But Trouble from the same year.  The film featured two songs from the EP, "Same Song" and "Tie the Knot".

The album might seem like a cash grab but its quality as filler only gives Shock G more room to shine.  Shock's multiple-personality based humor and his keyboards become the reason to keep playing this record, and the remixes (of Sex Packet singles) reinforce Digital Underground as an act untethered by genre.  Oh, and 2Pac has a verse on "Same Song".

Note: This is the Tour's first stop at an EP release rather than an album or compilation album.  These kinds of stops I reserve for notable EPs.

Here is the discography surrounding Digital Undergrounds second release:

Same Song (1991 single)

This Is an E.P. Release

Nuttin' Nis Funky (1991 single)

"Same Song" by Digital Underground

"Tie the Knot" by Digital Underground

"Arguin' on the Funk" by Digital Underground

Pass the Headphones!!

Naphtali - Mental Slavery (1991)

"Separation" and "Dub Separation" by Naph-tali


LIDJ Incorporated's "Black Consciousness" single split sides with another dub artist, Naph-tali (sometimes Naphtali).  Naph-tali released his debut album Mental Slavery in 1991.

Here is the discography surrounding Naph-tali's debut album:

Hole Up Your Hand (1987 split single)
Vibes Studio Showcase (1989 compilation song)
2000 Style (1989 single with Zulu Warriors)
Mental Slavery
Satan Disciples (1991 split single)

"Jah Song" by Naph-tali


Pass the Headphones!!

Freestyle Fellowship - To Whom It May Concern... (1991)

"7th Seal by Freestyle Fellowship


Sekou Sundiata's song "Space: A Monologue" was anthologized in an album called Flippin' the Script: Rap Meets Poetry.  One of the many other poets/rappers featured on the album was Mikah 9 who started his recording career with the rap collective Freestyle Fellowship.  Freestyle Fellowship released their debut album To Whom It May Concern... in 1991 on the Beats & Rhymes label.

(Please forgive the number of links.  I believe every member of the collective is represented in these songs.)

Here is the discography surrounding Freestyle Fellowship's debut album:

To Whom It May Concern...

"Physical Form" by Freestyle Fellowship


"Legal Alien" by Freestyle Fellowship


"120 Seconds" by Freestyle Fellowship


"For No Reason" by Freestyle Fellowship


"Jupiter's Journey" by Freestyle Fellowship


Pass the Headphones!!

The Smashing Pumpkins - Gish (1991)

"Drown" by The Smashing Pumpkins


The Cabaret Metro in Chicago and its owner Joe Shanahan did their part in bringing together The Smashing Pumpkins.  He gave the band their first residency (under the stipulation that they replace the drum machine) and managed their early career.  The band consisted of guitarist James Iha, bassist D'Arcy Wretzky, and drum machine replacement Jimmy Chamberlain.  The mastermind behind the band, however, was multi-instrumentalist, lead songwriter, and lead singer Billy Corgan.  They formed in 1988 when Iha met Corgan at the record store where the latter worked.  Their early music owed a heavy influence to the British post-punk / goth rock scene, but their sound changed drastically when Chamberlain became the group's last original member.  The Smashing Pumpkins live shows and early recordings showed a melding of influences that included heavy metal, psychedelia, and post-punk.

Signed to Caroline Records, their debut album Gish came out in 1991 to moderate commercial and critical success.  The album was produced by Butch Vig (who was simultaneously producing Nirvana's Nevermind to be released a couple months later).  It also featured Corgan playing almost all the instruments on the record (save the drums) as he didn't see Iha and Wretzky as quite accomplished enough in their skills to gain the specific sound he wanted.  Because of this, unrest already stirred in the band and Billy was seen by both the band members and the media as a musical tyrant.  On the success of the album and its many singles, they toured and opened for the biggest alternate rock bands of the day: Jane's Addiction, Red Hot Chili Peppers, and (not-as-alternative) Guns N' Roses.

Here is the discography surrounding The Smashing Pumpkins's debut album:

Joliet Tape (1986 demo as The Marked)
1985-1987 Demos (1985-1987 demos as The Marked)
Snake Train Demo (1988 demo as Snake Train)
Live at The Cabaret Metro (1988 live recording)
October 1988 Live (1988 live recording)
Nothing Ever Changes (1988 demo)
Moon (1989 demo)
The Smashing Pumpkins (1989 demo)
March 1989 Live (1989 live recording)
Reel Time Studios (1989 studio sessions)
Reel Time Studios Acoustic (1989 studio sessions)
I Am One (1990 single)
Tristessa (1990 single)
Live at The Metro (1990 live album)
Gish
Siva (1991 single)
Lull (1991 EP)
Rhinoceros (1991 promo single)
Live in New Haven (1991 live bootleg)
I Am One (1992 single)
Daughter (1992 promo single)
Drown (1992 promo single)
Peel Sessions (1992 EP)

"Siva" by The Smashing Pumpkins


"Bury Me" by The Smashing Pumpkins


An Interview with Billy Corgan


Pass the Headphones!!

Spin Doctors - Pocket Full of Kryptonite (1991)

"Jimmy Olsen's Blues" by Spin Doctors


John Popper was part in forming another New York band Spin Doctors, but dropped out in favor of Blues Traveler when it started to gain popular traction locally.  Popper retains a close relationship with the Doctors and often guests his harmonica on recordings or at their live sets.

