''Just for a Day'' is the debut

studio album An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as Digital distribution#Music, digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early ...

by English

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

Slowdive Slowdive is a British rock band that formed in Reading, Berkshire, in 1989. The band consists of Rachel Goswell on vocals and guitar, Neil Halstead on vocals and guitar, Christian Savill on guitar, Nick Chaplin on bass and Simon Scott on drum ...

. It was released on 2 September 1991 by

Creation Records Creation Records Ltd. was a British independent record label founded in 1983 by Alan McGee, Dick Green, and Joe Foster. Its name came from the 1960s band The Creation, whom McGee greatly admired. The label ceased operations in 1999, although ...

Recording

''Just for a Day'' was recorded at Courtyard Studios, formerly known as Georgetown Studios, in Abingdon in the

Thames Valley The Thames Valley is an informally-defined sub-region of South East England, centred on the River Thames west of London, with Oxford as a major centre. Its boundaries vary with context. The area is a major tourist destination and economic hub, ...

Release

''Just for a Day'' was released on 2 September 1991 by

. It peaked at number 32 on the

UK Albums Chart The Official Albums Chart is a list of albums ranked by physical and digital sales and (from March 2015) audio streaming in the United Kingdom. It was published for the first time on 22 July 1956 and is compiled every week by the Official Charts C ...

. Prior to the album's release, the EP ''Holding Our Breath'', which featured the ''Just for a Day'' song "Catch the Breeze" as its lead track, was issued on CD and

12" vinyl The twelve-inch single (often written as 12-inch or 12″) is a type of vinyl ( polyvinyl chloride or PVC) gramophone record that has wider groove spacing and shorter playing time with a 'single' or a few related sound tracks on each surfac ...

on 3 June 1991, along with its

7" vinyl In music, a single is a type of Art release#Music, release, typically a song Sound recording, recording of fewer tracks than an LP record or an album. One can be released for record sales, sale to the public in a variety of formats. In most ca ...

equivalent, the "Catch the Breeze" single. In the United States, ''Just for a Day'' was released by

SBK Records SBK Records was a record label, owned by Universal Music Group, that was currently part of the Capitol Music Group, where it is in hibernation. The label was founded in 1988 and during its time in activity existed as part of the EMI Group. Histo ...

in 1992. On 14 November 2005, a

remaster Remaster refers to changing the quality of the sound or of the image, or both, of previously created recordings, either audiophonic, cinematic, or videographic. The terms digital remastering and digitally remastered are also used. Mastering A ...

ed edition of ''Just for a Day'' was issued by the

Sanctuary Records Sanctuary Records Group Limited was a record label based in the United Kingdom and is as of 2013 a subsidiary of BMG Rights Management solely for reissues. Until June 2007, it was the largest independent record label in the UK and the largest m ...

subsidiary label

Castle Music Castle Communications, also known as Castle Music, was a British independent record label and home video distributor founded in 1983 by Terry Shand, Cliff Dane, and Jon Beecher. Its video imprint was called Castle Vision. The label's producti ...

, supplemented by an extra disc containing tracks from the band's first three EPs: ''

'', ''Morningrise'' and ''Holding Our Breath''. Another remastered edition featuring the same bonus material was released by

Cherry Red Records Cherry Red Records is a British independent record label founded in Malvern, Worcestershire by Iain McNay in 1978. The label has released recordings by Dead Kennedys, Everything But the Girl, The Monochrome Set, and Felt, among others, as well ...

on 16 August 2010.

Critical reception

The initial reception to ''Just for a Day'' from the British music press was lukewarm, in contrast to the enthusiasm with which Slowdive's earlier releases had been met. Jon Ridge, reviewing ''Just for a Day'' for ''Lime Lizard'' magazine, thought that the album was premature, describing it as "more a continuation, or aqueous celebration rather, than an advancement" compared to the band's "rather spiffing" previous EPs. Dan Maier of '' Select'' found Slowdive "too direct" in their musical approach, writing that they "just sing slowly, play fuzzy, and end up sounding like the

Cocteau Twins Cocteau Twins was a Scottish rock band active from 1979 to 1997. They were formed in Grangemouth by Robin Guthrie (guitars, drum machine) and Will Heggie (bass), adding Elizabeth Fraser (vocals) in 1981 and replacing Heggie with multi-instrum ...

with ballast." ''

Melody Maker ''Melody Maker'' was a British weekly music magazine, one of the world's earliest music weeklies; according to its publisher, IPC Media, the earliest. It was founded in 1926, largely as a magazine for dance band musicians, by Leicester-born ...

