Customer Reviews

Wowee Zowee: Sordid Sentinels Edition (W/Book)

5 star:		(15)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

It's weird that a band like Pavement, who often seemed bored with many of the trappings of rock rules, are the best at putting out these deluxe, extended editions. Where most bands redo the sound a little, throw on a few demos, maybe a live track or two and then expect you to buy it for thirty dollars, Pavement continue to re-release their back catalog with excellent books, a plethora of bonus tracks and excellent packaging. And all for a decent price. God bless you Pavement.
"Wowee Zowee: Sordid Sentinels Edition" continues this trend with yet another great package. The origanel album sounds great, and although not all the bonus material is golden, everything is worth hearing as it paints a more complete picture of who Pavement were at this time period. And since this is Pavement's most eccentric album, most of the bonuses only help in better understanding the record.
The only reason I give this four stars is because I don't think "Wowee Zowee" is a five star record. It's a little sloppy(but not in the typical Pavement way) and more scattershot than what came before(and in many what would come after). Not everything works, but what does work works amazingly, and if you are a fan of Pavement then this a no brainer purchase.
And even if you're not a fan of Pavement's this is still an excellent addition to your collection.

When this album first came out I listened to it countless times. Over the years it has remained with me and I've returned to it again and again. Now it has returned to me with tons of added bonuses. And it's safe to say it has withstood the test of time. This is an absolute masterpiece. My favorite album ever.

although i had plenty of friends who thought this was Pavement's masterpiece, i always thought it was a bit of an over-reach, too ambitious. consequently, i felt there were several songs that sounded strangely out of place and/or just not that good. now, those songs seem to get lost among (or blend in with) all the b-sides, previously unreleased tracks, etc that are included on this reissue, some of which are really very good and interesting (ex. the alternative version of "Fight This Generation").

the packaging is handsome, but not very durable. if you have the previous Pavement reissues then you know what I'm talking about. my big critique is a total lack of written text in the liner notes about the band and/or the making of Wowee Zoweee. there are only two measley blurbs (no longer than this review);one written by Malkmus and the other by the studio engineer.

This album is great, the one that satisfies all my Pavement moods thanks to its eclectic approach. All of the Pavement albums are essential and they each have their own personalities, but this is the most elusive and for me, the most satisfying. This "Sordid Sentinels" edition in my opinion makes the straight album obsolete. The packaging is cool with a big ol' book full of typically strange Pavement pictures and words, the extra disc sheds light on the band in the sudio and the live sessions shed light on where the band was at that point in their career. But the question is: if you already own "Wowee" should you buy it again just because it has some extra crap? I would say "yes" because the crap smells (and sounds) so pleasant. Your only regret should be that you didn't pre-order it and get the 7", a live download and a poster.

Love the album -- 5 stars.

The extra padding is worth the extra (4) dollars (I paid) from a normal, bonusless CD. As has been mentioned already, the bonus tracks help illustrate what the band was trying to do with this album, SM writing in the liners that most of these songs were created through a loose, experimental process with not much in mind as far as end results go.

Of course, with a plethora of extras comes some unnecessary bonus... no, bogus tracks. However, IMO, there are some diamonds among the 32 extra tracks that would have sounded fine on the album. Was it a problem with running time? Maybe something SM could have indicated in the liners...

I like the Peel sesh.

I like how they don't throw in a ton of songs already present on the album.

An easy purchase.

My favorite Pavement record (and quite possibly my favorite album of all time. Right up there with The Clash's London Calling and Built To Spill's You In Reverse), re-released, with and additional 32 tracks! Few things, in this world are capable of reaching this caliber of awesomeness.
This album is absolutely every face of Pavement. From their noisy roots, to their folky love, to their jazzy experiments, to... Well... Almost every kind of rock n' roll you can think of.
The album starts with "We Dance", a song full of mindless lyrics, with absolutely no sense of meaning, that still seems strangely emotional. "Father To A Sister of Thought" is a progressive masterpiece with folk rhythms and harmonies. "AT&T" just makes me smile every time I hear that openning gasp, followed by "Lately... Someone's gonna save me... My Heart Is Made of gravy...". I don't know what it is about that lyric, but it just makes me happy.
This is, however, an album for fanboys (like me) and music geeks (like me), that are in love with diversity and experimentation, and can't stand songs that sound like they fit perfectly into a genre. So, if you are a punk, jazz, or folk purist, just be warned that you will be disappointed with a large portion of these cd's.
For the rest of us, not only is this my favorite Pavement album, it's also my favorite re-release, so far. The bonus tracks here are genuinely great songs. Especially "False Skorpion", "Sensitive Euro Man", and the short but sweet "I Love Perth".

