Customer Reviews

This Ain't No Space Ship

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Lovely, charming, innovative, original, pure, groundbreaking ----the real-deal. Forget the rest, this is the best! Love Tractor is Art-Rock at it's purest and This Ain't No Outerspace Ship shines with true originality - REM, U2, Belle and Sebastian, Radio Head eat yer hearts out.

Love Tractor, a band from the '80s Athens scene (early REM, Pylon, etc.), are the kind of band you'd hear on college radio at two in the morning, on Sunday afternoons. Like their musical kin, they're quite melodic yet laid back. "Outerspace Ship" is probably my favorite LT record. While Armistead's singing isn't exactly the greatest (apparently this was their first vocal record) songs such as "Cartoon Kiddies" (which got me watching Top Cat--whom they mention--after school), "Outside With Ma" and "Beatle Boots" are fun nonetheless. Their cover of "Party Train" is particularly amusing--think 'Fable'-era REM doing 70's funk. Of note is the song "Nightclub Scene," a college radio staple. One can just smell the cigarette smoke in this one. It's good to see this one has finally been re-released.

If you've been curious about Love Tractor's work, this is a perfect album to start with. For one its the easist to find, and I've managed to find it on cassette, cd, and vinyl. This is the first album I found of theirs and is still one of the most enjoyable.

It is also the most accesible as far as tunes go, though maybe not as complex and engaging as other albums (Themes from Venus, Sky at Night). You sometimes get the feeling that the Big Time label was forcing their hand to 'keep up' with some of their more financially successful Athens peers.

Nonetheless, The songs are immediately engaging, catchy, with infectious hooks that can stay in your head for days. All the talents and individual sounds of Mike, Mark and Armistead really shine through on this record. "Beatle Boots" alone, should have been on every set list in LT's touring days. "Rudolf Nureyev" is a fun instrumental that sounds like a cross between Orange Juice and the Smiths. The opening riff of "Amusement Park" always makes me want to rock, especially that closing jam at the end where all the boys do their own thing yet stay in harmony. "Small Town" is a indie rock jam that almost any kid from a small town can relate to. The cover of "Party Train" is a big ball of cheese, but is still fun. "We all Loved Each Other So Much" is a introspective instumental that brings me back to the first two Love Tractor records...

A great introduction to one of the most original yet underrated bands from the Athens scene...

I miss Bill Berry...come on please put down the hay bale for a moment and tap those skins...

Shaun O'Sullivan Berkeley, CA USA