J Mascis (drums) and Lou Barlow (guitar) played together in the hardcore punk band Deep Wound, formed in 1982 while the pair were attending high school in western Massachusetts. After high school, they began exploring slower yet still aggressive music such as Black Sabbath, the Replacements, and Neil Young, while Mascis's college friend Gerard Cosloy introduced him to psychedelic-influenced pop bands like Dream Syndicate, which Mascis in turn played to Barlow. Cosloy had dropped out of University to focus on running his independent record label, Homestead Records, and he promised Mascis that if he were ever to make a record, Homestead would release it. After Deep Wound broke up in mid-1984, Mascis wrote a number of songs by himself and showed them to Barlow, to whom he offered the bassist position, and he then enlisted vocalist Charlie Nakajima, also formerly of Deep Wound, and drummer Emmett Patrick Murphy (otherwise known as Murph) to complete the band. They were initially named Mogo, and they played their first show on the University of Massachusetts Amherst campus in the first week of September 1984, but Nakajima used the performance to launch an extended anti-police tirade, and Mascis was so appalled by Nakajima's behaviour that he disbanded the group the next day. A few days later, Mascis invited Barlow and Murph to form a new band without telling Nakajima, and the trio named themselves Dinosaur, with Mascis and Barlow taking over lead vocal duties. Mascis took Cosloy up on his offer to release an album on Homestead, and Dinosaur recorded their debut record for $500 at a home studio in the woods outside Northampton, Massachusetts. 'Dinosaur' was released in 1985, with all the songs written by Mascis and sung in his trademark nasal drawl, which was often compared to Neil Young.
The album didn't make much of an impact commercially or critically, only selling about 1,500 copies in its first year, and being largely ignored by the majority of the music press. Dinosaur often played shows in New York City, where they were spotted by the New York-based alternative rock band Sonic Youth, who invited them to join them on tour in the American Northeast and northern Midwest in September 1986. The band recorded much of their second album, 'You're Living All Over Me', with Sonic Youth engineer Wharton Tiers in New York, but tensions emerged between Mascis and Murph because Mascis had very specific ideas for Murph's parts. Cosloy was excited by the completed album, but was devastated when Mascis told him the band was going to release it on California-based SST Records, as Mascis was reluctant to sign a two-album deal with Homestead. 'You're Living All Over Me' was released in 1987, and early copies of the record in the Boston area were packaged with the 'Weed Forestin'' tape, the first release by Barlow's side project Sebadoh. The album received much more attention in the indie-rock community than the debut, and for this record Barlow also composed two songs: the hardcore-influenced 'Lose' and an acoustic sonic collage entitled 'Poledo', that anticipated his work with Sebadoh. Immediately following the release of 'You're Living All Over Me', a supergroup called Dinosaurs (featuring ex-members of Country Joe and the Fish, Quicksilver Messenger Service, Hot Tuna, Grateful Dead and Jefferson Airplane) sued Dinosaur over the use of the name, prompting the addition of the "Jr.".
The album didn't make much of an impact commercially or critically, only selling about 1,500 copies in its first year, and being largely ignored by the majority of the music press. Dinosaur often played shows in New York City, where they were spotted by the New York-based alternative rock band Sonic Youth, who invited them to join them on tour in the American Northeast and northern Midwest in September 1986. The band recorded much of their second album, 'You're Living All Over Me', with Sonic Youth engineer Wharton Tiers in New York, but tensions emerged between Mascis and Murph because Mascis had very specific ideas for Murph's parts. Cosloy was excited by the completed album, but was devastated when Mascis told him the band was going to release it on California-based SST Records, as Mascis was reluctant to sign a two-album deal with Homestead. 'You're Living All Over Me' was released in 1987, and early copies of the record in the Boston area were packaged with the 'Weed Forestin'' tape, the first release by Barlow's side project Sebadoh. The album received much more attention in the indie-rock community than the debut, and for this record Barlow also composed two songs: the hardcore-influenced 'Lose' and an acoustic sonic collage entitled 'Poledo', that anticipated his work with Sebadoh. Immediately following the release of 'You're Living All Over Me', a supergroup called Dinosaurs (featuring ex-members of Country Joe and the Fish, Quicksilver Messenger Service, Hot Tuna, Grateful Dead and Jefferson Airplane) sued Dinosaur over the use of the name, prompting the addition of the "Jr.".
