Beyond (Dig)

Dinosaur Jr. | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (May 1, 2007)
• Original Release Date: 2007
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Fat Possum Records
• ASIN: B000OCZ9R8
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  Vinyl  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (35 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #41,292 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

Since bassist Lou Barlow left Dinosaur Jr. in 1989, the band--whose last record was 1997's expansive Hand It Over--has largely become an alter-ego moniker for guitarist/vocalist J Mascis. But now the original trio (including drummer Emmett "Murph" Murphy) has reunited for the first time since Barlow's split, and the 11-song outcome makes one ask: Why did they wait so long? Mascis's thunderous "Almost Ready," featuring both his combustible guitar and weary vocals, is the perfect blast-off, allowing Murphy's backbeat to set a turbulent pace early, and while songs like "Been There All the Time" and the Neil Young accolade "This Is All I Came to Do" have Mascis as primed as ever, Barlow (whose '90s-era Sebadoh set the bar for lo-fi bands) reappears with two of the record's strongest tracks: the poppy "Lightning Bulb" and "Back to Your Heart," which recalls late-in-the-game Hüsker Dü. These 50 minutes of music are as cohesive as they are conquering, and whether the same can be said of the once-prickly relationship between Mascis and Barlow will ultimately decide if this is a one-off reunion or if the real Dinosaur Jr. is back for awhile. --Scott Holter

Product Description

The long awaited new album from the original line-up of J. Mascis, Lou Barlow (Sebadoh) & Murph - collectively Dinosaur Jr - entitled "Beyond" is set for release by [PIAS] / Liberator Music. This will be the first studio release from them in 16+ years. The anticipation for this release is growing each day and that's because the word is out - this is a phenomenal album and will appeal to their fans as well as people who have only heard how good they we're back in the day. After recording three albums, "Dinosaur", "You're Living All Over Me" and "Bug" Dinosaur Jr. single-handedly moved the indie scene from the rigid ideology and rapid fire bursts of hardcore and post-punk into a new era of introspective yet no less powerful expression. After the release of "Bug" the original trio imploded. But now they are back and "Beyond" is a monster of form. From the staggeringly paced guitar spew that opens "Almost Ready" to classic soft/throb dynamism of "What If I Knew", it is an exquisite slab of pure Dinosaur Jr. It's hard to understand the alchemical relationships that exist within certain bands. Some groups can change line-ups without anyone noticing. But that was never the case with Dinosaur Jr. The pieces that fell away over the years were missed. But now they have all been collected together in one place. The first single lifted is "Been There All The Time" (with a video directed by Matt Dillon - a long time fan). --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

29 of 30 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Just like the good ole daze, and maybe a little better..., May 1, 2007

By 

Scott Bresinger (New York, USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Beyond (Dig) (Audio CD)

("Beyond" by Dinosaur Jr.)

It's pretty much a fact of life these days that long-broken-up bands will reunite. What's surprising is that many of them have managed to retain the qualities that made them popular to begin with. Sometimes the bands will take the opportunity to reinvent themselves a bit (Wire's '02 comeback Send). Mostly, though, they go for their "original" sound, and usually the "original" songs, of their youth. It didn't really surprise me when Dinosaur Jr. reformed, even with all the personal drama surrounding the band's glimmer twins J. Mascis and Lou Barlow (all of which is beautifully dissected in Michael Azerrad's book Our Band Could Be Your Life: Scenes from the American Indie Underground 1981-1991). I saw them live not long after the reunion was announced, and even though Mascis' curtain of brown hair had turned into a curtain of gray hair that made him look more like the lead vocalist for a Norwegian Black Metal band, their sound was remarkably consistent from the good ole daze. Fast forward to '07, and would ya believe that the new album is remarkably close in sound and general purpose to albums like the still-incredible Bug? Ultra-loud n' dirty grunge-stomp blues/country/punk, and can I have another solo please?--then add on some sweet, wistful pop melodies just to make things more confusing. It's almost as if the last 19 years never happened (although the post-breakup Dino Jr. albums, not to mention Barlow's influential Sebadoh, are nothing to sneeze at). At least, that's what I thought at first. Upon repeated listens, slight refinements and tweaks can be heard. Chief among these are the number of Mascis' guitar solos. Obviously he realizes his role as a post-punk guitar hero, and this album fills in every available space, and creates new ones, for his beautifully unconventional shredding skills. The second half of the 6 1/2 minute "Pick Me Up" is a joyful celebration of over-amped sloppiness--which is a pretty high compliment in my neck of the woods. While there are no songs here as immediately memorable as "Freak Scene" (which has become an anthem of sorts for alt-rock weirdos like yours truly), songs like the album opener "Almost Ready" come pretty close, and to compound the non-surprises, it might even become more highly enshrined in my musical head-space. Meanwhile, there's the soft ballad "I Got Lost," with its almost jazz-like drumming (all hail Murph, by the way) and washes of plaintive violin, which I don't think the Dino of old was even capable of. Barlow's "Lightning Bulb," one of two contributions from him on the album, reminds us what a great songwriter he always was (Sebadoh proved this), and makes me glad that he and Mascis were able to resolve their personal animosities. All this, and I haven't even mentioned the influence of Neil Young & Crazy Horse--that, then is what makes this album one step Beyond (sorry, I couldn't resist): The good ole daze were never this good!

