Staff Reviews

Yo La Tengo - Extra Painful

Review by Benjamin Bland

A welcome reminder of an album that has never quite gained the classic status it deserves.»

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Yo La Tengo release 'Extra Painful', a deluxe double CD / double LP and 7" reissue of their classic 1993 'Painful' album with a whopping 12 bonus tracks (plus more via a download coupon), in celebration of their 30th anniversary as a band. Yo La Tengo are one of the most beloved and respected bands in America. Their uninterrupted 30-year career is unparalleled in its creative breadth and refusal to rest on laurels. Ira Kaplan, Georgia Hubley and James McNew have enjoyed success entirely on their own terms - playing the world's best concert halls, museums, and dives, dominating critics' lists, doing a Simpsons theme, playing the Velvet Underground in the film 'I Shot Andy Warhol', sharing stages with some of the most important musicians of our time and even creating a holiday tradition onto themselves with their yearly series of Hanukkah shows at Hoboken, New Jersey's legendary club Maxwell's, from which they've donated hundreds of thousands to charity. Disc 1 is the original 'Painful' album. Disc 2 is titled 'Extra Painful' and features rare and unreleased bonus tracks. The bonus 7" that comes with the double LP is 'Shaker' / 'For Shame Of Doing Wrong', an exact reproduction of the original single. (The original CD single version contained a different version of 'For Shame Of Doing Wrong' which is included on the download coupon. The '8-Track Version' appears on the 7".) Both formats include a digital download coupon featuring all the 'Painful' album tracks, the 12 bonus tracks and a further three more rare tracks. The double LP and 7" also includes ephemera, photos, reproduction of original 'band- aid' sticker, the first 'YLT Gazette' in 14 years and liner notes by Gerard Cosloy and the band. The CD booklet contains pictures of all the artwork in the vinyl package.
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