''The Wayward Bus'' is the second studio album by American
indie pop
Indie pop (also typeset as indie-pop or indiepop) is a music genre and subculture that combines guitar pop with DIY ethic in opposition to the style and tone of mainstream pop music. It originated from British post-punk in the late 1970s and sub ...
band
The Magnetic Fields
The Magnetic Fields (named after the André Breton/Philippe Soupault novel ''Les Champs Magnétiques'') are an American Band (rock and pop), band founded and led by Stephin Merritt. Merritt is the group's primary songwriter, producer, and vocali ...
, released in 1992 by the band's own label, PoPuP Records.
As with the band's first release, ''
Distant Plastic Trees'', Susan Anway sings lead vocals on ''The Wayward Bus. The Wayward Bus'' is the last album featuring Anway, as she left the band to move interstate;
Stephin Merritt subsequently assumed vocal duties.
Merritt composed all of the album's songs but collaborated with a number of other musicians in recording the album, and they play various acoustic instruments. ''The Wayward Bus'' is unlike ''Distant Plastic Trees'' in this regard; the earlier album was synthesiser-based, and this synthesised instrumentation was performed exclusively by Merritt''.''
Merritt acknowledged the influence of
Phil Spector
Harvey Phillip Spector (born Harvey Philip Spector; December 26, 1939January 16, 2021) was an American record producer and songwriter, best known for his innovative recording practices and entrepreneurship in the 1960s, followed decades later by ...
on the first half of the album: "It's a comment about Phil Spector songs. The second half is whatever I had lying around. Most people listen just to the first half of the record and assume it's all like that, a Phil Spector tribute or something, which it really isn't."
The front cover was painted by Wendy Smith, the girlfriend of Stuart Moxham from
Young Marble Giants,
and the title of the album is taken from the
John Steinbeck
John Ernst Steinbeck Jr. (; February 27, 1902 – December 20, 1968) was an American writer and the 1962 Nobel Prize in Literature winner "for his realistic and imaginative writings, combining as they do sympathetic humor and keen social ...
novel ''
The Wayward Bus''.
Release
In 1994, ''The Wayward Bus'' was released by
Merge Records
Merge Records is an independent record label based in Durham, North Carolina. It was founded in 1989 by Laura Ballance and Mac McCaughan. It began as an outlet for music from their band Superchunk and music created by friends, and has expande ...
in a compilation with ''Distant Plastic Trees''.
In 2016, Merge reissued this compilation as a double LP set.
Track listing
Personnel
*
Stephin Merritt – songwriting, instrumentation and production
*
Claudia Gonson
Claudia Miriam Gonson (born April 5, 1968) is an American musician best known for her work with The Magnetic Fields. She often provides the band lead vocals as well as performing the piano or drums. She is also the band's manager.
Gonson met S ...
– cocktail drums
*
Sam Davol
Samuel Bradford Davol is a musician best known for his work with the indie pop band The Magnetic Fields. He is featured several times in videos for The Magnetic Fields, and in the opening for "Born on a Train", his cello is featured at the beginni ...
– cello
;Additional personnel
*Susan Anway – vocals
*Johny Blood – tuba, horns
*Wendy Smith – album cover
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Wayward Bus, The
The Magnetic Fields albums
1992 albums
Merge Records albums