15 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Pick This Up, May 6, 2007

By 

John (Cleveland, OH) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Beyond (Dig) (Audio CD)

Well, Dinosaur Jr are back together and in fine form after only 18 years since `Bug'. One wonders why they waited so long? Maybe with the Jesus and Mary Chain and other great underground acts to gain popularity during the eighties all reforming recently it just seemed like the thing to do? Some naysayers out there might say that after such a long time they are just not the same, but one listen will have you jumping on the wagon and saying yeah right. Now I ain't sayin' that this is as good as `You're Livin' All Over Me' but it's damn close and you should get out and grab it immediately.

Alright that first paragraph was just ridiculously stupid and indulgent. But seriously now, this reunion album is just so amazing I don't know how to tell you other than - like literally EVERYONE has said - it sounds like the last 18 years never happened. The only thing that keeps it from being as good as `Bug' and it's predecessor is the test of time. The guitar playing throughout - riffs, solos, and acoustic - doesn't fall below the quality of the J's best work, at times it's actually way better, and the same goes for the songwriting. The drumming just hasn't been this good ever (probably because J relinquished Nazi-like control over Murph).

"Almost Ready" was of course the first single. It opens the album in typical Dinosaur fashion. It's fast and loud. Murph rides the backbeat perfectly. J's singing is as laconic as ever and his soloing is everywhere. The song actually ends with two solos laid over each other. "Crumble" continues in what I feel could be an even catchier, better single. The guitar riffs are not only happier sounding, but are less crowded than "Almost Ready".

Listening to "Pick Me Up" for the first time, the fast, sludgefesty riffing, the great lyrics recalling the years ("I been wasted all these years/still the man that disappeared/I been left and I been wronged/and I don't think I belong/am I wrong...all along?"), the cool mellowed-out bridge where it's all laid out ("did I need you/all the while/I can't stop/it's always been/I feel useless/you just smile/can I scream/am I hurt/am I still wasted/am I still burnt/can I bend/to your will/y'know I need to/have a plan...") and then the solo takes over for the next three straight minutes and it is no exaggeration to tell you that you have never heard anything like this out of J on any recording, ever. On this solo I'd put Mascis up there against any of the greats. The first listen to this song, for any Dino fan, is nothing short of what a born again Christian must feel when they're born again.

"This Is All I Came to Do" is another one of Dinosaur Jr's best songs. Beginning right off the bat with a frenetic solo that leads into the slacker-anthem lyrics "take my problems/take me anyplace/take my mi-mi-mind as well/I been tryin/I got nothing else/it's down to you/as you can tell" it blossoms into a great little rock song with a really catchy, slacker-themed chorus and typically amazing solos.
"It's Me" starts with the biggest drum sound the original trio have ever conjured. It's joined by the murky swamp of J pounding the E string, punctuated with shimmery, sustained bar chords. "We're Not Alone" turns the focus slightly more on the country than the ear bleeding, as the music starts to become more melodic (at least on J's songs) from here to the end of the album - and in a completely good way. This song also has a solo to rival "Pick Me Up". "I Got Lost" takes it one step further with J singing in his "Not the Same" falsetto and is an entirely acoustic mellow ballad.

So after listening to this album now for about the 15th time in less than a week, it's still up there with the original three albums. It's almost as if they band had been hibernating and reawakened still fully formed, ready to shake off that cold with some hair-raising rock like you have not heard in a while. This is better than the Raconteurs, White Stripes, or any of that new revival garage rock, even as much as I love it. If you never heard Dinosaur Jr before, now is the time to start listening.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars 5 STARS for the original disc, 2 STARS for the "import/extra tracks" value, January 13, 2009

By 

Johnny Trouble - See all my reviews

This review is from: Beyond (Audio CD)

Just to make it perfectly clear, I think 'Beyond' is a brilliant album by the re-formed original lineup that harkens back to their earlier material and is certainly worthy of 5 stars. It never travels too far from my CD player. That being said, I sprung for the "import" version that has two extra tracks: "Yer Son" (a good, but not great, Dino Jr. song) and "Tiny Town" (40 seconds of punk riffing that could've been done by anybody). In my opinion, not worth twice (or more) the price of what the regular release is going for. Unless you're a die-hard Dinosaur Jr. completist or can find the "extra tracks" version at a great price, just buy the regular version and use the money saved to buy a copy of 'You're Living All Over Me', 'Green Mind' or some other early Dinosaur Jr.