Customer Reviews

American Thighs

5 star:		(32)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I first purchased "American Thighs" as a cassette when it first came out in 1994. I honestly say I couldn't stop listening to it. The harmonic voices of Louise Post and Nina Gordon made songs like well-known "Seether" and others like "Number One Blind" and "Forsythia" anthems for the girl rocker generation.

Then I lost the tape, and I never got a chance to buy another one...

Until recently... Veruca Salt opened for Filter at a recent concert I attended, and I was surprised at how many of the songs from "American Thighs" I remembered. I found myself singing along to "Spiderman '79" and "Victrola" like the songs had never been unshelved from my memory. Now, after being so wonderfully reminded of the great music that came from this album, I made sure to buy it again.

Good enough to buy twice...that's how good Veruca Salt are.

long before i discovered boys, i discovered veruca salt. i had read some silly article about american thighs in some teenage girl magazine (ym or seventeeen, i forget which), but the description was enticing enough for me to go out and buy the album. and holy christ, i'm glad i did. i'd never heard girls rock before, or express themselves with the passion and beauty that they did. nina and louise's voices harmonized perfectly, their guitars screamed and soared and whispered and their lyrics spoke of honesty. i instantly fell in love. true veruca salt fans know that this album is by far their best. it's so unassuming but perfect. while eight arms to hold you has it's own rockier, we are women hear us scream appeal, american thighs epitomized what i felt captured everything good and true about music. because of this album, i will always have a soft spot in my heart for veruca salt no matter how many other bands i love along the way. this ended up being more of a love letter than a review, but it's hard not to be swayed by emotion that this cd stirs up in me.

My first exposure to Veruca Salt, a number of years ago, was their album Eight Arms To Hold You, which remains my favorite. This album is a bit mellower. The guitars aren't as dominant, the lyrics aren't as angry, and the overall feel is a touch quieter. These are not bad things though; if you were listening to hear the words and not to bang your head, you might actually prefer this album to their other work. Some of the earlier tracks on the album have quite an edge to them all the same, especially the opening "Get Back," which would fit just fine on Eight Arms, in my opinion. It trails off a bit at the end, and that's why I didn't give it five stars; this is an album I listen to the first two thirds of pretty often, and the last few tracks of not so much at all.

American Thighs is one of my favorite albums of all time. Almost ten years after its release, I still reach for this CD as much as ever. This album has so much to offer from the heavier tracks with the disturbing lyrics like "Seether" and "All Hail Me" to fun rocking numbers like "Victrola" and "Number One Blind" (I love the line "Levelor, which of us is blind") to beautiful tracks like "Wolf" and "Celebrate You." American Thighs has it all...well, except song lyrics (what's up with that?). By the way, these girls know how to rock! Get ready to hold on tight when the axes suddenly fall in "Get Back"! They are excellent guitarists and vocalists. If you do not have this CD, you are missing out big time!

American Thighs is one the prettiest "sad" albums that came out at the end of the grunge era (a fitting cap to an awesome era). The production of the gals' harmonies are a thing of aural beauty. To be more accurate, it's not even really sad but more of a subdued desperation. Something not everyone will get or appreciate, but is guarenteed to pull at the heart strings & rock those who do.

This CD makes me nostalgic, because back when it came out, I was in eighth grade and extremely excited to discover the world of female rock. Bands like Garbage, Sonic Youth, Letters to Cleo, and Elastica had a definite impact on me as a teen. But Veruca Salt was always my favorite; they had a raw, sexy vulnerability that made their songs compelling. "American Thighs" itself was full of the gritty poetry and cool, self-reflexive vocals that many girls (and guys) I knew really gravitated toward - the CD spoke to you, and its voice was hard to ignore.

While I've outgrown some of the bands I listened to back then, Veruca Salt, despite their dissolution, have stayed oddly relevant. This CD remains a remarkable accomplishment simply for the fact that it is straight-forward, unpretentious alternative rock. It's at once dissonant and melodic, and highly listenable. Although over a decade old, "American Thighs" is a CD I still recommend to my friends - most of whom have gone on to love it. The purity of the music and sharp intelligence behind the lyrics remain an asset to the rock genre today, and probably explains why the band continues to have so many fans.

