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Sentimental Journey

The longest track on The Modern Dance, with a take on the Doris Day song and the sound of breaking glass.
Pere Ubu, from The Modern Dance (1978)

Written by
David Thomas, Tom Herman, Allen Ravenstine, Tony Maimone, Scott Krauss
Released
February 1978
Length
6:05
Album
The Modern Dance

Sentimental Journey was recorded and mixed at Suma in November 1977, engineered by Ken Hamann. Ravenstine said it was a take on the 1945 Doris Day song of the same name, with the impromptu sound of breaking glass bottles as a harsh and angry contrast to the suburban lifestyle the original evoked. Hamann recalled that the studio had a huge stone fireplace about 15 feet wide at one end. He said the band asked if they could do it and he told them to go ahead as long as they did not hurt themselves. It was done as an overdub, and with 24 tracks available there were tracks to spare.

Brian Coney of The Quietus wrote that the smashed glass and winding darkness of the song preempt the doomy lonerism of Jandek and Slint.

More songs by Pere Ubu

30 Seconds Over Tokyo, Final Solution, Non-Alignment Pact, Street Waves, Dub Housing

Sources

  1. The Modern Dance, Wikipedia
  2. Pere Ubu, The Modern Dance, Ubu Projex
  3. 40 Years On: Pere Ubu's The Modern Dance Revisited, The Quietus