Dinosaur Jr. had a major breakthrough in the United Kingdom in 1988 with their debut single for Blast First, 'Freak Scene', with a version with censored lyrics being issued for radio consumption. It reached number 4 in the UK independent chart, staying there for 12 weeks, and the band's third album, 'Bug', followed shortly afterwards, reaching number 1 on the UK independent chart and spending 38 weeks there, while their first UK singles chart placing came in 1989, with their cover of The Cure's 'Just Like Heaven'. 'Bug' was similar in musical style to 'You're Living All Over Me', with the contrast between the extremely distorted instruments and the melodic vocal parts intact, but this time there was even more melody, and the song structures were more conventional. Barlow only had one lead vocal, on the album's final track, featuring an overdriven, noise-rock backing track and Barlow screaming "Why don't you like me?". Despite the album's success, tensions between Mascis and Barlow began interfering with the band's productivity, and in 1989 Barlow was kicked out of the band, allowing him to focus all of his attention on his former side-project Sebadoh. Dinosaur Jr. embarked on an Australian tour with Donna Dresch filling in for Barlow, and in 1990 they released a new single, 'The Wagon' on Sub Pop, their first release since Barlow's departure. Despite the ongoing line-up turmoil, Dinosaur Jr. signed with Sire Records in 1990, and made their major-label debut with 'Green Mind' in 1991. In fact, the new record was virtually a J Mascis solo album, with Murph playing drums on only a few songs, as well as minimal contributions from temporary members Don Fleming and Jay Spiegel, who were out of the band by the time the album was released.
Following some well-received live shows, the group decided to record some new material with a revised line-up, with Murph still on drums, but being joined by Mike Johnson on bass. This material represented the peak of the band's commercial success, with the single 'Start Choppin'' reaching the top 20 in the UK, and the album that followed, 'Where You Been', reached the UK top 10 and the US top 50. Murph left the band after touring for 'Where You Been' and was replaced for live shows by George Berz, leaving Mascis as the sole remaining original member. In the studio, he was, in effect, the band, playing everything except for the bass and some of the harmony vocals, which continued to be handled by Mike Johnson. Commercial success continued with 1994's 'Without A Sound', which placed well in both the US and UK album charts, and after 1997's 'Hand It Over', Mascis finally retired the Dinosaur Jr. name, with the group's final live performance being an appearance on the American talk show The Jenny Jones Show. Mascis and Barlow has begun to meet up in the mid-90's, with Mascis attending shows by Sebadoh, and by 2002 this had led to the two of them sharing a stage for two shows in London. Mascis regained the master rights to the band's first three albums from SST in 2004 and arranged for their reissue on Merge in early 2005, and later that year, he and Barlow shared the stage at a benefit show for autism at Smith College, resurrecting Deep Wound to play a set at the end of the gig. Following the reissues in 2005, Mascis, Barlow, and Murph finally reunited to play on The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson on 15 April 2005, and in June they kicked off a tour of Europe.
