| View Larger Image | The Wayward Bus/Distant Plastic Trees | Audio CDby Magnetic Fields
| List Price: | $11.98 | | Price: | $10.99 | | You Save: | $0.99 (8%) | | | Available: | Usually ships in 24 hours |
| | Binding: | Audio CD | | Studio: | Merge Records | | Release Date: | January 23, 1995 | | Sales Rank: | 68,324th |
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TRACK LISTING |
Disc: 1
- Track 1: When You Were My Baby
- Track 2: Saddest Story Ever Told
- Track 3: Lovers from the Moon
- Track 4: Candy
- Track 5: Tokyo a Go-Go
- Track 6: Summer Lies
- Track 7: Old Orchard Beach
- Track 8: Jeremy
- Track 9: Dancing in Your Eyes
- Track 10: Suddenly There Is a Tidal Wave
- Track 11: Distant Plastic Trees
- Track 12: Railroad Boy
- Track 13: Smoke Signals
- Track 14: You Love to Fail
- Track 15: Kings
- Track 16: Babies Falling
- Track 17: Living in an Abandoned Firehouse With You
- Track 18: Tar-Heel Boy
- Track 19: Falling in Love With the Wolfboy
- Track 20: Josephine
- Track 21: 100,000 Fireflies
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CUSTOMER REVIEWS (Average Customer Rating: 4.5 based on 24 reviews)
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Some of the most underrated pop music of all time by Alex TB  5 Stars
November 08, 2008
It never occured to me that The Magnetic Fields had much else of immediate worth in their catalog other than 69 Love Songs until I was recommended this collection of two small albums. One of the reasons that 69 Love Songs was so amazing was that it covered lots of completely unique styles, the most notable of which is fragile ukulele driven folk ballads, but what people sometimes forget is that some of the best songs on 69LS are the more traditional, less ambitious ones. Traveling back in time almost ten years interestingly enough doesn't do much to deter the staggering pop sensibility of Stephin Merritt. For the most part, these songs are finely crafted pop of typical structure with a completely unique style. And also interesting is the fact that they have aged fairly well even in the face of the bands later, more revered work.
What will strike fans first is that these albums are the bands first try. The rate of success in these songs is so consistent it is almost unbelievable. These songs are all lovely, quaint little love songs that have predictable but ultimately enjoyable melodies and hooks. A lot of what makes The Fields' later work more enjoyable is how lightly challenging it is. But most of these songs are easy vocabulary for pop fans immediately recognizable. This makes the experience all the more immediate but that much less precious as far as lasting impact goes. The songs are very hummable and lovely, and the hooks are unique to each song and surprisingly all very great. And the amount of material there is here on this collection is very nice, and makes for a feast to the kind of music fans who enjoy these kinds of songs. the mood ranges from lovely and happy to almost tragically bittersweet.
But the more distinctive aspect of the records are what they sound like production wise. Most of these songs consist of simple synthesizers, that in some ways sound completely artificial while the melodies themselves "keep it real" so to say. This mixed with the fact that a lot of the songs simply sound like lovely little rural songs makes for a juxtaposition that sounds odd in words but surprisingly works in the music. The covers of these two albums depict a lovely scribbled suburbia that this style depicts well. The band also experiments with exotic instruments at times and creates atmospheres that can be likened to tropical islands or far eastern villages. Another difference in all this music that fans who have worked backwards will find interesting is the vocals. All of these vocals are done by Susan Anway, who has a very gentle sweeping voice that works very well for all of these romantic lyrics. As usual, the lyrics are completely superb. In fact, one of the greatest aspects about The Magnetic Fields music is how embossed the lyrics feel. New fans to the Magnetic Fields often cite the lyrics as one of the first things that pop out, and for sure, Stephin Merritt is an unbelievable lyricist who creates poetry that syncs perfectly with the music. Specific poetic standouts turn up in pretty much every song, and personal favorites are not few. I suppose a few really great ones are 100,000 Fireflies, Summer Lies, and Lovers From The Moon.
