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Please Panic

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Please Panic
Studio album by
The Vulgar Boatmen
Released1992
LabelSafe House
ProducerJonathan Isley, Robert Ray
The Vulgar Boatmen chronology
You and Your Sister
(1989) 		Please Panic
(1992) 		Opposite Sex
(1995)

Please Panic is an album by the American band the Vulgar Boatmen, released in 1992.[1][2] The band supported the album with North American and European tours.[3] "You Don't Love Me Yet" inspired the title of Jonathan Lethem's 2007 novel.[4]

Production

[edit]

The album was produced by Jonathan Isley and Robert Ray.[5] The songs were written by Ray and Dale Lawrence.[6] Please Panic was recorded mostly in Florida, with two sessions taking place in Indiana.[7] The band recorded many songs in Ray's house, using an 8-track.[8] Between the Indiana and Florida contingents of the band, plus guest musicians, 19 people played on the album.[9] "There's a Family" is about a Ray family Christmas trip to Memphis, his hometown.[10]

Critical reception

[edit]
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[11]
Robert Christgau(2-star Honorable Mention)(2-star Honorable Mention)[12]
The Encyclopedia of Popular Music[13]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide[14]
Spin Alternative Record Guide7/10[15]

The Chicago Tribune noted that "the band's minimalist pop calls to mind Buddy Holly and Workingman's-era Grateful Dead, while the offhanded, diffident attitude expressed in such songs as 'Don't Mention It' or 'I'm Not Stuck on You' recall the less-is-more emotional stance of Southeastern alternative pop bands of the early '80s."[16] Trouser Press determined that "the tonal equality of the singers' voices, the claustrophobic narrowness of the stylistic approach and the writers' consistent lyrical tenor all dispel any fear of organizational confusion."[17] Rolling Stone wrote: "More precise and polished than the Boatmen's highly praised debut ... Please Panic is a translucent collection of eloquent beauty and delicate vigor... Spartan arrangements give it a subtle allure."[18]

The Virginian-Pilot praised the "insightful writing, taut instrumentation and roomy, economic arrangements that shun convention."[19] The Chicago Reader concluded that Please Panic lacks "the dramatic atmospherics of the first album, but it's still an extremely impressive cycle of heartfelt songs and unadorned, respectful instrumentation."[20] Phoenix New Times opined that "the Boatmen display a rare (in rock, anyway) understanding of how gray even good lives get, but ... they neglect to mention how many shades of gray there are."[21] Greil Marcus, in Artforum, deemed the album a "light, irreducible set of songs about falling into ordinary love affairs and getting into your car and driving away."[22]

Track listing

[edit]
No.TitleLength
1."Don't Mention It" 
2."Calling Upstairs" 
3."We Can Figure This Out" 
4."Fool Me" 
5."You Don't Love Me Yet" 
6."There's a Family" 
7."You're the One" 
8."Goodnight, Jean-Marie" 
9."I'm Not Stuck on You" 
10."Allison Says" 
11."Stop Alternating" 
12."The 23rd of September" 

References

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  1. ^ Allan, Marc D. (18 Oct 1991). "Vulgar Boatmen will sail into Patio today". The Indianapolis Star. p. D4.
  2. ^ Abbott, Jim (20 Mar 1992). "On April 3, college radio favorites the Vulgar Boatmen". Calendar. Orlando Sentinel. p. 4.
  3. ^ Barnett, Kyle. "We Can Figure This Out: Reintroducing the Vulgar Boatmen". Perfect Sound Forever. Retrieved 1 July 2023.
  4. ^ Wyman, Bill (February 4, 2016). "An Obsessive Listen to a Twenty-Five-Year-Old Album". The New Yorker. Retrieved 1 July 2023.
  5. ^ MusicHound Rock: The Essential Album Guide. Visible Ink Press. 1999. p. 1015.
  6. ^ Moon, Tom (July 17, 1992). "Sound Check". Los Angeles Daily News. Knight Ridder. p. L26.
  7. ^ Allan, Marc D. (2 Feb 1992). "Vulgar Boatmen sailing pleasantly". The Indianapolis Star. p. G5.
  8. ^ Reagan, Denise M. (November 15, 1991). "There's Nothing Vulgar About Either Incarnation of Boatmen". The News-Sentinel. p. 1F.
  9. ^ Armstrong, John (9 May 1992). "Band sinks its soul in simple rock". Vancouver Sun. p. C11.
  10. ^ Cohen, David (Dec 5, 1997). "English professor with a cult following". The Chronicle of Higher Education. 44 (15): A12.
  11. ^ "Please Panic The Vulgar Boatmen". AllMusic. Retrieved 1 July 2023.
  12. ^ "The Vulgar Boatmen". Robert Christgau. Retrieved 1 July 2023.
  13. ^ Larkin, Colin (2006). The Encyclopedia of Popular Music. Vol. 8. MUZE. p. 460.
  14. ^ The Rolling Stone Album Guide. Random House. 1992. p. 742.
  15. ^ Spin Alternative Record Guide. Vintage Books. 1995. p. 355.
  16. ^ Heim, Chris (15 May 1992). "Vulgar Boatmen, Friday at the Avalon". Friday. Chicago Tribune. p. M.
  17. ^ "The Vulgar Boatmen". Trouser Press. Retrieved 1 July 2023.
  18. ^ Robbins, Ira (May 28, 1992). "Recordings — Please Panic by the Vulgar Boatmen". Rolling Stone. No. 631. p. 54.
  19. ^ Shapiro, Craig (June 12, 1992). "Reviews". Preview. The Virginian-Pilot. p. 10.
  20. ^ Wyman, Bill (May 13, 1993). "Vulgar Boatmen/Walter Salas-Humara". Chicago Reader. Retrieved 1 July 2023.
  21. ^ Hirshberg, Glen (May 20, 1992). "Rushin' Home". Phoenix New Times.
  22. ^ Marcus, Greil (Apr 1992). "Top Ten — Please Panic by the Vulgar Boatmen". Artforum. Vol. 30, no. 8. p. 19.
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