summer sun revival

[earl grey]

anyone else finding summer sun is better than they remembered? i really loved it when i first heard it, and listened to it a ton for the first month or two. part of might have been new YLT excitement, but i heard highlights everywhere - especially "season of the shark" through "baby elephant". it didn't seem to have much sustain though - not enough variety or energy. the highlights started to feel bland and it collected dust.

listening to it now though, it seems so much fresher. maybe it's the weather getting cold. who knows. but the songs seem more interesting and textured now, and i'm liking the production a lot. the old favorites, plus "beach party tonight", "let's be still", and "winter a go-go" especially. the only song i really don't like is "nothing but you and me" (so early in the album too).

i can't think of the last record that i felt this way about ... from good to bad to good again. maybe built to spill - keep it like a secret.....

[Squall91]

Funny. I always loved it and in fact, I listened to that today along with Broken Social Scene's You Forgot It In People to relive the days of this past summer...

[Sunsquashed]

I think Summer Sun works better as an Autumn/Winter kind of CD than Spring/Summer. Maybe that's why you feel more in tune with the music now. Autumn is symbolic of the fear of what the future may bring, but believing it will all be OK with the help of friends. James McNew wrote a song called "Into Fall" a few years ago that sums up in 2 minutes what it takes Summer Sun over an hour to explore:

My evaluation of Summer Sun is still mostly positive, but there are little things that bother me. Ira's buried vocals on "Beach Party Tonight" and "Let's Be Still". There are no strong songs with Ira singing. I love all of Georgia's songs, and "Tiny Birds" too. There's a lack of variation in tempo - as a whole, the CD tries to carry a mood (kind of a sad hopefulness) too long. I think the band shouldn't have excised the "outtakes" soon to appear on Today is the Day. I think including those songs would have given a more complete picture of what the band is like in 2003.

The only song I don't like is "Nothing But You and Me". My opinion hasn't changed since the first time I heard it.

Heather Phares review of the CD at allmusic.com sums up my feelings pretty well.
http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&uid=CASS70309230104&sql=A6aqpg4hztvnz

[earl grey]

it wasn't that i disliked the album as much as i didn't think it held up to the past few releases. over the summer, i found myself going to painful, fakebook, or any of the others instead. not the case now though...

i actually really like "beach party tonight" and "let's be still" - the vox are definitely buried, but the production is so lush and dense that i'm still hearing new things in each. seeing "BTP" live really got me into it. but you're right that james and georgia's songs stand out the most. "today is the day" and "take care" are gorgeous.

i've yet to hear any of the EP, but i'm looking forward to it. i wasn't too into the loud "today is the day" live but i'm curious to hear a studio version.

[johansen smith]

I seem to recall ALWAYS loving this album. 'bout time you people "got it."

[jt. r]

I'm new to yo la tengo, but i'm excited to see them on the 11th. i picked up the reissued copy of I Can Hear the Heart... and am excited to get a copy of Summer Sun.

Maybe it's just me, or maybe it's just that I'm reading a lot of Lester Bangs lately, but I think that fans of great music/bands wear blinders to the weaker parts of their favorite band's catalogue sometimes just because even if an album doesn't square with the heights of their [the band's] best, it still is undoubtedly an album by a band they deeply respect. Although I don't follow this maxim for R.E.M. (who were once my favorite band) I do for GBV and I imagine that the legacy of albums like Summer Sun will be much better say twenty years down the road, than they are to their hardcore committed fanbase at present.

I guess that's mostly just a truism that I needed to purge. Finally, could someone tell how many yo la albums are being reissued and when? My local record store guy couldn't tell me.

[gravitywinz]

Summer Sun is just one of those albums that you will always be able to return to. I agree that as winter rolls in, it manages to capture a mood that is relevant to the season change. In general, it's an album that repays you as you give it more time. Think of it like a relationship...because that's really what it is. It's a piece of art that demands closer attention, something you kinda have to "work" with. That's what a lot of people missed the first go around..."hey man, where's the hard distortion songs???", "hey, where's the "balance" that YLT is so known for?". Fuck that. Learn to appreciate something for what it is. It had been out for like 2 weeks when people on this site had already dismissed it!!!! What the fuck is that? Morons. They've created something beautiful that will last...maybe even more than their previous work. By now, I'm sure more people realize that. To the rest...well, it doesn't really matter.