For Your Own Special Sweetheart

Jawbox | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (February 8, 1994)
• Original Release Date: 1994
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Atlantic / Wea
• ASIN: B000002IXK
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  Audio Cassette  |  Vinyl  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (14 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #154,357 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Editorial Reviews

Indie purists reflexively moaned -- and, in one documented case, hoped for the band s vehicular death -- once word spread of Jawbox's Atlantic deal. No band had left the sacred Dischord label for a major prior to Jawbox, so it was seen by some as an unforgivable crime against D.I.Y. The move, inconsequential from a creative standpoint, was the betrayed's loss. The band's first album for the bad guys represents their peak, a thrilling collision of vibrant guitar-generated noise and off-center melodic hooks over a rhythm section that swings as easily as it pummels. Not transitional merely in the label-of-release sense, For Your Own Special Sweetheart introduced new drummer Zach Barocas, whose intricate style is as punishing as necessary for any post-hardcore band while more inspired by jazz heavyweights Tony Williams and Jack DeJohnette than any punk. Kim Coletta s bass, present enough in the mix to be compared to a variety of power tools, rumbles with a richness and dexterity that was only hinted at on the band s prior releases, while the guitar interplay between Bill Barbot and J. Robbins, colorful and dynamic, alternates between ringing/tingling and needling/careening. This all produces an album that is heavy on songs that gracefully batter and flit unpredictably between midtempo and charging speeds. Whether pushed along by the addition of Barocas or the band s general development, FYOSS also contains a pair of slower, subtle songs that are just as compelling as the aggressive material. Robbins lyrics, as cerebral and inscrutable as ever, more about sound than meaning, are at least decipherable throughout the muscular, corrosive jangle pop of Savory (about the objectification of women), the appropriately rush-inducing Jackpot Plus! (the futility of gambling), and Motorist (disorientation after a car crash, inspired by J.G. Ballard s Concrete Island). Otherwise, a Jawbox decoder ring is necessary. (For example, a Jawbox-to-punk translation of Technicolored static sender/Second guess my love for danger could be I m a couch potato/Couch potato, ungh! ) More importantly, don t forget to wear a neck brace. Inside or outside its D.C. epicenter, this is one of post-hardcore s most exceptional releases, second to whatever Fugazi album gives you the biggest charge. [Released on DeSoto the same day the band reunited for a one-off performance on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon (no, really), the expanded reissue of the album adds the excellent B-sides from the Savory +3 EP and was remastered by Bob Weston.] ~ Andy Kellman, Rovi --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars It's all about quality, January 16, 2004

By 

Phil Avetxori - See all my reviews

This review is from: For Your Own Special Sweetheart (Audio CD)

Let's dispel one possible misconception about Jawbox, in light of the well-deserved praise they've received: Jawbox were not innovators. While they certainly had their own sound, their music wasn't revolutionary.

That's because it didn't need to be.

"For Your Own Special Sweetheart" is one of the great rock albums of the 90s. Their's was a noisy, often dissonant, angular sound, firmly rooted in the post-Fugazi D.C. sound, which, of course, means hardcore energy, post-punk structures, and sheets upon sheets of guitar. So what's the big deal? Songs, baby: the ability to write memorable tunes. Jawbox had melodies that traversed the emotional spectrum, but always tinged with elements of bittersweet, melancholy dissonance. The haunting overtones of Sonic Youth, at their most transcendent, are channeled into high-energy, rhythmically dynamic tunes. This mixture of the subtle and the muscular carries over into the vocals, where thoughtful, allusive lyrics are belted out with conviction and power. By the time this album was recorded, Jawbox were a tight, kinetic force, and the pristine recording successfully captures their unstoppable live energy.
It's too bad this album didn't sell better. In a decade when scores indie rock bands, in the wake of Nirvana's success, were being signed to major labels, Jawbox were particularly unfortunate victims of the indie snobbery that caused many of these endeavors to tank. They were a band that were able to succesfully combine musical professionalism with noisy rock of the post-punk lineage, and there's little doubt that had they chosen to continue into this century, they could have provided a valuable example for younger bands, showing that accessibile guitar rock need not be retro.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars calls and responses you can't see, June 5, 2001

By 

Brian Howe (Chapel Hill, NC United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: For Your Own Special Sweetheart (Audio CD)

J. Robbins (currently in the also excellent Burning Airlines and producing about twelve other bands' albums per diem) & co.'s band Jawbox produced many a fine album, so it's difficult to call "For Your Own Special Sweetheart" the best one without compunction. But it is. "Savory" is one of my favorite songs from any band, and "Motorist" is a close second. A fierce attack of complex guitar patterns and multi-layered vocals pervades throughout; the songs feel jagged and incisive in a pleasing manner. If you listen to Jawbreaker, Glass Jaw, or any other band with "Jaw" in the name, you probably will like this, but then again, you probably already do. If you can't find this, the eponymous Jawbox album is stellar as well. Rock music to raze houses by.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great album, reissued, December 15, 2009

By 

Ken (Cincinnati, OH) - See all my reviews

This review is from: For Your Own Special Sweetheart (Audio CD)

Tracklist:

1. FF=66

2. Savory

3. Breathe

4. Motorist

5. LS/MFT

6. Cooling Card

7. Green Glass

8. Cruel Swing

9. Jackpot Plus!

10. Chicago Piano

11. Reel

12. U-Trau

13. Whitney Walks

14. Lil' Shaver*

15. 68*

16. Sound On Sound*

* Bonus tracks, originally found on Savory +3 CD Single.

Sound on Sound was later released on My Scrapbook of Fatal Accidents. That LP also featured a peel session version of 68. Lil Shaver is a completely different take on The Big Shave. If you don't have these three tracks, it's worth it just to get them. Savory was as close as they got to a hit (Deftones later covered it on the B-Sides & Rarities album). A lot of their music featured the bass being more prominent than the guitar or at least not drowned out by the guitar. There's nothing formulaic in this album. In my opinion, it's probably their best non-collection album.

To get a flavor for their music:

1. Jawbox got together in 2009 on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon and did 3 songs. It's online. Google it (I can't post URLs in these reviews).

2. Jawbox released two videos from this album: Savory and Cooling Card. Both are on Youtube and the latter you can hear what I'm talking about (regarding the bass).

3. Two mp3s are on buzzgrinder (they interviewed J. Robbins about the Late Night show performance). Again, Google it.

So, check all of it out, then buy the album. You won't be disappointed.

BTW: Other videos they did included a cover of Tori Amos' Cornflake Girl and Mirrorful. While not on this album, these gives you more of a feel of the sound of this band.