Genius + Love = Yo La Tengo

Yo La Tengo

Product Details

• Audio CD (September 10, 1996)
• Original Release Date: October 28, 1996
• Number of Discs: 2
• Label: Matador Records
• ASIN: B0000036VX
• Also Available in: Vinyl  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #122,013 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com essential recording
Odds-and-ends compilations rarely feature a band's best work, but surely that's what makes them fun. There's a certain voyeuristic thrill in hearing all those weird B-sides, dusty outtakes, alternate versions, and obscure covers the band never thought to put on an album. But wait: Yo La Tengo are already weird and thoroughly alternative, and they've long made a practice of reworking other people's music. What, then, is new about Genius + Love = Yo La Tengo, the group's two-CD rarities collection? Well, the great thing about Yo La Tengo is that they sound new even when they're doing the same old thing. In an indie-rock genre that demands originality, Yo La Tengo have defiantly flirted with life as the coolest cover band in the world. Out of the attics and onto Genius + Love come renditions of songs by Wire, John Cale, Beat Happening, the Urinals, the Velvet Underground (whom YLT depicted in the 1996 film I Shot Andy Warhol), Daniel Johnston (with Johnston providing lead vocals over the phone), and the Ramones (an easy listening version of "Blitzkreig Bop"). In addition, the album features cuts from the band in all its moods and periods between 1988 and '95, from early dream-pop and Velvety dark minimalism to disciplined Sonic Youth guitar noise, plus an entire second disc of instrumentals. Thirty tracks in all, Genius + Love may be the first rarities collection to satisfy the needs of both obsessive completists and beginners looking for an accurate introduction to the group. --Roni Sarig

Product Description
Japanese edition with 2 bonus tracks: Autumn Sweater (Kevin Seals [of My Bloody Valentine Mix] and Autumn Sweater (Mu-Ziq Remix).

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars beg borrow or steal this album, March 10, 1999

By A Customer

Yes, Yo La Tengo is the most underrated great band out there, and this collection of rarities and B-sides proves it. While the instrumental disk may challenge, the majority of disk one proves the luminary talent of the band. At times plaintive, playful, or just downright noisey, the music shines.

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Okay, but..., June 4, 2001

By A Customer

This is an okay album, with some really good tracks, but it has the obvious problem that any collection of B-sides and outtakes has: outtakes are taken out for the simple reason that they're not strong enough for album release. Unfortunately, they're even weaker when they're taken out of the context of the other songs they were recorded with and jumbled together on an album by themselves.

I give it three stars simply because YLT outtakes are often still better than other artists' regular albums. Still, this is for fans and collectors only. Novices to YLT beware: you might get a completely wrong picture.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A great compilation of rarities., October 7, 2008

By	Michael Stack (North Chelmsford, MA USA) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

One of those compilations that fans love, "Genius + Love = Yo La Tengo" is a compilation of rarities by Yo La Tengo-- b-sides, soundtrack pieces, oddball compilation recordings, etc., recorded over the band's first decade or so of existence. Like any good collection of this sort, it paints an accurate picture of the band through their obscurities, and like most great bands, there's enough gems in the rarities to make this worth the investment.

Indeed, it's hard to believe that something like the raging cover of Jackson Browne's "Somebody's Baby" ended up a throwaway recording for a compilation-- turned into a fierce rock performance by the band with a staggering feedback-driven solo (among the best performed by Ira Kaplan), it's the kind of performance that can knock you out of your seat. And it's one of a number of standouts on this collection-- from the downtempo, burning, haunting "Demons" (from the score of I Shot Andy Warhol, featuring one of Georgia Hubley's best vocals) to extended instrumental feedback jam "Sunsquashed", there's quite a bit to love on here. And granted, there's some fluff here nad there that we could live without (straight-up punk song "Too Late"), none of it is exactly unlistenable.

In the end, "Genius + Love = Yo La Tengo" is a great compilation for any fan of the band. And by the way, for those interested in their rarities, the three disc version of Prisoners of Love: A Smattering of Scintillating Senescent Songs 1985-2003 [3 disc] fills in some of the holes after this release.