Themes from Venus is an album by the American band Love Tractor.[2][3] It was released in 1988, and marked a return to an independent label, after the bankruptcy of RCA-affiliated Big Time Records.[4][5]
The band broke up after promoting the album, but reunited a few times over the course of the 1990s; while promoting the album, Love Tractor became the first rock band to play at Jamestown, Virginia.[6][7] Love Tractor also promoted Themes from Venus by touring with Too Much Joy and by opening for the B-52s on their Cosmic Thing tour.[8][9]
Themes from Venus was rereleased in remastered versions in 2022 on Propeller Sound Recordings.[10] The CD and digital versions include six new mixes, including some by Brendan O'Brien.
The album was produced by Mitch Easter and Love Tractor.[11] The band recorded the songs they had, without doing any preproduction work before entering the studio.[12]
The Globe and Mail considered the album to be the band's best to that point, calling it "full of quirky invention and strange, funny pop sounds."[16]Spin deemed the songs "lusty and inebriating, an extended headrush without the hangover."[17] The Chicago Tribune stated that, "wrapped in a deceptively easygoing aura, Love Tractor's full, rich-textured sound nonetheless hits a propulsive groove more than once, layering guitar lines that alternate between fat, echoey notes and icy little stabs over a solid rhythmic underpinning from bass and drums."[14]
The St. Petersburg Times determined that "it's a cunning foray into densely textured, multilayered pop that belies their Athens roots and may be their best effort to date... Themes from Venus isn't an artistic statement so much as a sonic playground, a therapeutic avenue for Easter and Love Tractor to escape their respective pigeonholes."[11] The Calgary Herald noted that the band is "still a quirky and delightful blend of discarded pop riffs, odd instrumentals and strange lyrics to tickle one's eccentric fancies."[18]
AllMusic wrote that "the tunes on Themes from Venus are longer and less structured than those on Outerspace Ship, the grooves are at once loopier and more prominent, and while most of the songs have vocals, the words take a definite back seat to the music."[13]
Track listingedit
Themes from Venus track listing
No.
Title
Length
1.
"I Broke My Saw"
2.
"Themes from Venus"
3.
"Crash"
4.
"Satan"
5.
"Crystal World"
6.
"Venice"
7.
"Hey Mess"
8.
"Nova Express"
9.
"Fantasy"
10.
"Here Comes the Cops"
11.
"Crash (Inst. Version)"
12.
"Satan (Inst. Version)"
Additional tracks on remastered and expanded edition on Propeller Sound Recordings
"Nighttime Time Zone" (Brendan O'Brien mix)
"Hey Mess" (O'Brien mix)
"Fantasy" (Instrumental Mitch Easter mix)
"I Broke My Saw" (Long Version Easter mix)
"Satan's New Wave Soul Losers" (Instrumental Easter mix)
"Crash" (Instrumental Easter Mix)
Referencesedit
^Lepage, Mark (25 May 1989). "Love Tractor – Themes from Venus". The Gazette. p. C2.
^Muretich, James (4 May 1989). "Disc Drive". Calgary Herald. p. C3.
