Colossal Youth
| Colossal Youth | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Studio album by Young Marble Giants | |
| Released | February 1980 |
| Recorded | 1979 |
| Studio | Foel Studios, North Wales |
| Genre | Post-punk |
| Length | 38:20 |
| Label |
Rough Trade (original release) Domino (2007 reissue) |
| Producer | Young Marble Giants |
| Professional ratings | |
|---|---|
| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   |
| Blender | |
| Christgau's Record Guide | B |
| The Guardian | |
| The Irish Times |  |
| Pitchfork Media | 9.3/10 |
| Rolling Stone | |
| Spin | |
| Spin Alternative Record Guide | 10/10 |
| Uncut | |
Colossal Youth is the only studio album by Welsh post-punk band Young Marble Giants, released in February 1980 on Rough Trade Records. Young Marble Giants were offered the opportunity to record the album after Rough Trade heard just two songs by the band on the local Cardiff music compilation Is the War Over?.
Colossal Youth was recorded in five days at Foel Studios, located near Welshpool in North Wales. Young Marble Giants had no prior knowledge of formal music production and as a result the production on Colossal Youth was kept deliberately simple, with the band utilizing many of their first takes on the record and minimal overdubbing. The only two overdubs on the record are a slide guitar on "Include Me Out" and distorted vocals on "Eating Noddemix".
According to critic Richie Unterberger, Colossal Youth is "one of the most highly regarded indie cult post-punk recordings, with a unique hushed and minimal atmosphere."Nirvana singer-songwriter Kurt Cobain said in a 1992 Melody Maker interview that Colossal Youth was one of the five most influential records he had ever heard, and he also included the album in a list of his top 50 albums in a 1993 journal. Cobain's wife, Courtney Love, would later record "Credit in the Straight World" with her band Hole in their second album, Live Through This, released in 1994.
In May 2009, the album was performed live in its entirety as part of the All Tomorrow's Parties-curated Don't Look Back series.
All songs written by Stuart Moxham, except where noted.
The re-release includes the following bonus tracks, taken from the "Final Day" single, Testcard EP, and some B-sides:
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Wikipedia