'' was especially disparaging, with critic

Paul Lester Paul Lester is a British music journalist, author and broadcaster from Elstree, North London. Career He began his career as a freelance journalist, for ''Melody Maker'' in the early 1990s, as well as ''City Limits'', ''20/20'', ''Sky Magazine ...

panning ''Just for a Day'' as a "major fucking letdown". Conversely, Simon Williams of ''

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 ...

'' championed the record, calling it "frequently exceptional" and "a fine, fragrant affair". In a retrospective essay, ''

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 ...

'' deemed the material on ''Just for a Day'' inconsistent, but concluded that "the songs that are solid are breathtaking, and those that aren't are at least hypnotic and slowly sensuous." Reappraising the album in 2005 for ''

Pitchfork A pitchfork (also a hay fork) is an agricultural tool with a long handle and two to five tines used to lift and pitch or throw loose material, such as hay, straw, manure, or leaves. The term is also applied colloquially, but inaccurately, to th ...

'', Nitsuh Abebe said that "if anything in Slowdive's catalogue will seem dated, it's the overgroomed production on these songs", while nonetheless noting a "terrifically oceanic" quality to ''Just for a Day'' as a whole. In his review of the record for

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 ...

, Abebe cited the songs "Celia's Dream" and "Erik's Song" in particular as being indicative of what he believed was the more fully realized sound of Slowdive's next album, ''

Souvlaki Souvlaki ( el, σουβλάκι, , ; plural: , ), is a popular Greek fast food consisting of small pieces of meat and sometimes vegetables grilled on a skewer. It is usually eaten straight off the skewer while still hot. It can be served with ...

'' (1993). Critic Ned Raggett ranked ''Just for a Day'' at number 17 on his decade-end list of the best albums of the 1990s for ''

Freaky Trigger ''Freaky Trigger'' is an Internet publication and e-zine that focuses on popular culture with topics varying from music to cinema. It was founded by the music critic Tom Ewing in 1999 and features Pete Baran and Mark Sinker as editors. From 2000 ...

''. In 2016, ''Pitchfork'' listed it as the seventh best

shoegaze Shoegaze (originally called shoegazing and sometimes conflated with "dream pop") is a subgenre of indie and alternative rock characterized by its ethereal mixture of obscured vocals, guitar distortion and effects, feedback, and overwhelming volu ...

album of all time.

Track listing

Personnel

Credits are adapted from the album's liner notes. Slowdive *

Rachel Goswell Rachel Ann Goswell (born 16 May 1971) is an English singer-songwriter and musician who rose to prominence as vocalist and guitarist of the shoegaze band Slowdive, which formed in 1989. Goswell, along with Neil Halstead, Ian McCutcheon and fo ...

– vocals, guitar *

Neil Halstead Neil Halstead (born 7 October 1970) is an English musician, widely known as singer, primary lyricist, and guitarist of shoegaze band Slowdive. He has been hailed by AllMusic as "one of Britain's most respected songwriters", and '' Time Out'' as ...

– vocals, guitar *

Christian Savill Christian Savill (born 6 December 1970) is an English musician best known for his work as guitarist of Slowdive. Early life Born in Bury, Lancashire, Savill did not grow up in a musical family, but influenced by The Smiths (and specifically ...

– guitar * Nick Chaplin – bass guitar * Simon Scott – drums Production * Neil Halstead –

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 ...

* Chris Hufford – production,

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 ...

* Slowdive – mixing Design * Califram – photography

Charts

References

External links

* * {{Authority control 1991 debut albums Slowdive albums Creation Records albums SBK Records albums