''Volt'' is the final work released by
Minneapolis
Minneapolis () is the largest city in Minnesota, United States, and the county seat of Hennepin County. The city is abundant in water, with thirteen lakes, wetlands, the Mississippi River, creeks and waterfalls. Minneapolis has its origins ...
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
Trip Shakespeare
Trip Shakespeare was an American rock band formed in Minneapolis, Minnesota in the late 1980s/early 1990s. The band included Dan Wilson and John Munson, who would later go on to be founding members of Semisonic.
Origins
The band originated when ...
. A six-song EP of covers, it was released in 1992 by Minneapolis label Clean Records.
''Volt'' includes songs by
Nick Lowe
Nicholas Drain Lowe (born 24 March 1949) is an English singer-songwriter, musician and producer. A noted figure in power pop and new wave,[Thunderclap Newman
Thunderclap Newman were an English rock band that Pete Townshend of the Who and Kit Lambert formed in 1969 in a bid to showcase the talents of John "Speedy" Keen, Jimmy McCulloch, and Andy "Thunderclap" Newman.
Their single, "Something in the ...]
,
Big Star
Big Star was an American rock band formed in Memphis, Tennessee, in 1971 by Alex Chilton (vocals, guiar), Chris Bell (vocals, guitar), Jody Stephens (drums), and Andy Hummel (bass). The group broke up in early 1975, and reorganized with a new l ...
, the
Zombies
A zombie (Haitian French: , ht, zonbi) is a mythological undead corporeal revenant created through the reanimation of a corpse. Zombies are most commonly found in horror and fantasy genre works. The term comes from Haitian folklore, in whic ...
,
Hüsker Dü
Hüsker Dü () was an American punk rock band formed in Saint Paul, Minnesota, in 1979. The band's continual members were guitarist/vocalist Bob Mould, bassist/vocalist Greg Norton, and drummer/vocalist Grant Hart. They first gained notabili ...
, and
Neil Young
Neil Percival Young (born November 12, 1945) is a Canadian-American singer and songwriter. After embarking on a music career in Winnipeg in the 1960s, Young moved to Los Angeles, joining Buffalo Springfield with Stephen Stills, Richie Furay ...
.
[
]
History
The recording of the songs on ''Volt'', which were intended to be Trip Shakespeare's fifth album, followed two albums for major label A&M Records
A&M Records was an American record label founded as an independent company by Herb Alpert and Jerry Moss in 1962. Due to the success of the discography A&M released, the label garnered interest and was acquired by PolyGram in 1989 and began distr ...
, ''Across the Universe
"Across the Universe" is a song by the English rock band the Beatles. It was written by John Lennon and credited to Lennon–McCartney. The song first appeared on the 1969 various artists' charity compilation album ''No One's Gonna Change Our W ...
'' and ''Lulu
Lulu may refer to:
Companies
* LuLu, an early automobile manufacturer
* Lulu.com, an online e-books and print self-publishing platform, distributor, and retailer
* Lulu Hypermarket, a retail chain in Asia
* Lululemon Athletica or simply Lulu, a C ...
''. Both were critically well-reviewed but suffered from low sales. Inspired by the then-current 1992 Los Angeles riots
The 1992 Los Angeles riots, sometimes called the 1992 Los Angeles uprising and the Los Angeles Race Riots, were a series of riots and civil disturbances that occurred in Los Angeles County, California, in April and May 1992. Unrest began in S ...
, the band chose songs about peace, revolution and freedom as a unifying concept for the album. A&M initially encouraged the project, but became unsure how to market it. A&M's promotions department, upon hearing the album, responded by saying "What do we do with this?", according to bassist John Munson
John Munson (born December 13, 1966) is an American musician who is best known as the bass player for Semisonic. He was also a member of Trip Shakespeare during the late 1980s and early 1990s.
Trip Shakespeare
Matt Wilson, lead vocalist of Tr ...
.
Reception
The album had a mixed reception from critics. Gregory McIntosh of ''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 ...
'' wrote that none of the songs were "particularly gripping, but there are some great moments as well as fun listens for fans of Trip Shakespeare."[ Chris Morris of '']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 ...
'' praised the "stunning, harmony-laden" and "sharp selection of covers."[ Courtney King of Tennessee newspaper ]The Jackson Sun
''The Jackson Sun'' is a daily newspaper published in Jackson, Tennessee, and is one of western Tennessee's major newspapers, delivered to 13 counties. The newspaper is owned by Gannett. Its history dates back over 150 years.
See also
*List of ...
called ''Volt'' "enjoyable," singling out the "upbeat and peppy" version of "Peace Love, and Understanding," calling it "a really good song to slam to if you do it at a moderate pace," but felt that the band did better with its original compositions.hich
Ij ( fa, ايج, also Romanized as Īj; also known as Hich and Īch) is a village in Golabar Rural District, in the Central District of Ijrud County, Zanjan Province, Iran
Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also ...
maintains the beauty of the song while making it their own."
Track listing
References
{{Trip Shakespeare
1992 EPs
Trip Shakespeare albums