Length of Growth 81-89

The Great Plains | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (August 15, 2000)
• Original Release Date: August 1, 2000
• Number of Discs: 2
• Label: Old 3c Records
• ASIN: B00004WHBW
• Also Available in: Audio CD
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #507,390 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Great Ohio Roots-punk, August 23, 2000

By 

John F. Howard (Arlington, VA United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Length of Growth 81-89 (Audio CD)

Ron House, the leader of Great Plains, may be one of the most underrated geniuses of American music. Punk and literate, he is like a well adjusted David Thomas (Pere Ubu). Unfortunately his fame, such that it is, is confined to a small part of Ohio. Too bad, he writes smart, funny songs and has a knack for memorable melodies. He wraps the package in winningly simple and passionately played punk and post-punk rock.

This collection has just about everything recorded by Great Plains and has a charming intro by Dr. Demento. All of the "hits" you remember from college radio circa 1987 are here. Letter to a Fanzine, Standing at the Crosswords, Martin Luther King and Matin Luther Drinking, etc. Lyrics are about sex, drinking and history. The music is rootsy punk with farfisa. House doesn't so much sing as declaim and cajole with amatuerish passion. As American as all get out.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars More information on this release., March 19, 2004

By 

Paul J. Nini (Columbus, Ohio United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Length of Growth 81-89 (Audio CD)

Paul Nini here, proprietor of Old 3C Records, who released this Great Plains compilation. Our manufacturing and distribution partner at that time, NuGruv Alliance, no longer exists -- so finding this release can be problematic at best. Please go to our site -- www.old3c.com -- if you'd like more information concerning this release. Thanks much.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Wish I had been there...., March 13, 2001

By 

Frazer Dobson (Atlanta, GA United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Length of Growth 81-89 (Audio CD)

I've been looking for this a long time and didn't even know it. Sure, I grooved to "Letter to a Fanzine" back in the mid-80s, and heard "Standing at the Crosswords" later, but I had never been able to find any Great Plains anywhere. Now I'm in heaven, discovering new-old songs from a dead age, thanks to the Internet.

That said, this is probably too much for the casual fan. If you're interested, I found a cassette copy of "Sum Things Up" on the Homestead/D.E.I. website, which hooked me into seeking out the cd. And the earlier tracks are pretty unpolished, not always in a good way, and lack the sense of melody that crept into later work. But if you have the patience, "Length of Growth" is a gold mine. It's been years since I happened on a tune as fine as "Dick Clark," and that's just the tip of the iceberg. So if you have a soft spot for witty cranky 80s college rock (as do I) spiked with cheesy keyboards, this is worth checking out (and fifty songs for $14--can't beat that!).