hypersongs

See How We Are

Their sixth studio album and the first without Billy Zoom, Billboard 107.
X, 1987

Dave Alvin, of the Blasters, played guitar on the sessions and some live shows and left on good terms; Tony Gilkyson replaced him. Benmont Tench played Hammond organ and Casiotone, and "4th of July" is Alvin's song, the rest credited to Cervenka and Doe except Doe's "Cyrano de Berger's Back". The singles were "4th of July" and "See How We Are". It reached 107 on the Billboard 200 in July 1987. A 2002 Rhino CD (58:07) added five bonus tracks and a hidden track.

Christgau gave it a B, noting the band misses Zoom's guitar and praising "4th of July"; Trouser Press admired Alvin Clark's polished production, and AllMusic gave 3.5 stars. Punknews.org called it a solid rockabilly record that just so happened to have a decent recording budget.

Track listing

  1. I'm Lost2:55
  2. You3:28
  3. 4th of July3:32
  4. In the Time It Takes3:09
  5. Anyone Can Fill Your Shoes2:45
  6. See How We Are3:46
  7. Left & Right2:57
  8. When It Rains...4:29
  9. Holiday Story3:36
  10. Surprise, Surprise2:50
  11. Cyrano de Berger's Back3:33

More from X

Los Angeles (1980), Wild Gift (1981), Under The Big Black Sun (1982), More Fun In The New World (1983), Ain't Love Grand (1985), Hey Zeus! (1993), Unclogged (1995), Alphabetland (2020), Smoke & Fiction (2024)

Sources

  1. See How We Are, Wikipedia
  2. X, Trouser Press
  3. See How We Are, Punknews.org (2008-11-25)