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Album Details

• Artist: Pavement
• Album: Crooked Rain, Crooked Rain
• Label: Matador
• Year of Release: 1994
• ME Rating: Indie Classic
• Reviewed by: challey on 2004-12-21

Although most music fans can think back to when Pavement's Crooked Rain, Crooked Rain album was originally released in 1994, it has no historical significance for me. I was only six years old at the time, and if anything I was still listening to my parents' old Guns 'N Roses and Aerosmith albums. Despite hearing the album many years after its original release, however, the countless imitators and rip-offs have not done anything to diminish its impact; in my opinion, it still sounds fresh and new, and stands far above any albums from the same time period or from the same genre.

"Cut Your Hair," the closest Pavement ever got to becoming famous, is surprisingly not one of the highlights of the album. It's a great pop song, but many of the other songs on the album are flat-out amazing. "Range Life," with its controversial Smashing Pumpkins bashing, is far and away the best thing the band ever wrote. The song combines Pavement's trademark suburban slacker sound with a melody that's unusually simple, yet unbelievably catchy. "Stop Breathing" and "Gold Soundz" also rank among the best of the album, and certainly add to the California-summer atmosphere that resurfaces throughout. "5-4 Unity" is perhaps the most unusual song on the album, as it's a jazzy instrumental reminiscent of Dave Brubeck, but it fits in perfectly with the flow of the songs.

The reissue of Crooked Rain, Crooked Rain contains an unbelievable 37 bonus tracks, many of which are as good as the songs on the original album. Some sound like they would fit right in on the original ("Nail Clinic," "Hands on the Bayou"), while others ("Fucking Righteous, "Flux=Rad") are blasts of noise that would be more suited to their debut album, Slanted and Enchanted.

One of the most interesting tracks is "Pueblo" a Beach Boys cover. Although I haven't heard the original, this plodding version is peaceful but doesn't really go anywhere.

The original album is an absolute classic, and the reissue of Crooked Rain, Crooked Rain should send most Pavement fans into over two hours of paradise.

Most of the extra tracks just add to the great amount of Pavement songs that are already out there, making it an absolute must for fans of Pavement for fans of slacker indie-rock in general.

Reissued 2004

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