''Slanted and Enchanted'' is the debut studio album by American

indie rock Indie rock is a Music subgenre, subgenre of rock music that originated in the United States, United Kingdom and New Zealand from the 1970s to the 1980s. Originally used to describe independent record labels, the term became associated with the mu ...

band Pavement, released on April 20, 1992 by

Matador Records Matador Records is an independent record label, with a roster of mainly indie rock, but also punk rock, experimental rock, alternative rock, and electronic acts. History Matador was created in 1989 by Chris Lombardi in his New York City apart ...

. It is the only Pavement album to feature drummer Gary Young. The album received critical acclaim and is seen as a landmark for indie rock, with ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first kno ...

'' ranking it 199th on its 2020 edition of

The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time "The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time" is a recurring opinion survey and music ranking of the finest albums in history, compiled by the American magazine ''Rolling Stone''. It is based on weighted votes from selected musicians, critics, and indust ...

. As of 2007, the album had sold 150,000 copies.

Background

''Slanted and Enchanted'' was distributed to critics as early as 1991, months before its official release; the original distribution did not feature the entire band, as several members joined during its production. The recording sessions were split between South Makepeace Studios in Brooklyn, New York (recorded December 24, 1990) and Louder Than You Think Studios in

Stockton, California Stockton is a city in and the county seat of San Joaquin County, California, San Joaquin County in the Central Valley (California), Central Valley of the U.S. state of California. Stockton was founded by Carlos Maria Weber in 1849 after he acquir ...

(recorded January 13–20, 1991).

Release

The first single ( EP), " Summer Babe" appeared in August 1991. It was the last release on Chicago's Drag City label before the band moved to Matador. It contained the B-sides "Mercy Snack (The Laundromat)" and "Baptist Blacktick" that were later included on the deluxe version of the album. A different mix of "Summer Babe," entitled "Summer Babe (Winter Version)," became the first track on the band's debut album. The song was also ranked by ''

'' magazine as number 286 in its 2004 list of the 500 greatest songs of all time, and as number 292 in the 2011 update of the list. "Trigger Cut" was first released in the UK by

Big Cat Records Big Cat Records is a British independent record label. It launched around 1990 and originally specialized in industrial and noise-rock releases. Big Cat operated a US office in New York City for a few years. Integrated with V2 Records in 1996, ...

on July 13, 1992, later released in the US by Matador the following month.

Packaging

The title ''Slanted and Enchanted'' is taken from the title of a cartoon made by the late

Silver Jews Silver Jews were an American indie rock band from New York City, formed in 1989 by David Berman alongside Pavement members Stephen Malkmus and Bob Nastanovich. Berman was the only constant band member. During the last few albums, Cassie Berman ...

frontman David Berman. Its cover art was created by appropriating that of an existing album,

Ferrante & Teicher Ferrante & Teicher were a duo of American pianists, known for their light arrangements of familiar classical pieces, movie soundtracks, and show tunes as well as their signature style of florid, intricate, and fast-paced piano playing performances ...

's ''Keyboard Kapers''. ''Slanted and Enchanted'' was officially released on 20 April 1992 to critical acclaim, originally reaching a peak of number 72 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 ...

. As of 2007, the album had sold 150,000 copies. In 2002, Matador released '' Slanted and Enchanted: Luxe & Reduxe'', a compilation containing ''Slanted and Enchanted'' in its entirety, as well outtakes and other rarities from the same era.

Critical reception

Slanted and Enchanted received critical acclaim. In a contemporary review of the album,

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 ...

'' was highly positive, writing that Pavement are "always good at both tune and noise" and that the music on ''Slanted and Enchanted'' yields "a message complex enough to offer hope ... that the lyrics will catch up". Erik Davis of '' Spin'' designated ''Slanted and Enchanted'' as the magazine's "Platter du Jour" for March 1992, describing the album as "so fine it occasionally seems too perfect."

Legacy

Since its release ''Slanted and Enchanted'' has appeared on many critics' best-of lists and is frequently cited as being among the most influential

albums of the 1990s.

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 ...

Stephen Thomas Erlewine Stephen Thomas Erlewine (; born June 18, 1973) is an American music critic and senior editor for the online music database AllMusic. He is the author of many artist biographies and record reviews for AllMusic, as well as a freelance writer, occ ...

cited the album as "a left-field classic" and "one of the most influential records of the '90s". In 2002, ''

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 ...

'' awarded the album their maximum grade of 10.0/10.0 in a review of the album's reissue and ranked it as the fifth greatest album of the 1990s in 2003. ''Rolling Stone'' called ''Slanted and Enchanted'' "the quintessential indie rock album" and placed it on the magazine's list of

the 500 greatest albums of all time "The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time" is a recurring opinion survey and music ranking of the finest albums in history, compiled by the American magazine ''Rolling Stone''. It is based on weighted votes from selected musicians, critics, and indust ...

In 2017, ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...

'' called it a "slacker masterpiece" and "the definitive indie rock album".

Accolades

Track listing

Personnel

Pavement *

Stephen Malkmus Stephen Joseph Malkmus (born May 30, 1966) is an American musician best known as the primary songwriter, lead singer and guitarist of the indie rock band Pavement. He currently performs with Stephen Malkmus and the Jicks and as a solo artist ...

– lead vocals (tracks 1–9, 11–16), lead and rhythm guitar (tracks 1–16) *

Scott Kannberg Christopher Scott Kannberg (born August 30, 1966), known professionally as Scott Kannberg and Spiral Stairs, is an American musician best known for being a founding member of the indie-rock band Pavement serving as guitarist and occasional lea ...

– bass guitar (tracks 1–16), backing vocals (tracks 1–2, 4–5), lead and rhythm guitar (tracks 1–16), lead vocals (track 10) * Gary Young – drums (tracks 1–16) Additional Personnel * Cy Jameson – engineer (track 9)

Charts

Album chart usages for UK2

References

External links

* {{Authority control 1992 debut albums 1992 albums Domino Recording Company albums Flying Nun Records albums Matador Records albums Pavement (band) albums Lo-fi music albums Noise pop albums