Contents Dislodged During Shipment
| Contents Dislodged During Shipment | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | 1979 | |||
| Recorded | Warner Bros. Recording Studios, North Hollywood, California | |||
| Genre | Art rock | |||
| Length | 31:33 | |||
| Label | Warner Bros. | |||
| Producer | Paul Wexler | |||
| Tin Huey chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| Christgau's Record Guide | B+[1] |
Contents Dislodged During Shipment is an album by American rock band Tin Huey, released in 1979 by Warner Bros. Records. Most of it was written by the band's frontman, Chris Butler. Even though their cover of the Monkees' "I'm a Believer" was a minor hit, Contents Dislodged During Shipment was a commercial failure and Warner Bros. dropped the band in early 1980.
Recording[edit]
The album's title came from a pizza box Harvey Gold saw during the planning of the album that was labeled with the title as a warning. Gold decided the warning described what the band meant.[2]
Release and commercial reception[edit]
The album sold poorly. Following the release, Tin Huey and Warner Bros. Records negotiated a separation.[2]
Critical reception[edit]
Reviewing in Christgau's Record Guide: Rock Albums of the Seventies (1981), Robert Christgau wrote: "They get arch at times, both lyrically [...] and in rhythm changes and instrumental breaks that betray an art-rock heritage. But like Pere Ubu, these Akron boys make art-rock that rocks, with chops you can enjoy for all the music's sake. And if their humor is collegiate, I'm a sophomore."[1] Trouser Press said that "their blend of blues, jazz and progressive rock is hilariously unique, offering up a warped vision of Middle America."[3]
Writing for The New York Times in 1979, John Rockwell commented that the album "lacks the sharp, rhythmic impetus of both Devo and Talking Heads, the sort of structurally spare bands that would appear to be its most immediate inspirations", continuing that "the record still has merit, and the band's direct linkage of the pulse of rock with the drive of industrial‐age machinery [...] is especially striking."[4]
Track listing[edit]
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "I'm a Believer" | Neil Diamond | 3:16 |
| 2. | "The Revelations of Dr. Modesto" | Harvey Gold | 3:57 |
| 3. | "I Could Rule The World if I Could Only Get the Parts" | Chris Butler | 3:17 |
| 4. | "Coronation" | Butler, Gold | 2:25 |
| 5. | "Slide" | Butler | 2:40 |
| Total length: | 15:35 | ||
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 6. | "Hump Day" | Butler | 2:59 |
| 7. | "Pink Berets" | Butler, Gold | 3:04 |
| 8. | "Squirm You Worm" | Mark Price, Gold | 2:32 |
| 9. | "Chinese Circus" | Michael Aylward, Gold | 1:48 |
| 10. | "Puppet Wipes" | Ralph Carney, Gold | 2:35 |
| 11. | "New York's Finest Dining Experience" | Aylward, Gold | 3:00 |
| Total length: | 15:58 | ||
Personnel[edit]
- Chris Butler - guitar, percussion, birdcalls, vocals
- Harvey Gold - piano, synthesizer, guitar, vocals
- Michael Aylward - guitar, slide guitar, vocals
- Mark Price - bass, vocals
- Stuart Austin - drums, percussion, Synare drum synthesizer, vocals
- Ralph Carney - bass, tenor, alto and soprano saxophone, clarinet, organ, percussion, piano, harmonica, vocals, "large nose, duck calls"
References[edit]
- ^ a b Christgau, Robert (1981). "Consumer Guide '70s: T". Christgau's Record Guide: Rock Albums of the Seventies. Ticknor & Fields. ISBN 089919026X. Retrieved March 16, 2019 – via robertchristgau.com.
- ^ a b Rydbom, Calvin C. (March 5, 2018). The Akron Sound: The Heyday of the Midwest's Punk Capital. Arcadia Publishing. pp. 51–55. ISBN 978-1-4396-6409-4.
- ^ "Tin Huey". Trouser Press. Retrieved December 27, 2023.
- ^ Rockwell, John (April 13, 1979). "The Pop Life". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved September 4, 2023.
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