''Dub Housing'' is the second album by American

rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wales ...

band

Pere Ubu Pere Ubu is an American rock group formed in Cleveland, Ohio, in 1975. The band had a variety of long-term and recurring band members, with singer David Thomas being the only member staying throughout the band's lifetime. They released their d ...

. Released in 1978 by

Chrysalis Records Chrysalis Records () is a British record label that was founded in 1968. The name is both a reference to the pupal stage of a butterfly and a combination of its founders' names, Chris Wright and Terry Ellis. It started as the Ellis-Wright Ag ...

, the album is now regarded as one of their best, described by ''

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 ...

'' as "simply one of the most important

post-punk Post-punk (originally called new musick) is a broad genre of punk music that emerged in the late 1970s as musicians departed from punk's traditional elements and raw simplicity, instead adopting a variety of avant-garde sensibilities and non-roc ...

recordings." The title is an allusion to the visual echoes of blocks of identical

row houses In architecture and city planning, a terrace or terraced house ( UK) or townhouse ( US) is a form of medium-density housing that originated in Europe in the 16th century, whereby a row of attached dwellings share side walls. In the United State ...

Baltimore Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, and List of United States cities by popula ...

, presumably reminiscent of the echo and reverberation that characterize dub. "Dub" is also a reference to Jehovah's Witnesses, who refer to themselves as "Dubs". Lead singer David Thomas was a Jehovah's Witness. On a 1979 concert bootleg recording, during the song " Sentimental Journey," David Thomas ad-libs the line "I live in a dub house!" The photograph on the cover shows the apartment building at 3206 Prospect Avenue near downtown

Cleveland Cleveland ( ), officially the City of Cleveland, is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located in the northeastern part of the state, it is situated along the southern shore of Lake Erie, across the U.S. ...

in which members of the band lived when this album was recorded.

Reception and legacy

At the end of 1978, ''

NME ''New Musical Express'' (''NME'') is a British music, film, gaming, and culture website and brand. Founded as a newspaper in 1952, with the publication being referred to as a 'rock inkie', the NME would become a magazine that ended up as a f ...

'' named ''Dub Housing'' the year's eighth best album, while ''

Sounds In physics, sound is a vibration that propagates as an acoustic wave, through a transmission medium such as a gas, liquid or solid. In human physiology and psychology, sound is the ''reception'' of such waves and their ''perception'' by the ...

'' ranked it at number 13 on its year-end list.

Robert Christgau Robert Thomas Christgau ( ; born April 18, 1942) is an American music journalist and essayist. Among the most well-known and influential music critics, he began his career in the late 1960s as one of the earliest professional rock critics and ...

of ''

The Village Voice ''The Village Voice'' is an American news and culture paper, known for being the country's first alternative newsweekly. Founded in 1955 by Dan Wolf, Ed Fancher, John Wilcock, and Norman Mailer, the ''Voice'' began as a platform for the crea ...

'' wrote in 1979, "not only is it abrasive and visionary and eccentric and hard-rocking itself, but it sent me back to ''

The Modern Dance ''The Modern Dance'' is the debut album by American rock music, rock band Pere Ubu. It was released in January 1978 by record label Blank. A 5.1 surround sound version was released as the DVD-Audio side of a DualDisc in 2005. Critical reception ...

'', which I liked fine originally and like more now". In ''The Village Voice''s

Pazz & Jop Pazz & Jop was an annual poll of top musical releases, compiled by American newspaper ''The Village Voice'' and created by music critic Robert Christgau. It published lists of the year's top releases for 1971 and, after Christgau's two-year abse ...

critics' poll for 1979, ''Dub Housing'' placed at number nine. The album has been reissued several times: in 1989 on CD by

Rough Trade Records Rough Trade Records is an independent record label based in London, England. It was formed in 1976 by Geoff Travis who had opened a record store off Ladbroke Grove. Having successfully promoted and sold records by punk rock and early post-pun ...

, in 1999 on CD by

Thirsty Ear Records Thirsty Ear Recordings is an American independent record label. It was founded in the late 1970s as a marketing company for the then-unnamed alternative music field, and expanded to issue its own records in 1990. Thirsty Ear came to prominence ...

, in 2008 on CD on

Cooking Vinyl Cooking Vinyl is a British independent record label, based in Acton, London, England, founded in 1986 by former manager and booking agent Martin Goldschmidt and business partner Pete Lawrence. Goldschmidt remains the current owner and chairman ...

, and in 2015 on CD and vinyl by

Fire Records Fire Records was an American independent record label, set up in 1959 by Bobby Robinson. Amongst others, it released records by Lightnin' Hopkins, Elmore James, Buster Brown and Arthur Crudup. At one point it was thought Fire had issued the la ...

Track listing

All songs written by David Thomas, Tom Herman,

Tony Maimone Tony Maimone (born September 27, 1952) is a bassist, producer, and recording engineer, who lives in Brooklyn, New York. He was a member of Pere Ubu from the mid-1970s to the early 1990s, often playing with drummer Scott Krauss. The duo were dubbe ...

Allen Ravenstine Allen Ravenstine (born May 9, 1950) is an American keyboard player, most recognized for his work in the experimental rock group Pere Ubu. In 1991, he quit music to become a commercial airline pilot. History Early years Allen Ravenstine was ...

and Scott Krauss. #"Navvy" – 2:40 #"On the Surface" – 2:35 #"Dub Housing" – 3:39 #" Caligari's Mirror" – 3:49 #"Thriller!" – 4:36 #"I, Will Wait" – 1:45 #"Drinking Wine Spodyody" – 2:44 #"(Pa) Ubu Dance Party" – 4:46 #"Blow Daddy-O" – 3:38 #"Codex" – 4:55

Personnel

Pere Ubu * David Thomas – vocals, organ *Tom Herman – guitar, bass, organ *

– bass, guitar, piano *

– EML synthesizers, saxophone *Scott Krauss – drums Technical *Pere Ubu – production *Ken Hamann – production, recording, engineering, EQ and mastering *David Thomas – EQ and mastering

References

External links

* {{Authority control Pere Ubu albums 1978 albums Chrysalis Records albums Rough Trade Records albums Cooking Vinyl albums Fire Records (UK) albums