Translate Slowly
Translate Slowly is the 1985 debut album by The Reivers. This album was originally released under the band's original name, Zeitgeist, but was remixed in 1988 and re-released under the band name The Reivers, after another band claimed rights to the name "Zeitgeist."
Translate Slowly | ||||
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Studio album by | ||||
Released | 1985 | |||
Genre | Rock | |||
Length | 46:05 | |||
Label | DB | |||
Producer | John Croslin and John Viehweg | |||
The Reivers chronology | ||||
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Review scores | |
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Source | Rating |
Allmusic | [1] |
Robert Christgau | B−[2] |
The album received positive attention from many critics. The Austin Chronicle's Austin Music Awards ranked it the third best album of 1985,[3] and Los Angeles Times critic Robert Hilburn included it on his year-end list of the best 100 records of the year.[4] Ted Simons of Spin magazine called it "one of the better independent releases of the year", although he expressed reservations about what he found to be "heavy-handed" harmonies on some tracks.[5]
The album's opening track, "Araby", was later covered by Hootie and the Blowfish on their 2000 collection Scattered, Smothered and Covered.[6][7] Ryan Adams has named this album as a leading influence on his own musical style.[8]
Track listing
All songs written by the Reivers except where noted
- "Araby" – 2:38
- "Cowboys" – 2:39
- "Legendary Man" – 4:37
- "Blue Eyes" (Fred Rose) – 2:57
- "She Digs Ornette" – 2:44
- "Things Don't Change" – 4:08
- "Translate Slowly" – 3:05
- "Sound and the Fury" – 2:43
- "Without My Sight" – 3:08
- "I Knew" – 4:40
- "Freight Train Rain" – 2:28
- "Hill Country Theme" (Glenn Paxton) – 2:35
- "Electra" – 3:04
- "Wherehaus Jamb" – 1:51
- "Walking the Cow" (Daniel Johnston) – 2:36
The last three tracks are "bonus" songs on the CD, which were not included on the original release of the album. Three tracks--"Wherehaus Jamb," "Freight Train Rain," and "Electra"—had been released previously on a 1984 EP entitled Zeitgeist, produced by John Croslin, recorded by John Viehweg, and released by DB Records.
References
- Translate Slowly at AllMusic
- Zeitgeist: "Translate Slowly" review, Robert Christgau Consumer Guide
- Austin Music Awards: Best Texas Music, 1985, The Austin Chronicle (accessed 2015-03-19).
- Robert Hilburn, "Hilburn's Best Lp's Of '85", Los Angeles Times, January 19, 1986.
- Ted Simons, "Zeitgeist, Translate Slowly" (review), Spin, October 1985.
- Michael Bertin, Pop Beloved: Revisiting the Reivers, Austin Chronicle, April 26, 2002.
- David Pyndus, "The Reivers", PopMatters, February 18, 2008.
- Ryan Adams, "The Records That Changed My Life", Spin, August 2004.