Farm (15th Anniversary Edition)

When Dinosaur Jr. Reunited, more than 20 years after theirformation and legendary dissolution, the worry was that theseguys were just flogging the back catalog, taking the old showon the road as a marketing gimmick. But the 2007 release ofBeyond gave a hearty Marshall-driven "F*K YOU!" answer tothose inquiring ears. Restoring the sound established by theunassailable hat-trick gambit of their first three albums -Dinosaur, You're Living All Over Me, and Bug - Beyondcontinued the band's march into rock greatness by making oldears smile and new ears bleed afresh.And then came Farm, the 9th full length record by the originalline-up: J Mascis, Lou Barlow, and Murph. If Beyond wasDinosaur Jr.'s return to form, Farm is proof that Dinosaur Jr.could (and still do, to this day!) deliver timeless, exhilarating rockmusic. Farm encompasses Dinosaur Jr.'s signature palette:soaring and distorted guitar, unshakable hooks, honey-richmelodies. At times wholly 70's guitar-epic, at times perfect forsitting by a babbling brook with Joni and Neil, these songs getinto your head and stay there, bouncing happily around. Theear-catching "Plans" is nearly seven minutes of classicwhipped-topping rock dessert, while "I Don't Wanna Go There"is a meat-and-potatoes main dish, mixing unapologetic leadguitar with straight-ahead delivery a la James Gang or HumblePie.This expanded deluxe edition of Farm features four songs neverpressed to vinyl and never given worldwide release:"Houses","Whenever You're Ready" (The Zombies Cover), "Creepies"(Instrumental), and "Show". "Whenever You're Ready", a cover ofclassic pop-rockers The Zombies, is impossibly good for ahidden gem; Murph stomps in with a sledgehammer to the kit,J and Lou layer low-end and fuzz like two halves of one brain,and right when things feel biggest, airy and colossal, there's Jwith a lightning bolt of a guitar solo. Pure electricity and melodylike only he can make. Recorded in J Mascis' Bisquiteen studio inAmherst, Massachusetts, Farm was produced by Mascis himself,and delivers the singular, unique energy of one of America'sgreatest living rock bands.