But in general, the consistency of the record is quite impressive. There are a couple of throwaways, but out of twenty one songs, a good fifteen of them are really strong. The differences between Distant Plastic Trees and The Wayward Bus lie mostly in the instrumentation, specifically the fact that cello and horns were introduced to The Wayward Bus. The addition of the cello proved to be a wonderful move that would positively impact the band for the rest of their career. The cello is a beautiful, sweeping instrument that works wonders over the bass, and serves up brilliant harmonies when it is present. Favorite songs of mine are When You Were My Baby, Lovers From The Moon, and Tar Heel Boy. In the end, this collection compiles two already good albums onto one disk and has many truly wonderful songs on it. As a purchase, this is simply awesome.
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Magnetic Fields before Magnetic Fields by Colin Cortes (Tualatin, OR USA) 5 Stars
May 20, 2008
I first heard Magnetic Fields through their albums Holiday and i. I was so used to Stephin Merritt's inimitable voice and melancholic songs that when I first heard The Wayward Bus/Distant Plastic Trees with Susan Anway as lead singer and songs that jumped all over the map regarding instrumentation and were generally less moody, I'd've sworn it was a totally different band. However, I loved what I heard. I have trouble teasing a theme from the album, but every song stands on its own, and there's always one song to suit whatever your mood is. It makes great music to accompany summer too. (I'm thinking of "Summer Lies," "Old Orchard Beach," and "Suddenly There Is a Tidal Wave." This is indie music at its best, and I can't think of another band with which to compare "this" Magnetic Fields. Just listen and decide!
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Incomparably gorgeous by starhermit (miami fl) 5 Stars
August 12, 2007
This album was my introduction to The Magnetic Felds and, though I apparently may be one of a very few people in the world who feel this way, it has remained in my top three favorite albums of all time. All subsequent MF albums have been varying degrees of disappointments (though beguiling, nonetheless,) because of the bar this album set for me. Tokyo A Go Go is the only song I would willingly fast-forward through. Tar-Heel Boy I could also take or leave, but every other song is a stunner. The retro synths and "wall of sound" arrangements forge a distinct space that is both melancholic and disco and, most importantly, create a timeless frame for Anway's vocals, which manage to be simultaneously distant and urgent while conveying what I think are some of Stephen Merritt's strongest works lyrically. These songs shimmer with subtle profundity, longing and ache, playfulness and wistfulness. This is absolute poetry that operates on many levels, disguised as art-pop.
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Hit or miss, like all Magnetic Field albums (for me), by Gerth Mirthful  4 Stars
August 07, 2007
with the exception of "Holiday" which is unbelievably solid. That's ok, about half the tracks here being compelling is ok with me. Some belong to my absolute favorites of the Magnetic Field catalog. See: "Falling in love..." 100,000 Fireflies, Old Orchard Beach, Josephine. I really like the sound of this set too, very diverse. Of course the woman's voice (which is the lead on every song here) doesn't hold a candle to Merritt's (who's the lead on every other Fields album), but it gets the job done and is sort of a nice change-up.
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Hear the genius form by Ron Heck 4 Stars
October 22, 2005
This is probably The Magnetic Fields most uneven release, but this is, of course, due to the fact that these are Merritt's first records. Most people seem to complain about the track order more than anything, but I can see why The Wayward Bus was put first. If Distant Plastic Trees were up first, most people probably would not be able to sit through the whole thing.
Distant Plastic Trees feels very different from all other Magnetic Fields releases and comes across sounding more like Enya singing folk songs. Even worse, the synthesizers sound especially fake with some really annoying sound effects. That said, the songwriting here is still pretty good. To echo a similar theme other reviewers have noted, some of these songs would have been better if Merritt had just sung them himself, but Susan Anway is able to do things Stephin couldn't have. For example, listen to the clips for "Josephine" and "Tar-Heel Boy."
The biggest annoyance here is the fact they left off "Plant White Roses" which was the best song on the album. Merge's compilation Six Rows of Teeth has a Merritt-sung version which is very good, but the Anway version is better. That was on the Harriet Records "Long Secret" compilation, which is (trust me) unavailable.
The Wayward Bus is exponentially better than Plastic Trees. It is a brilliant tribute to Phil Spector. The synthesizers are reverberated, combined with real instruments, and put through filters, so they sound much more natural than Plastic Trees. It still sounds quite muddy though, but that's how it is supposed to sound. The songs are irresistibly catchy and the lyrics are less pretentious. There isn't a bad song in the ten as far as I am concerned.
If you were wondering how Merritt's music got so good, this is an interesting start. This will help you understand just where this guy came from. Buy this for The Wayward Bus, but lower your expectations when you get to Plastic Trees.
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