Name: The Wayward Bus / Distant Plastic Trees
Brand: Merge Records
SKU: 192146
Price: 13.57 USD
Availability: InStock

The Wayward Bus / Distant Plastic Trees

Rating

Album: The Wayward Bus / Distant Plastic Trees
#	Song Title		Time
1)	When You Were My Baby	More Info...	0:02
2)	The Saddest Story Ever Told	More Info...	0:02
3)	Lovers from the Moon	More Info...	0:03
4)	Candy	More Info...	0:02
5)	Tokyo a Go-go	More Info...	0:03
6)	Summer Lies	More Info...	0:03
7)	Old Orchard Beach	More Info...	0:03
8)	Jeremy	More Info...	0:03
9)	Dancing in Your Eyes	More Info...	0:03
10)	Suddenly There Is a Tidal Wave	More Info...	0:03
11)	Railroad Boy	More Info...	0:03
12)	Smoke Signals	More Info...	0:03
13)	You Love to Fail	More Info...	0:02
14)	Kings	More Info...	0:02
15)	Babies Falling	More Info...	0:03
16)	Living in an Abandoned Firehouse With You	More Info...	0:04
17)	Tar-heel Boy	More Info...	0:02
18)	Falling in Love With the Wolfboy	More Info...	0:04
19)	Josephine	More Info...	0:03
20)	100,000 Fireflies	More Info...	0:03

Album: The Wayward Bus / Distant Plastic Trees
#	Song Title		Time
1)	When You Were My Baby	More Info...	0:02
2)	The Saddest Story Ever Told	More Info...	0:02
3)	Lovers from the Moon	More Info...	0:03
4)	Candy	More Info...	0:02
5)	Tokyo a Go-go	More Info...	0:03
6)	Summer Lies	More Info...	0:03
7)	Old Orchard Beach	More Info...	0:03
8)	Jeremy	More Info...	0:03
9)	Dancing in Your Eyes	More Info...	0:03
10)	Suddenly There Is a Tidal Wave	More Info...	0:03
11)	Railroad Boy	More Info...	0:03
12)	Smoke Signals	More Info...	0:03
13)	You Love to Fail	More Info...	0:02
14)	Kings	More Info...	0:02
15)	Babies Falling	More Info...	0:03
16)	Living in an Abandoned Firehouse With You	More Info...	0:04
17)	Tar-heel Boy	More Info...	0:02
18)	Falling in Love With the Wolfboy	More Info...	0:04
19)	Josephine	More Info...	0:03
20)	100,000 Fireflies	More Info...	0:03

Performer Notes

The Magnetic Fields: Susan Anway (vocals); Stephin Merritt (various instruments).
Additional personnel: Sam Davol (cello); Johny Blood (tuba, horns); Claudia Gonson (percussion).
Engineer: Ken Michaels.
THE WAYWARD BUS was originally released on Popup in 1992. DISTANT PLASTIC TREES was originally released in England on Red Flame in 1991.
Track 11 is a silent track.
The Magnetic Fields' first two albums, available on one CD, differ from the band's later work in that it is not songwriter Stephin Merritt who is singing his tales of wounded hope, starry-eyed romance, and quiet desperation. Susan Anway, whose classic '60s pop voice bears remarkable resemblance to that of Petula Clark, is the vocalist here, and her performance is transcendent. 1990's less-is-more DISTANT PLASTIC TREES is directly indebted to early-'80s minimalist-pop geniuses the Young Marble Giants, especially on the hypnotic "You Love To Fail" and the tremendously affecting "100,000 Fireflies," perhaps Merritt's most heartbreakingly beautiful song.
By comparison, 1991's THE WAYWARD BUS is downright lush, combining Merritt's avowed love for Phil Spector, ABBA, and '60s French pop into keyboard-based two-minute pop classics like the Ronettes homage "When You Were My Baby" and the swinging "Suddenly There Is A Tidal Wave." Taken together, both albums are the perfect introduction to Stephin Merritt's magical pop world.

Professional Reviews

Alternative Press (11/92, p.66) - "...something worth savoring..."

Option (11-12/92, p.129) - "...one of the more arresting visions I've encountered recently..."