P.S. I heard a rumor that the band might get back together for a tour!

Wowee Zowee is one of the most impressionistic rock albums that I have ever heard. The lyrics appear to be complete nonsense, the music is unstructured and chaotic, and the album as a whole is inconsistent and uneven. You could consider all of these things drawbacks, and for a typical band, they are. But Pavement is different. All of those negatives I mentioned are what define Pavement and what make them great.

Wowee Zowee is probably the most difficult of Pavement albums. It's incredibly scattershot and some of the songs are downright goofs that don't really click. But the best of the bunch are classics. Grounded, We Dance, Rattled By the Rush, and Half a Canyon are all great songs. Songs like Brinx Job and Flux=Rad are not bad necessarily, they just seem like half formed ideas or goofs that the band decided to record.

The Sordid Sentinels addition continues the great run of Pavement reisssues. If you're looking to purchase this album, then go with the deluxe addition. It's relatively cheap for a two disc package with a huge booklet, and there are several gems scattered throughout the b-sides like Sensitive Euro Man.

For a Pavement newbie I would recommend Crooked Rain, Crooked Rain first. I think that's there best album and the song structures are coherent and some of the lyrics (though not many) even make sense. I'm hoping for similar two disc treatments for Brighten the Corners and Terror Twilight in the next few years.

I was in junior high when the original came out. I remember rocking out to this going "Limp who? Have you guys heard of Pavement?".. This is one of the definitive albums of all time. Beach Boys had "Pet Sounds", Beatles had... well everything after "Meet The Beatles", Radiohead had "OK Computer", My Bloody Valentine had "Loveless", The Flaming Lips have "Clouds Taste Metallic" and "The Soft Bulletin" and Pavement had "Wowee Zowee" and "Crooked Rain, Crooked Rain". Wow. Pavement is definitly one of (if not THE) greatest bands of all time. Long live the Pave!

i imagine that everyone has a record or two that they know every note from beginning to end, not a wasted nanosecond. from the moment that i hear that opening Eminor chord, i'm whisked away on the Nostalgia Magic Carpet back to my freshman year of high school, emphasis on the former. i can practically smell the hacking-coughed exhales of after school bong hits, shooting pool w/'brinx job' in the background, swearing that the vocal effect on the last few seconds sounds exactly like "Twin Infinitives" era Royal Trux, catatonic on the couch in statuesque bliss by the time 'at&t' comes on. In a time when insecurities both internal and physical were abound, the brilliance of this album was one thing i was absolutely sure about. the best part of the re-issue is the inclusion of the b-sides from the 'rattled by the rush' single. the 'give it a day' single is included as well. it's not as "groundbreaking" as "S&E," and lacks the instant confectionery appeal of "CRCR," but this is the album that marked their creative peak. it takes at least 5 listens before its genious slowly reveals itself, but trust me--invest that time in Wowee Zowee.

Wowee Zowee is a brilliant and eclectic alternative rock album from the inventive mind of Stephen Malkmus of Pavement. Who knows what he is singing, so forget about lyrics. The songs are wildly eccentric, a sonic assault of layer-upon-layer of pleasing melody, distortion, pedal steel and crunching guitars, all delivered with a tight, professional production. Pavement's sound is a lush, intricate fusion of Sonic Youth, Nirvana, The Kinks (hear a little Ray Davies in there?) and who knows what else. The rule book has been discarded - you often ask yourself, "how did they come up with that!?" Listen once, you get a flavor - listen 8 or 10 times, it all begins to seep in. A classic! Pavement will reunite for a world tour in 2010 - check them out.

GENRES: Alternative.

BUY IF YOU LIKE: Sonic Youth, The Replacements, The Fall, Nirvana, The Pixies.

MUST HEAR TRACKS: "Rattled By The Rush," "Father to a Sister of Thought," "Best Friend's Arm," "Flux=Rad," "Half a Canyon."