May 04, 2024
themes, from, venus, album, american, band, love, tractor, released, 1988, marked, return, independent, label, after, bankruptcy, affiliated, time, records, studio, album, love, tractorreleased1988labeldb, producermitch, easter, love, tractorlove, tractor, chr. Themes from Venus is an album by the American band Love Tractor 2 3 It was released in 1988 and marked a return to an independent label after the bankruptcy of RCA affiliated Big Time Records 4 5 Themes from VenusStudio album by Love TractorReleased1988LabelDB 1 ProducerMitch Easter Love TractorLove Tractor chronologyThis Ain t No Outer Space Ship 1987 Themes from Venus 1988 The Sky at Night 2001 The band broke up after promoting the album but reunited a few times over the course of the 1990s while promoting the album Love Tractor became the first rock band to play at Jamestown Virginia 6 7 Love Tractor also promoted Themes from Venus by touring with Too Much Joy and by opening for the B 52s on their Cosmic Thing tour 8 9 Themes from Venus was rereleased in remastered versions in 2022 on Propeller Sound Recordings 10 The CD and digital versions include six new mixes including some by Brendan O Brien Contents 1 Production 2 Critical reception 3 Track listing 4 ReferencesProduction editThe album was produced by Mitch Easter and Love Tractor 11 The band recorded the songs they had without doing any preproduction work before entering the studio 12 Critical reception editProfessional ratingsReview scoresSourceRatingAllMusic nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp 13 Chicago Tribune nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp 14 The Encyclopedia of Popular Music nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp 6 MusicHound Rock The Essential Album Guide nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp 15 The Globe and Mail considered the album to be the band s best to that point calling it full of quirky invention and strange funny pop sounds 16 Spin deemed the songs lusty and inebriating an extended headrush without the hangover 17 The Chicago Tribune stated that wrapped in a deceptively easygoing aura Love Tractor s full rich textured sound nonetheless hits a propulsive groove more than once layering guitar lines that alternate between fat echoey notes and icy little stabs over a solid rhythmic underpinning from bass and drums 14 The St Petersburg Times determined that it s a cunning foray into densely textured multilayered pop that belies their Athens roots and may be their best effort to date Themes from Venus isn t an artistic statement so much as a sonic playground a therapeutic avenue for Easter and Love Tractor to escape their respective pigeonholes 11 The Calgary Herald noted that the band is still a quirky and delightful blend of discarded pop riffs odd instrumentals and strange lyrics to tickle one s eccentric fancies 18 AllMusic wrote that the tunes on Themes from Venus are longer and less structured than those on Outerspace Ship the grooves are at once loopier and more prominent and while most of the songs have vocals the words take a definite back seat to the music 13 Track listing editThemes from Venus track listingNo TitleLength1 I Broke My Saw 2 Themes from Venus 3 Crash 4 Satan 5 Crystal World 6 Venice 7 Hey Mess 8 Nova Express 9 Fantasy 10 Here Comes the Cops 11 Crash Inst Version 12 Satan Inst Version Additional tracks on remastered and expanded edition on Propeller Sound Recordings Nighttime Time Zone Brendan O Brien mix Hey Mess O Brien mix Fantasy Instrumental Mitch Easter mix I Broke My Saw Long Version Easter mix Satan s New Wave Soul Losers Instrumental Easter mix Crash Instrumental Easter Mix References edit Lepage Mark 25 May 1989 Love Tractor Themes from Venus The Gazette p C2 Love Tractor Biography Songs amp Albums AllMusic Brown Joe 3 Nov 1989 Fellow Athenians Love Tractor are still at it too The Washington Post p N23 Gotrich Lars September 17 2021 Love Tractor I Broke My Saw Long Version Mitch Easter Mix NPR Watson Charles April 21 1989 Love Tractor Plows Ahead with Themes from Venus The Atlanta Journal Constitution p F4 a b Larkin Colin 2006 The Encyclopedia of Popular Music Vol 5 MUZE p 346 Pryweller Joseph 7 July 1990 Association Tries to Update Image Daily Press p D1 Hoekstra Dave April 28 1989 Too Much Joy twists 60s rock n roll Weekend Plus Chicago Sun Times p 7 DeLuca Dean 5 Feb 1990 B 52 s Dance Rock into Tower Theater The Philadelphia Inquirer p C3 Smith Lee Valentine 5 Jan 2023 Classic Athens band opens B 52s homecoming show The Atlanta Journal Constitution p C1 a b Okamoto David 23 Apr 1989 Two Athens bands on the rebound St Petersburg Times p 2F Gettelman Parry 28 May 1989 Love Tractor Thrives Despite R E M Calendar Orlando Sentinel p 8 a b Themes from Venus AllMusic a b Popson Tom 28 Apr 1989 Indie LPs Green on Red Pylon and more Friday Chicago Tribune p J MusicHound Rock The Essential Album Guide Visible Ink Press 1999 p 694 Dafoe Chris 4 May 1989 Themes from Venus Love Tractor The Globe and Mail p C12 Heavy Rotation Spin Vol 5 no 4 Jul 1989 p 13 Muretich James 4 May 1989 Disc Drive Calgary Herald p C3 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Themes from Venus amp oldid 1219579342, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