In 2007, the original members of Dinosaur Jr. released 'Beyond' on Fat Possum Records, their first album of new material as a trio since 'Bug' in 1988, and it was met with critical acclaim from the music press as a whole. In February 2009, the band signed with indie label Jagjaguwar, with their first release on the new label being 'Farm', which appeared in June, and which marked a return to the heavier 'Where You Been' era. A second album for the label followed, with 'I Bet On Sky' appearing in 2012, once again to favourable reviews, and in 2015 it was announced that the band had entered the studio to begin working on their follow-up, with 'Give A Glimpse Of What Yer Not' being released in 2016. They are still around, and in February 2021 they announced their 12th album 'Sweep It Into Space', which was released in April, and singles 'I Ran Away' and 'Garden' were extracted from the record. Dinosaur Jr. was one of the first, biggest, and best bands among the second generation of indie kids, influencing many other musicians such as Kurt Cobain, Billy Corgan, Black Francis, Graham Coxon, and Henry Rollins, and bands like Tad, My Bloody Valentine, Ride, Slowdive, Swervedriver, and Teenage Fanclub. I'll be the first to admit that they are an acquired taste, and if you aren't into heavy rock then you won't find much to enjoy, but hearing them at the time was a breath of fresh air after living through the turgid heavy metal of the late 70's and early 80's, and so for fans of the band here is a feast of rare singles, b-sides, out-takes and soundtrack contributions, in a massive four-volume collection from this unique group.
Track listing
Disc I - 1985-1991
01 Bulbs Of Passion (b-side of 'Repulsion' 1985)
02 Keep The Glove (b-side of 'Freak Scene' 1988)
03 Show Me The Way (b-side of 'Little Furry Things' 1987)
04 Just Like Heaven (single 1989)
05 Throw Down (b-side of 'Just Like Heaven')
06 Chunks (A Last Rights Tune) (b-side of 'Just Like Heaven')
07 The Little Baby (b-side of 'The Wagon' 1990)
08 Pebbles + Weeds (b-side of 'The Wagon' 1990)
09 Not You Again (b-side of 'The Wagon' 1990)
10 Quicksand (Wagon Reprise) (b-side of 'The Wagon' 1990)
11 Better Than Gone (b-side of 'The Wagon' re-issue 1991)
12 Whatever's Cool With Me (single 1991)
13 Sideways (b-side of 'Whatever's Cool With Me')
Disc II - 1992-1995
01 Hot Burrito #2 (b-side of 'Get Me' 1992)
02 Quest (acoustic) (b-side of 'Get Me' 1992)
03 Turnip Farm (b-side of 'Start Choppin'' 1993)
04 Forget It (b-side of 'Start Choppin'' 1993)
05 Keebin' (b-side of 'Out There' 1993)
06 Missing Link (from the soundtrack of the film 'Judgement Night' 1993)
07 Get Out Of This (No Words Just Solo) (b-side of 'Feel The Pain' 1994)
08 Blah (from the soundtrack of the TV series 'Melrose Place' 1994)
09 What Else Is New (b-side of 'I Don't Think So' 1995)
10 Sludge (b-side of 'I Don't Think So' 1995)
Disc III - 1997-2009
01 I Misunderstood (b-side of 'I'm Insane' 1997)
02 Take A Run At The Sun (single 1997)
03 Don't You Think It's Time (b-side of 'Take A Run At The Sun')
04 The Pickle Song (b-side of 'Take A Run At The Sun')
05 What We Do In Secret (previously unreleased 1997)
06 Never Bought It (from 'Recovery' TV show, ABC Australia 1997)
07 Sure Not Over You (from 'Recovery' TV show, ABC Australia 1997)
08 Yer Son (b-side of 'Crumble' 2007)
09 Whenever You're Ready (bonus track on Japanese edition of 'Farm' 2009)
10 Creepies (bonus track on Japanese edition of 'Farm' 2009)
11 Show (bonus track on Japanese edition of 'Farm' 2009)
12 Houses (b-side of 'Pieces' 2009)
13 The Backyard (from 'Ciao My Shining Star: The Songs Of Mark Mulcahy' tribute album 2009)
Disc IV - 2012-2018
01 Now The Fall (single 2012)
02 Richocet (b-side of 'Now The Fall')
03 The Only Other Way (single 2013)
04 Don't Pretend You Didn't Know (single 2013)
05 Entertainment (single 2013)
06 Two Things (single 2016)
07 Center Of The Universe (b-side of 'Two Things')
08 Black Betty (b-side of 'Two Things')
09 Solo Extractions (b-side of 'Two Things')
10 Hold Unknown (single 2018)
Thanks for this, and the detailed history of the band
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