Epitonic review of Free So Free

[AGAP]

J The King Of Rock Guitar

Allison

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J Mascis and The Fog – [ Ultimatum Music ]

this music filed under:
Rock, Indie Rock

Without question, J Mascis was one of the most influential rock musicians of the ’90s. Kurt Cobain begged him to be Nirvana’s drummer long before Dave Grohl ever came on the scene, but J was busy masterminding Dinosaur Jr. at the time, and has remained the king of the rock guitar ever since.

The psych maelstrom known as Dinosaur Jr. started in 1984 in Cambridge, Massachusetts, when the band released their first album on Homestead Records after being discovered by Gerald Cosloy, who would soon co-found Matador Records. Then the band moved over to the quintessential indie label SST Records, which was run by a couple of members of Rickie Lee Jones and was home to such legends as The Minutemen, Husker Du, Bad Brains, Sonic Youth, and Soundgarden. Dinosaur Jr. quickly reached legendary status themselves after releasing two of the best rock records ever recorded, You’re Living All over Me (1987) and Bug (1988). Those records’ distinctive, twisted airplane-volume fuzz helped shape the ’90s explosion of slacker and grunge rock throughout the world.

After the release of Bug, Dinosaur Jr.’s bass player left the band because he and J just couldn’t get along. His name was Lou Barlow, and you might have heard of Sebadoh and The Folk Implosion, the bands he went on to start.

So J Mascis pretty much took over Dinosaur at this point, subsequently signing to a major label (Warner Brothers) and playing every instrument on the acclaimed EP The Wagon and the follow-up full-length Green Mind. Those releases helped thrust J’s vision into the radar of the mainstream with beautifully arranged pop songs as well as the sonic ear killers. During the next few years, he released several more albums, which thrust him in to the MTV limelight and even earned him some big screen cameos. A rock icon had been born, but slowly his audience started to fizzle. People were too concerned with how amazing the old albums were instead of the great new songs and sounds J was producing, and so, by the late ’90s, Dinosaur Jr. became extinct.

J has regrouped these days as J Mascis and The Fog. He recruited equally legendary noise-pop old schoolers Kevin Shields (My Bloody Valentine) and Robert Pollard (Guided by Voices) to lend a hand creating More Light, the 2000 debut album from J Mascis + the Fog. The album picks up right where the last Dinosaur Jr. record left off, but with a renewed vigor.

J is pretty much all there is to "The Fog" on the group’s 2002 follow-up album Free So Free, but he seems to feel quite liberated judging by the lighthearted sound of the album, its title, and songs "Freedom," "Set Us Free," and "Free so Free." Live, Mike Watt (Minutemen, fIREHOSE) regularly joins The Fog to make their shows a classic post-punk evening — just wear earplugs!
Justin Sinkovich
last updated:10/10/02

similar artists:
Built To Spill, Guided by Voices, Dinosaur Jr., Neil Young, Buffalo Tom, The And/Ors

other suggestions:
Beat Happening, Versus, Lync, The Halo Benders, Superdrag, Modest Mouse, The Jealous Sound, Centro-Matic, Husker Du, Sebadoh, The Grifters, The Silver Jews, The Replacements, Pavement, Superchunk, Archers of Loaf, Joaquina, Strapping Fieldhands, P.E.E., A-Set, Marmoset, June Panic, The Feelings, John Stuart Mill, Cloud Car, Sunset Valley, Snuff, Swearing At Motorists, The Cubby Creatures, Stuntman, Treepeople, The Fearless Freep, Evelyn, Hefner, AM/FM, The Wee Turtles, Dub Narcotic Sound System, Suplex, Muler, Yuji Oniki, Minmae, Death Cab For Cutie, This Busy Monster, East River Pipe, Mark Lanegan, Tom Waits, The Contrail, Swirlies, Mike G, Lowercase, The Rock*A*Teens, The Glands, Jack Drag, TW Walsh, Ashley Stove, The Standard, The Ivory Coast, Sonic Youth, Teenage Fanclub, Stephen Malkmus and the Jicks, Quasi, The Breeders, 764-Hero, Kevin Salem, The Influents, Further, The Dambuilders, Anastasia Screamed, The Reindeer Section, Kleenexgirlwonder, The Styrenes, Doug Martsch

[FlyingCloud]

hey Allison, thanks for finding these reviews <img>
I thought about looking for the press echo, either, but I didn’t have the time, yet…

[bob]

QUOTE: The psych maelstrom known as Dinosaur Jr. started in 1984 in Cambridge, Massachusetts, when the band released their first album on Homestead Records after being discovered by Gerald Cosloy, who would soon co-found Matador Records. Then the band moved over to the quintessential indie label SST Records, which was run by a couple of members of Rickie Lee Jones and was home to such legends as The Minutemen, Husker Du, Bad Brains, Sonic Youth, and Soundgarden. Dinosaur Jr. quickly reached legendary status themselves after releasing two of the best rock records ever recorded, You’re Living All over Me (1987) and Bug (1988). Those records’ distinctive, twisted airplane-volume fuzz helped shape the ’90s explosion of slacker and grunge rock throughout the world.

After the release of Bug, Dinosaur Jr.’s bass player left the band because he and J just couldn’t get along. His name was Lou Barlow, and you might have heard of Sebadoh and The Folk Implosion, the bands he went on to start.

So J Mascis pretty much took over Dinosaur at this point, subsequently signing to a major label (Warner Brothers) and playing every instrument on the acclaimed EP The Wagon and the follow-up full-length Green Mind. Those releases helped thrust J’s vision into the radar of the mainstream with beautifully arranged pop songs as well as the sonic ear killers. During the next few years, he released several more albums, which thrust him in to the MTV limelight and even earned him some big screen cameos. A rock icon had been born, but slowly his audience started to fizzle. People were too concerned with how amazing the old albums were instead of the great new songs and sounds J was producing, and so, by the late ’90s, Dinosaur Jr. became extinct.

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This is one of the best summaries of Dinosaur Jr I’ve ever read sort of a Dino for Dummies. Absolutely right about Bug and YLAOM being two of the best rock albums ever recorded. After years of finding more great albums those are still my top two.

[Author]

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