Spin Doctors formed in 1988 whose core consisted of vocalist Chris Barron, guitarist Eric Schenkman, drummer Aaron Comess, and bassist Mark White.  Live, the band comes off an honest offshoot of the classic, jam rock.  Their delightful spin on the genres came mainly from White's funky bass even if their sets could be tiresomely long.  On their recordings, they were a much different band.  They still took time for solos, but their overt debt to jam disappeared in favor of a more restrained, commercial pop-alternative sound (Barron's voice and inflections would probably have more influence on the genre than anybody aside from Billie Joe Armstrong) with dabbling changes of mood in rock ballads and harder rock.

Signed to Epic Records in 1991, they released a live EP and their debut album Pocket Full of Kryptonite that year but both sold unremarkably, that is, until one of their singles blew up and became one of the most definitive songs of the decade (for better or for worse).  After the Doctors finished supporting their album with the first H.O.R.D.E. tour (see previous post), the music video for "Two Princes" came out in 1993 on MTV.  The popularity of this song (in particular) and the band's other catchy singles that followed on the success ("Little Miss Can't Be Wrong", "Jimmy Olsen's Blues") boosted the sales for the album to triple platinum and beyond, as well as.  The commercial success came with critical regard for being standard bearers of a pure rock sound.  "Two Princes"'s overkill on radio stations, MTV, TV shows, and movies helped cement its status as one of those songs that just makes people think of the 90s whether you were sick of it or not.  The song is simultaneously deemed one of the best and worst songs of the decade depending on the publication.  Nevermind that the song sounds very little like the Spin Doctors.

Here is the discography surrounding Spin Doctors's debut album:

Up for Grabs...Live (1991 live album)
Pocket Full of Kryptonite
Homebelly Groove...Live (1992 live album)
Little Miss Can't Be Wrong (1993 single)
Two Princes (1993 single)
Jimmy Olsen's Blues (1993 single)
What Time Is It? (1993 single)
How Could You Want Him (When You Know You Could Have Me?) (1993 single)

"Two Princes" by Spin Doctors


"What Time Is It?" by Spin Doctors


Spin Doctors Interview


Pass the Headphones!!

Metal Flake Mother - Beyond the Java Sea (1991)

"Mean to Me" by Metal Flake Mother


Jack Yarber (of Compulsive Gamblers) and Jim Mathis were two of the original founders of Johnny Vomit & the Dry Heaves.  Jim or Jimbo was in a number of other bands in the late eighties such as The End and Cafe des Moines.  He dropped out of Mississippi State at 20 to join the Merchant Marines and used his time off to travel the US.  Eventually, he moved to Chapel Hill where he could use the library for study and, at the same time, establish himself in the local alternative music scene.  He changed his last name to Mathus (prompted by his independent study of Latin) and helped form Metal Flake Mother.  He played drums and was supported by Quince Marcum on bass, and Benjamin Clarke and Randy Ward on guitars and vocals.  Together, they made up one of Chapel Hill's most popular alternative acts.  As for their sound, "imagine if the Pixies could play their instruments - maybe that's the sound."

Here is the complete discography for Metal Flake Mother:

Deem-On (1990 single)
Beyond the Java Sea

"Moss Howl" by Metal Flake Mother


Pass the Headphones!!

Blur - Leisure (1991)

"Sing" by Blur

Stephen Street is a producer known for helping bands perfect their sound and getting that sound ready for popular radio play. After hearing Blur's debut single "She's So High" in 1990, Street sought out Blur's manager and the chance to produce them. Blur's debut album Leisure was mostly finished by then, but Street got to work on the band's second single "There's No Other Way". The song peaked at 8 on the charts (the best of their debut work) and shook up UK media interest in the band. Street would continue to work with Blur and other bands like Ireland's The Cranberries.

Here is the discography surrounding Blur's debut album:

She's So High (1990 single)
There's No Other Way (1991 single)
Bang (1991 single)
Focusing in With Blur (1991 interview album)
Leisure
High Cool/Bad Day (1991 single)
Mindwarp Mutations (1992 remix album)
Blur-ti-go (1992 remix album)
Popscene (1992 single)
The Wassailing song (1992 single)

"Bang" by Blur


Pass the Headphones!!

Titanic Love Affair - Titanic Love Affair (1991)

Pieholden Studio, where Vandervelde worked and where he recorded his debut, was owned at the time by musician Jay Bennett. He co-produced Brie Stoner's debut album with Vandervelde, and Vandervelde would play on a couple of Jay Bennett's records. Although Vandervelde played almost all of the instruments on Moonstation, Bennett threw in his talents on bass to return the favor. Although Jay Bennett is most famous for his work as a member of Wilco during his creative zenith, he was first a member of an early 90s alternative rock band called Titanic Love Affair.

Titanic formed in the late eighties in Urbana, Illinois with the unfortunate fate of making a derivative power pop quartet when power pop was labeled "alternative", or more simply, unpopular. Mike Hartz acted as frontman on vocals and rhythm guitar. Jay Bennett provided back-up vocals and his skill as the lead guitarist. Lars Gustafsson and Mike Hazelrigg rounded out the group on the bass and drums respectively. They released their debut album Titanic Love Affair in 1991 on the Charisma Records label to little success and middling reviews. Their work was confronted as a lesser sounding version of The Replacements. With the album's lack of success, Charisma dropped them from their label to which the band replied with a new EP flippantly titled No Charisma. Although their is not much growth in the band's sound, the EP is marked with a little bit more attitude and a small dose of influence from the soon-to-breakout grunge scene.

Here is the discography surrounding Titanic Love Affair's debut album:

Titanic Love Affair
No Charisma (1992 EP)

"Planet Strange" by Titanic Love Affair


If you have any ideas for where the tour should go next, please give a shout. I'm open to whatever as long as the artists are historically related in some way and go in an artist's chronological order.

Pass the Headphones!!