Amazing Disgrace

by The Posies

Overview

The Posies learned to rock on 1993's Frosting on the Beater, where their splendid hooks and creamy harmonies were matched with towering walls of guitar that made them sound like power pop supermen. The lessons they learned were clearly audible on their next album, 1996's Amazing Disgrace, but the tone was dramatically different. Where Frosting on the Beater was overflowing with the fuzzy joy of big loud rock, Amazing Disgrace feels edgy, filled with anxiety and bad feelings, and while beefed-up electric guitars still dominate the mix, the tone is sharper and more brittle, adding an undercurrent of punky venom that roughed up the surfaces of their peerless pop songwriting. The Posies were struggling with severe interband tensions and troubles with their record label while they wrote and recorded Amazing Disgrace, and it's not hard to hear the rancor informing the songs and the performances. "Hate Song" and "Everybody Is a Fucking Liar" wear their disgust on their sleeves, and even the relatively warm numbers like "World," "Precious Moments," and "The Certainty" seem deeply downbeat beneath their well-crafted exteriors. Amazing Disgrace is the Posies' Bad Karma album, but that is a big part of what makes it so memorable. If the emotions aren't especially positive, they lit a fire under this band and there's a strength and drama in the ensemble playing the Posies rarely touched. This lineup of the band -- founders Jon Auer and Ken Stringfellow joined by bassist Joe Skyward and drummer Brian Young -- crackles with energy and ferocity, and producer Nick Launay captured it all with admirable grit and clarity. The fact the Posies actually managed to record and release another album after this (1998's Success) is far more remarkable than the fact they soon broke up, but Amazing Disgrace is a stellar example of how rage can fuel an artist into creating something remarkable, and if it's not always easy to listen to, it's genuinely rewarding. ~ Mark Deming

Product Details

Release Date:	12/14/2018
Label:	Omnivore
UPC:	0816651012411
Rank:	85137

Tracks

Disc 1

1. Daily Mutation
2. Ontario
3. Throwaway
4. Please Return It
5. Hate Songs
6. Precious Moments
7. Fight It (If You Want)

Disc 2

8. Everybody Is a Fucking Liar
9. World
10. Grant Hart
11. Broken Record
12. The Certainty
13. Song #1
14. ¿¿ Will You Ever Ease Your Mind?

Album Credits

Performance Credits

The Posies   Primary Artist
Barbara Marino   Primary Artist,Sax (Baritone)
Rick Nielsen   Guest Artist,Guitar
Steve Fisk   Guest Artist,Clavoline,Clavioline
Robin Zander   Guest Artist,Vocals
Ken Stringfellow   Guitar,Vocals
Jon Auer   Vocals,Guitar
Barbara J. Marino   Sax (Baritone)
Brian Young   Drums
Jessica Lurie   Sax (Tenor)
Joe Skyward   Bass
Gavin Guss   Trumpet
Roderick Romero   Vocals

Technical Credits

Jon Auer   Mixing,Composer,Engineer
Nick Launay   Mixing,Engineer,Producer
Aaron Warner   Assistant Engineer
Adam Kasper   Mixing
Brett Eliason   Mixing
Steve Fisk   Mixing,Producer
Keith Cleversley   Mixing,Engineer
John Goodmanson   Engineer
Robin Zander   Screams
Lance Mercer   Photography
Tim Gabor   Design,Art Direction
Joe Bass   Photography
Steve Culp   Assistant Engineer
Greg Calbi   Mastering
Ken Stringfellow   Composer
John Burton   Assistant Engineer