Pain Makes You Beautiful
Pain Makes You Beautiful is the third album by the American band the Judybats, released in 1993 by Sire Records.[2][3] The album contains the band's most successful single, "Being Simple", which peaked at No. 7 on the Billboard Modern Rock Tracks chart.[4] The band supported the album with a North American tour.[5]
| Pain Makes You Beautiful | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | 1993 | |||
| Recorded | Long View Farm Studios, North Brookfield, Massachusetts[1] | |||
| Genre | Pop, rock, alternative rock | |||
| Length | 44:06 | |||
| Label | Sire/Warner Bros. | |||
| Producer | Kevin Moloney | |||
| The Judybats chronology | ||||
| ||||
Production edit
Pain Makes You Beautiful saw a significant lineup change for the band, with the departure of keyboardist Peggy Hambright and bassist Timothy Stutz and the arrival of bassist Paul Noe and drummer Dave Kenkins.[6][7] Recorded live in the studio, the album was produced by Kevin Moloney,[8][9] who helped the band to shorten and rearrange their songs.[10] The recording studio, Long View Farm Studios, was a country barn, built above horse stables.[11] Many of the songs' lyrics were inspired by the lives of frontman Jeff Heiskell and his friends.[12]
In 2023, Heiskell stated that he loved Moloney's production on the album, which introduced more "organic sounds", and added that he felt the band's earlier records had been overproduced by comparison.[11]
Critical reception edit
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic | [6] |
| Chicago Tribune | [13] |
| The Republican | [14] |
Trouser Press stated that "the musicianship is at a consistently high caliber, and the songwriting is tremendously diverse."[7] The Chicago Tribune concluded that "Heiskell, a dominant vocal presence live, is still too mannered on record; he's like a drawling male Annie Lennox, with every intonation sounding studied and self-conscious."[13] The Republican wrote: "Flying in the face of grunge trends, they pack a rippling batch of melodies into crisp pop tracks like the exhilarating 'Ugly on the Outside'."[14] The Washington Post determined that "the Judybats slip loose of their New South neo-folk-rock mold, though not singer/lyricist Jeff Heiskell's sometimes annoying conceits."[15] The Associated Press deemed the album "lightweight pop ... overloaded with ponderous pretensions."[16]
In a retrospective review, Stewart Mason of AllMusic thought the album traded the band's "folky eccentricities" for "a more identifiably alternative rock groove that's considerably less unique", and that Moloney "steers things a little too far to adult album alternative territory at times".[6]
Track listing edit
All music by the Judybats, lyrics by Jeff Heiskell.
- "All Day Afternoon" – 3:27
- "Ugly on the Outside" – 3:47
- "Being Simple" – 4:13
- "An Intense Beige" – 3:25
- "Geography" – 3:03
- "Wasting Time" – 4:15
- "Incredible Bittersweet" – 4:03
- "Scarlett" – 3:24
- "Trip Me Up" – 3:16
- "La Dulcinea" – 3:30
- "My Dead Friend" – 4:36
- "Pain (Makes You Beautiful)" – 3:12
Personnel edit
The Judybats
- Jeff Heiskell – lead vocals
- Ed Winters – electric guitars
- Johnny Sughrue – acoustic & electric guitars, vocals
- Paul Noe – bass, guitar, vocals
- Dave Jenkins – drums & percussion
Technical
- Kevin Moloney – producer, mixer, engineer
- Michael H. Brauer – mixer ("All Day Afternoon")
- Bruck Dawit – assistant mixer ("All Day Afternoon")
- Jesse Henderson – second engineer
- Erik Flettrich – second engineer (mixing)
- Stephen Marcussen – mastering
- Perry Iannone – strings ("All Day Afternoon", "Wasting Time")
- Christine Cano – art direction and design
- Michael Wilson – photography
References edit
- ^ McLennan, Scott (June 9, 1994). "Studio gets new owners". Telegram & Gazette. p. C6.
- ^ "The JudyBats Biography, Songs, & Albums". AllMusic.
- ^ Nordling, Elise (June 27, 1997). "You Say It's Your Birthday: The Judybats' Johnny Sughrue". MTV.
- ^ Whitburn, Joel (2008). Joel Whitburn Presents Rock Tracks 1981-2008. Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin: Record Research Inc. ISBN 0-89820-174-8 – via Google Books.
- ^ Luhrssen, Dave (April 22, 1993). "Mixed Bag". Entertainment. The Milwaukee Journal. p. 3.
- ^ a b c Mason, Stewart. "The JudyBats - Pain Makes You Beautiful Album Reviews, Songs & More | AllMusic". AllMusic.
- ^ a b Zwirn, Michael. "Judybats". Trouser Press. Retrieved 22 October 2022.
- ^ Sculley, Alan (April 30, 1993). "Slugger's Life Judybats Tune Up, Make Some Trades, Come Out Swinging". InRoads. Daily Press. Newport News. p. 14.
- ^ "Pain Makes You Beautiful by Judybats". Billboard. 105 (16): 52. April 17, 1993.
- ^ Mayhew, Don (April 8, 1993). "Judybats Not Like Most Alternative Rock Bands". The Fresno Bee. p. E4.
- ^ a b Edelstein, Marc (January 16, 2023). "Jeff Heiskell Discusses the Judybats' Exquisite 'Pain Makes You Beautiful' at 30". PopMatters. Retrieved April 28, 2023.
- ^ Maestri, Cathy (April 2, 1993). "Musical portraits of JudyBats". The Press-Enterprise. p. AA10.
- ^ a b Caro, Mark (March 18, 1993). "JudyBats Pain Makes You Beautiful". Tempo. Chicago Tribune. p. 7.
- ^ a b O'Hare, Kevin (March 14, 1993). "Judybats, 'Pain Makes You Beautiful'". The Republican. p. E2.
- ^ Jenkins, Mark (May 7, 1993). "A Broader Swing of the 'Bats". The Washington Post. p. N16.
- ^ Dishneau, David (March 12, 1993). "Heavy Lyrics Drown Melody". TGIF. The Palm Beach Post. The Associated Press. p. 16.