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Grippe (album)

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Grippe
Studio album by
Released1991
RecordedOctober 1990[1]
StudioInner Ear Studios, Arlington, VA
GenrePost-hardcore[2]
Length44:01
LabelDischord
ProducerJ. Robbins, Eli Janney[1]
Jawbox chronology
Jawbox 7"
(1989)
Grippe
(1991)
Novelty
(1992)
Singles from Grippe
  1. "Tools and Crome"
    Released: 1990

Grippe is the first album by the post-hardcore band Jawbox.[3][4] It was released in 1991 on Dischord Records.

This is the only Jawbox album with the band as a trio, since second guitarist Bill Barbot would join the band shortly after the album's release for its touring cycle.

Background[edit]

"Consolation Prize" appeared on a cassette-tape that had been floating around the hardcore scene albeit in demo form (this version was called simply "Consolation"). "Bullet Park" had also been previously released in demo form, but on a Maximumrocknroll compilation, in 1989. "Footbinder" appeared on a compilation for the indie label Simple Machines shortly before the album release. The last four tracks on the album had previously been released as a self-titled EP in 1990. The original vinyl and cassette copies of the album does not include the last five tracks.

Reception[edit]

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[2]
The Encyclopedia of Popular Music[5]
MusicHound Rock[6]

The Washington Post stated that "Jawbox marries folkie earnestness to hard-rock textures and rhythms... Grippe is more sound than songs."[7]

According to AllMusic's Andy Kellman, the album was "essentially recorded after getting enough songs together to fill out a 12' chunk of vinyl"; he called it "an enjoyable, albeit introspectively brutal record."[2] Kellman also described the music as the marriage of the "earlier crunchy side of Joy Division with Throb Throb-era Naked Raygun", while highlighting the cover of the Joy Division track "Something Must Break".[2] Jim Testa, of Trouser Press, was more positive, writing that the record was "a rich, varied, polyrhythmic tour de force that still bears repeated listening."[8]

Track listing[edit]

All tracks are written by Jawbox, except where noted

Side one
No.TitleLength
1."Freezerburn"3:39
2."Impossible Figure"2:54
3."Tools and Chrome"2:31
4."Paint Out the Light"2:28
5."Consolation Prize"3:29
Side two
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
6."Grip" 3:34
7."Ballast" 1:47
8."Something Must Break"Ian Curtis, Peter Hook, Stephen Morris, Bernard Sumner2:33
9."Green-Line Delayed" 3:33
10."Bullet Park" 2:40
11."Manatee Bound" 3:41
CD bonus tracks
No.TitleLength
12."Footbinder" (from Simple Machines 7")1:54
13."Tools and Chrome" (from Jawbox 7")2:26
14."Secret History" (from Jawbox 7")2:21
15."Ballast" (from Jawbox 7")1:55
16."Twister" (from Jawbox 7")2:32

Personnel[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b "Jawbox Grippe (052)". Dischord Records.
  2. ^ a b c d Kellman, Andy. "Grippe - Jawbox - Review". AllMusic. Retrieved March 20, 2011.
  3. ^ "Jawbox Announces Reunion Tour After a Decade Away". NPR.
  4. ^ Buckley, Peter (October 17, 2003). The Rough Guide to Rock. Rough Guides. ISBN 9781843531050.
  5. ^ Larkin, Colin (2006). The Encyclopedia of Popular Music. Vol. 4. MUZE. pp. 587–588.
  6. ^ MusicHound Rock: The Essential Album Guide. Visible Ink Press. 1999. p. 596.
  7. ^ Jenkins, Mark (July 26, 1991). "Jawbox's 'Grippe' Fervid but Tuneless". The Washington Post. p. N14.
  8. ^ "Jawbox". Trouser Press.