There was a stretch of time in the mid 1990s that women were making ballsier, and therefore better, rock than their male counterparts, and this was one of the best examples of that phenomenon.
While bands like Gin Blossoms, Better Than Ezra, and eventually every band with a number in its name were making good pop, it was acts like VS, Belly, Throwing Muses, The Breeders and others that were making the most noteworthy contributions to the rock lexicon.
'American Thighs' made me feel like I'd just gotten high even while stone cold sober. Its atmospheric production and at times otherworldly lyrical content was enough to blow me away.
Of course "Seether" is the tune that most remember, if they remember at all. But Louise Post's howl at the beginning of "All Hail Me" is enough to make the hair on the back of your neck stand on end, and the remainder of the song doesn't disappoint the announcement of its beginning.
"Victrola" is one of the best short, straight forward rock songs in a long time, and that's fitting seeing how it's simply an ode to a record player.
"Spiderman 76" was always the one that just set me over the edge in terms of the ethereal stuff. The mention of Ritz in a can made me remember being a little kid in the 70s like few things ever have brought back that feeling.
This is a great record, and though the pop ambitions of Nina Gordon ultimately led to Post's rather odd personality taking over what left of the group after Gordon's departure, it's a must-have album for anyone trying to put together a collection of the best releases of the 90s.

Remember Veruca Salt? She was the brat in CHARLIE & THE CHOCOLATE FACTORY who was sent down the bad egg chute, screaming, "I want the whole world, and I want it NOW!!!" This time, Veruca is back in the form of a band (in the shape of a cuddly media package) and armed with one of the most hyped records of 1994. As a result, the single "Seether,"from their debut album, AMERICAN THIGHS, charted on Billboard and received national airplay before anyone could buy it.

With hooks as gleaming as the stars shooting off of Wonder Woman's teeth, Veruca Salt powers past Breeders comparisons which are on track, but only halfway there. Instead of the Breeders' surf rock noodling, Veruca Salt dish up straight ahead riffs and meatier, more thought-out solos. Their songs seem a tad more focused, even mean. With lyrics about killing people, and bubbling withrage befitting of Roald Dahl's covetous brat, AMERICAN THIGHS sounds more like the bully compared to the Breeders' pothead road trip, chock full of tongue-in-cheek wordplay. "Number One Blind" praises the virtues of Levelor blinds, "Levelor, which of us is blind?/Levelor left me in the dark." And when they sing about "Spiderman," we relive their comic book childhood right along with them.

AMERICAN THIGHS shows a band with obvious potential, one with an impressive grasp of a rock guitar dynamic which does not cloud their freshness or their indie rock charm.

Veruca Salt's American Thighs is an under-rated American masterpiece. What a great band they were, well they still play today but Louise Post is the only original member left standing. Nina Gordon and her were very special and gifted girls. This album is produced by Brad Wood who also produced Liz Phair's highly-acclaimed Exile in Guyville the same year as this record. All the tracks are great and low-key. Half the songs are written by Louise Post and the other half is written by Nina Gordon. Post's songs include: the terrific Celebrate You, the completely cool Wolf, Spiderman 79, Victrola, All Hail Me, and the soothing Fly. Gordon's songs include: the catchy Forsythia, Seether, Twinstar, Sleeping Where i want, Get Back, the epic 25, and Number one Blind. There is something special about this album, it doesn't grab your attention right away but after a few listens, you appreciate its simple and mellow texture. American Thighs is a piece of Americana. Also check-out their follow-up record Eight arms to hold you produced by Bob Rock.

"American Thighs" truly is one of the most beautiful albums of the 1990's. Nina Gordon and Louise Post harmonize beautifully in their sing-song voices on almost every track, as well as adding a wicked, fuzzy guitar solo. I've had this album since 1994, when I was but a little girl. I first heard "Seether" on the radio, and I fell in love with it almost instantly. In my opinion, "American Thighs" is a better album than "Eight Arms to Hold You," maybe because the band had not recieved such critical acclaim until after "Thighs" was released. Tracks like "All Hail Me," "Seether," and "Victrola" showcase the band's hard rock and grunge sensibilities, whereas "Fly," "Twinstar," and "Sleeping Where I Want" show off their softer side. This album is a perfect mix of fuzzy, distorted guitars, pleasant vocals, and melody. This is grunge for girls.