On Fire
Their masterpiece: Spin called it a wintry opiate, and it went to seven on the British indie chart.
Galaxie 500, 1989
- Released
- 1989
- Recorded
- February and August 1989
- Studio
- Noise New York, 247 West Broadway
- Label
- Rough Trade
- Producer
- Kramer
- Length
- 40:13
Play on hypersongs (1)Play on hypersongs (2)
Made in two sessions in Tribeca, with basic tracks recorded live on the first day. Wareham said Kramer cared more about arranging this record than Today, and that if he made some weird mistake, Kramer's instinct was to keep it; he used a wah-wah pedal only because one was lying around the studio. Ralph Carney added saxophone to Decomposing Trees, Kramer played cheap organ on George Harrison's Isn't It a Pity, and Krukowski picked the title.
Sounds called it a work of utter magnificence. Pitchfork has given it ten, ranked it among the best albums of the 1980s, and placed it fourth among dream pop albums.
Track listing
- Blue Thunder3:45
- Tell Me3:50
- Snowstorm5:10
- Strange3:16
- When Will You Come Home5:21
- Decomposing Trees4:05
- Another Day3:41
- Leave the Planet2:40
- Plastic Bird3:15
- Isn't It a Pity5:10
Personnel
- Dean Wareham guitar, vocals
- Damon Krukowski drums
- Naomi Yang bass; vocals on Another Day
- Kramer producer, engineer, organ
- Ralph Carney tenor saxophone
More from Galaxie 500
Today (1988)
Sources
- On Fire (Galaxie 500 album), Wikipedia
- Dean Wareham on On Fire, Rock and Roll Globe (2019-07-29)
- Uncollected Noise New York '88-'90, Bandcamp