''High as a Kite'' is the debut studio album by American
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
St. Johnny
St. Johnny were a Connecticut-based rock band, formed in 1989 and split c.1995. They were signed to DGC Records.
Members
* Bill Whitten 1989–1995 (vocals, guitar)
*Tom Leonard 1989–1993 (guitar)
*Jim Elliot 1989–1995 ( bass) Died 2016
*Wa ...
.
Reception
Editors at
AllMusic Guide
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 ...
rated this album three out of five stars, with critic Nitsuh Abebe noting the lack of production and polish on the album, which could be an asset for listeners who prefer that sound, but the quality is still as high as their other releases and will be interesting for fans of their later releases.
Andrew Earles highlighted this album in ''Gimme Indie Rock: 500 Essential American Underground Rock Albums 1981-1996'', calling this "straight-ahead but excellent Sonic-Youth-meets-Pavement-meets-Dinosaur, Jr. indie mope-rock".
In an overview of the band's career for ''
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 ...
'', Deborah Sprague considers the band's early recordings "less nihilistic than they are just plain bored" and notes that the band's sound improved after signing to DGC.
Track listing
All songs written by Jim Elliott, Tom Leonard, Wayne Letitia, and
Bill Whitten
#"Go to Sleep – 3:44
#"God in My Head – 3:55
#"Highway – 3:45
#"Velocity – 3:40
#"My Father's Father – 3:36
#"Matador – 3:29
#"Black – 3:46
#"Stupid – 3:16
#"High as a Kite – 3:53
#"Ashes/Slashes – 3:18
#"Unclean" – 9:00
Personnel
St. Johnny
*Jim Elliott – bass guitar,
production
Production may refer to:
Economics and business
* Production (economics)
* Production, the act of manufacturing goods
* Production, in the outline of industrial organization, the act of making products (goods and services)
* Production as a stati ...
*Tom Leonard – guitar, production
*Wayne Letitia – drums, production
*
Bill Whitten – guitar, vocals, production
Additional personnel
*Mike Deming –
engineering
Engineering is the use of scientific method, scientific principles to design and build machines, structures, and other items, including bridges, tunnels, roads, vehicles, and buildings. The discipline of engineering encompasses a broad rang ...
, saxophone
*Joe Elliott – photography
*
Grasshopper
Grasshoppers are a group of insects belonging to the suborder Caelifera. They are among what is possibly the most ancient living group of chewing herbivorous insects, dating back to the early Triassic around 250 million years ago.
Grasshopp ...
– guitar
*Steve Wytas – engineering
See also
*
List of 1993 albums
This is a summary of significant events in music in 1993.
Specific locations
*1993 in British music
* 1993 in Norwegian music
Specific genres
* 1993 in country music
*1993 in heavy metal music
* 1993 in hip hop music
*1993 in Latin music
...
References
External links
*
*
{{Authority control
1993 albums
Caroline Records albums
Rough Trade Records albums
St. Johnny albums