''Song of the Bailing Man'' is the fifth
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 ...
album, released in 1982. It was the final Pere Ubu album until 1988's ''
The Tenement Year''.
Production
Anton Fier
Anton Fier (June 20, 1956 – September 14, 2022) was an American drummer, producer, composer, and bandleader.
Family
Fier, known as Tony, was born in Cleveland, Ohio, to Ruthe Marie Fier and Anton J. Fier Jr., a former Marine and electrician. ...
replaced drummer
Scott Krauss
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 ...
for the recording of the album.
[ The band broke up shortly after producing ''Song of the Bailing Man''.
]
Critical reception
''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 ...
'' wrote that "Fier’s lighter, jazzier playing sets the tone for an album that, for all its Euro-prog iconoclasm, never quite ignites." The '' Spin Alternative Record Guide'' called ''Song of the Bailing Man'' "more of a bouncy pop record, though Thomas is as gone as ever."[ In its review of the ''Architecture of Language 1979-1982'' boxset, '']The Quietus
''The Quietus'' is a British online music and pop culture magazine founded by John Doran and Luke Turner. The site is an editorially independent publication led by Doran with a group of freelance journalists and critics.
Content
''The Quietu ...
'' wrote that "Tony Maimone's basslines play a bigger part on this record, making this LP more overtly poppy sounding than its predecessors."
Track listing
All lyrics by David Thomas; all music by Pere Ubu
#"The Long Walk Home" – 2:34
#"Use of a Dog" – 3:17
#"Petrified" – 2:16
#"Stormy Weather" – 3:20
#"West Side Story" – 2:46
#"Thoughts That Go by Steam" - 3:47
#"Big Ed's Used Farms" - 2:24
#"A Day Such as This" - 7:17
#"The Vulgar Boatman Bird" - 2:49
#"My Hat" - 1:19
#"Horns Are a Dilemma" (Pere Ubu, John Thompson) - 4:21
Personnel
;Pere Ubu
* David Thomas – vocals, cover artwork
*Mayo Thompson
Mayo Thompson (born February 26, 1944 in Houston, Texas, United States) is an American musician and visual artist best known as the leader of the experimental rock band Red Krayola.
Background
His formal education includes Garden of Arts Kind ...
– guitar
*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 ...
– EML synthesizers
*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 dubb ...
– bass
*Anton Fier
Anton Fier (June 20, 1956 – September 14, 2022) was an American drummer, producer, composer, and bandleader.
Family
Fier, known as Tony, was born in Cleveland, Ohio, to Ruthe Marie Fier and Anton J. Fier Jr., a former Marine and electrician. ...
– drums, piano, marimba, percussion
with:
* Eddie "Tan Tan" Thornton - trumpet
;Technical
*Paul Hamann - engineer
*John Thompson - design
References
{{Authority control
Pere Ubu albums
1982 albums
Albums produced by Adam Kidron
Rough Trade Records albums
Cooking Vinyl albums
Fire Records (UK) albums