''Applehead Man'' is the debut studio album released by

Minneapolis Minneapolis () is the largest city in Minnesota, United States, and the county seat of Hennepin County. The city is abundant in water, with thirteen lakes, wetlands, the Mississippi River, creeks and waterfalls. Minneapolis has its origins ...

alternative rock Alternative rock, or alt-rock, is a category of rock music that emerged from the independent music underground of the 1970s and became widely popular in the 1990s. "Alternative" refers to the genre's distinction from Popular culture, mainstre ...

band

Trip Shakespeare Trip Shakespeare was an American rock band formed in Minneapolis, Minnesota in the late 1980s/early 1990s. The band included Dan Wilson and John Munson, who would later go on to be founding members of Semisonic. Origins The band originated when ...

. It was released in 1986 on Minneapolis label Gark Records, then reissued in 1998 on Minneapolis label Clean/

Twin/Tone Records Twin/Tone Records was an independent record label based in Minneapolis, Minnesota, which operated from 1977 until 1994. It was the original home of influential Minnesota bands the Replacements and Soul Asylum and was instrumental in helping the T ...

, and again in 2014 on

Omnivore Recordings Omnivore Recordings is an independent record label founded in 2010. It specializes in historical releases, reissues and previously unissued vintage recordings, as well as select releases of new music, on CD, vinyl and digital formats. Omnivore Re ...

. It was the only Trip Shakespeare album not to feature Dan Wilson, brother of founding member and main songwriter Matt Wilson, who joined after its recording. In an interview with the ''Chicago Readers Bill Wyman, Matt Wilson suggested that Dan was convinced to join by the quality and potential suggested by ''Applehead Man'': "We sent him the first record almost as a demo tape, to get him to join up, and kept telling him how serious we were."

Reception

The album was received favorably by critics, who tended to view it in hindsight as a flawed example of Trip Shakespeare's potential, and generally considered a forerunner to their second album, ''

Are You Shakespearienced? ''Are You Shakespearienced?'' is the second studio album released by Minneapolis alternative rock band Trip Shakespeare. It was released in 1989 on Minneapolis indie label Gark Records, then reissued in 1998 on Minneapolis label Clean/Twin/Ton ...

'' Timothy Monger of

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...

noted that the album's cheerful psychedelia was out of step with the times in 1986, saying that the band's "ebullient art rock was extremely literate and melodic with complex harmonies, freewheeling guitar solos, and a heady Northern romanticism that was at odds with the grim post-hardcore of

Hüsker Dü Hüsker Dü () was an American punk rock band formed in Saint Paul, Minnesota, in 1979. The band's continual members were guitarist/vocalist Bob Mould, bassist/vocalist Greg Norton, and drummer/vocalist Grant Hart. They first gained notabili ...

or the shambling, earthy roots rock of the Replacements." Michael Toland of ''

Blurt Blurt is an English post-punk band, founded in 1979 in Stroud, Gloucestershire. Background Blurt was founded in 1979 in Stroud, Gloucestershire by poet, saxophonist and puppeteer Ted Milton along with Milton's brother Jake, formerly of p ...

'' said that the album "debuts a fresh, exciting young trio playing power pop with distinctive personality (and) a seemingly bottomless bag of appealing songs." The ''Chicago Readers Bill Wyman disliked ''Applehead Man'', calling it "an almost unlistenable excursion into overearnest art rock." (He was more positive towards ''Are You Shakespearienced?''.) Scott Schinder of ''

Trouser Press ''Trouser Press'' was a rock and roll magazine started in New York in 1974 as a mimeographed fanzine by editor/publisher Ira Robbins, fellow fan of the Who Dave Schulps and Karen Rose under the name "Trans-Oceanic Trouser Press" (a reference to ...

'' called ''Applehead Man'' "a spunky debut, with stylishly visceral lyrics and inventive melodies," though he said that the band did not "yet possess the expertise to do full justice to Matt Wilson’s surprisingly sophisticated compositions."

Songs

# "Fangs" # "Rose" # "Stop The Winter" # "Necklace" # "Applehead Man" # "Washington Bridge" # "Pearle" # "Fireball" # "Highway In The Sun" # "Beatle"

References

{{Authority control 1986 albums Trip Shakespeare albums Twin/Tone Records albums Omnivore Recordings albums