Lolita Nation [Green Vinyl] [2 LP]

by Game Theory

Overview

Game Theory leader Scott Miller never made a secret of his fondness for Big Star, and while Real Nighttime favored the lush but direct sound of #1 Record, and The Big Shot Chronicles suggested the harder-edged tone of Radio City, Lolita Nation plays like Game Theory's variation on the themes of Big Star's masterfully damaged swan song, Third/Sister Lovers. Certainly Game Theory's most ambitious album, Lolita Nation was a two-LP set that combined some of Miller's most user-friendly power pop squared off against dark, moody ruminations on betrayal, failed love, and mortality, all of it punctuated with bursts of avant-garde noise and unclassifiable studio doodling, and finally thrown into a sonic Cuisinart through Miller's aggressive use of aural montage. Game Theory's most challenging work, Lolita Nation is a bit disorienting on first listen, though it finds the band playing at the very top of its form on demanding material. New guitarist Donnette Thayer made an impressive debut, and drummer Gil Ray and keyboardist Shelley LaFreniere delivered outstanding performances. There are more than a few flat-out brilliant tracks, such as "Chardonnay," "The Waist and the Knees," and "The Real Sheila," alongside such head-scratchers as "Turn Me on Dead Man," "Watch Who You're Calling Space Garbage Meteor Mouth," and the 22nd track (which stubbornly defies titling). Lolita Nation was the point where the many ideas and approaches Miller had experimented with on Game Theory's earlier albums finally came together in a (pardon the expression) blaze of glory, and if the album is a bit much to absorb on first listen, few rock albums of the '80s reward repeated listening more than this one. Miller was one of the few rock musicians who often (and fittingly) cited James Joyce as an influence, and Lolita Nation is his Ulysses, a dense, profoundly idiosyncratic masterpiece. [In 2016, Omnivore Recordings reissued Lolita Nation as a remastered two-LP set pressed on translucent dark green vinyl. The set included a digital download card for the 27 album tracks plus an additional 21 bonus tracks from the Deluxe Edition, including a 7:49 version of "Chardonnay," radio sessions, rough mixes, demos, and live tracks, and including cover versions of songs by David Bowie, the Modern Lovers, Sex Pistols, Elvis Costello, the Smiths, the Stooges, Joy Division, the Hollies, and Public Image Ltd.] ~ Mark Deming

Product Details

Release Date:	02/05/2016
Label:	Omnivore
UPC:	0816651015320
Rank:	167989

Tracks

1. Kenneth, What¿¿¿s the Frequency?
2. Not Because You Can
3. Shard
4. Go Ahead, You¿¿¿re Dying To
5. Dripping with Looks
6. Exactly What We Don¿¿¿t Want to Hear
7. We Love You Carol and Alison
8. The Waist and the Knees
9. Nothing New
10. The World¿¿¿s Easiest Job
11. Look Away
12. Slip
13. The Real Sheila
14. Andy in Ten Years
15. Watch Who You¿¿¿re Calling Space Garbage Meteor Mouth/Pretty Green Card Shark
16. Where They Have to Let You In
17. Turn Me on Dead Man
18. Mammoth Gardens
19. Little Ivory
20. Museum of Hopelessness
21. Toby Ornette
22. All Clockwork and No Bodily Fluids Makes Hal/A Dull Metal Humbert/In Heaven Every Elephant Baby Wants to Be So Full of Sting

Album Credits

Performance Credits

Game Theory   Primary Artist
Jozef Becker   Voices
Zachary Smith   Sampled Guitar
Donnette Thayer   Bass,Guitar,Vocals
Lori Bauer   Vocals (Background)
Eric Marshall   Drums (Bass),Drums (Electric)
Dan Vallor   Vocals (Background)
Robert Toren   Guitar (Bass)
Angie Carlson   Piano,Vocals (Background)
Zack Smith   Guitar
Gil Ray   Drums,Guitar,Vocals,Vocals (Background)
Jeff Layton   Vocals (Background)
Shelley LaFreniere   Vocals,Keyboards,Synthesizer,Vocals (Background)
Lindsay Watson   Voices
Guillaume Gassuan   Bass,Vocals,Vocals (Background)
Zach Smith   Guitar
Jefferey Layton   Vocals (Background)
Michael Quercio   Synthesizer,Vocals (Background)
Scott Miller   Guitar,Vocals
Mitch Easter   Piano,Guitar

Technical Credits

Paul Cook   Composer
Bernard Sumner   Composer
James Osterberg   Composer
Steve Jones   Composer
Johnny Rotten   Composer
Jozef Becker   Voice Sample
Ralph Towner   Composer
Iggy Pop   Composer
Bob Geller   Assistant Engineer
Donnette Thayer   Composer
Dan Vallor   Producer
Keith Levine   Composer
Jim Walker   Composer
Gil Ray   Composer
Shelley LaFreniere   Composer
Lindsay Watson   Voice Sample
Lynda Burdick   Photography
John Marr   Composer
Guillaume Gassuan   Composer
Allen Clarke   Composer
Allan Clarke   Composer
Tony Hicks   Composer
Stephen Morris   Composer
Paul McCandless   Composer
Elvis Costello   Composer
Ian Curtis   Composer
Collin Walcott   Composer
Jah Wobble   Composer
Graham Nash   Composer
Johnny Marr   Composer
James Williamson   Composer
John Lydon   Composer
Jonathan Richman   Composer
Peter Hook   Composer
Joy Division   Composer
Scott Miller   Composer
Mitch Easter   Engineer,Producer
David Bowie   Composer
Eddy Schreyer   Mastering
Morrissey   Composer
Glen Matlock   Composer
Glen Moore   Composer