Soma Holiday (the Proletariat album)

Soma Holiday is the second release and the first studio album[5] by American punk rock band the Proletariat. It was also the debut output for Radiobeat Records.

Soma Holiday
Studio album by
the Proletariat
Released1983
RecordedMarch 1982 –
StudioRadiobeat
Genre
Length39:30
LanguageEnglish
Label
  • Non-U
  • Radiobeat
Producer
The Proletariat chronology
Distortion
(1982)		 Soma Holiday
(1983)		 Marketplace
(1985)
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
Robert ChristgauB+ [3]
The Vinyl DistrictA- [4]

The record was named after the drug used to control society in Aldous Huxley's novel Brave New World.[2][6][7][8][9]

Production and release

Produced by Jimmy Dufour, Lou Giordano[5] and Frank Michaels, Soma Holiday was recorded and mixed at Radiobeat Studios in Boston, Massachusetts. Bill Kipper was in charge of the mastering of the album at Masterdisk in New York City.

The record includes the songs "Splendid Wars", "Events/Repeat", "Blind", and "Torn Curtain", which were originally featured on the band's debut EP Distortion,[nb 1] a limited edition seven-track cassette tape self-released the previous year.[5][10]

Soma Holiday was originally co-released in 1983, as LP, on band's Non-U label[nb 2] and Radiobeat Records.[nb 3][11][12][13] A second pressing of the album would be released later that same year.

Critical reception

In a contemporary review of the album, Joyce Millman, music critic at The Boston Phoenix, wrote:

"... Soma Holiday ... is a hefty 18-song manifesto ... on class warfare and economic inequality ... [with] frequent midsong tempo changes ... from martial punk to bouncing-off-the-wall hardcore. The record ... spotlights the nuances that often get swept up into the band's whirling live sound. Michaels, for instance, emerges as a guitarist who combines flash and restraint [on an album] built on a [hardcore] foundation of gurgling bass and rifle-range drumming, that varies little from track to track [over which his] leads and solos (18 of 'em all different) glow with imaginative detail ... That kind of invigorated playing bolsters Brown's dry, [protest] lyrics ... anchored in slogans ... rather than images [at the risk of] rhetorical overkill ... Brown may be a taciturn lyricist, but he's a demonically frenetic singer who employs an arsenal of orator's tricks ... Soma Holiday ... chronicles a band that's growing wiser and more proficient while losing none of its original commitment..."[5]

Around the same time, Jeff Bale from Maximumrocknroll, was of the view that:

"A lot of Boston bands sound great, but few--if any--have the political sophistication displayed by the Proletariat on their debut album. I would liken them to the early Gang of Four, both musically and ideologically, though the comparison shouldn't be overdrawn. They create equally complex structures, but they replace Gang of Four's sparseness with a full-bodied sound and punky guitar power ... A fabulous record that renews my faith in Bosstown."[14]

Distortion EP
Distortion
EP by
the Proletariat
ReleasedJuly 1982
RecordedNovember 1981 – March 1982
StudioRadiobeat
Genre
Length13:45[15]
LanguageEnglish
LabelNon-U
ProducerJimmy Dufour
The Proletariat chronology
Distortion
(1982)		 Soma Holiday
(1983)

Distortion is a seven-song EP and the first stand-alone release by the Proletariat. It was issued in July 1982[16] on the band's own label, Non-U Records, as a limited edition single-sided C46 cassette tape.[5][10][15][17][18]

The EP is composed of songs recorded in three separate sessions at Radiobeat Studios in Boston, Massachusetts with producer Jimmy Dufour.[19] "After the Rise" was recorded in November 1981 with Jimmy Johnson as audio engineer, "Westernization" was engineered by Dufour himself in January 1982, whereas the rest of the tracks were laid down in March 1982 with recording engineer Lou Giordano.[15]

The songs "Torn Curtain", "Splendid Wars", "Blind", and "Events/Repeat" would be re-released the following year on the band's first studio album Soma Holiday.[nb 4][5]

The tracks "After the Rise", "White Hands", and "Westernization" would not be reissued until 1998, when they were included on the band's anthology Voodoo Economics and Other American Tragedies.[nb 5][10][20][21]

The cover and label art were designed by graphic artist Pickles. The insert liner notes sheet was created by Frank Michaels and Richard Brown. The EP also includes a reproduction of Dorothea Lange's photo Migrant Mother (1936).[15]

Track listing

Music, lyrics, and arrangements by the Proletariat.[15]

Side A: Distortion
No.TitleLength
1."Torn Curtain"1:42
2."Splendid Wars (Myth)"1:42
3."After the Rise"2:42
4."Blind"1:49
5."Events/Repeat"1:56
6."White Hands"1:15
7."Westernization"2:39
Side B: (Blank side)
No.TitleLength
Total length:13:45

Reissues

Long out of print in its original form, Soma Holiday was re-released, in its entirety, as part of the band's 2-CD anthology Voodoo Economics and Other American Tragedies,[nb 6] compiled in 1998 by Taang! Records.[10][20][21]

In October 1999, apparently under license from the band, the album was reissued in cassette-only format,[nb 7] featuring alternate cover art, on Social Napalm Records,[22][23] a small DIY label based in Chelmsford, Massachusetts.

On October 21, 2016, 33 years after its debut, Soma Holiday was re-released for the first time in its original vinyl format, on Sacramento-based label Ss Records;[nb 8][4][9][24][25][26][27][28] which also simultaneously released the album for the first time on CD.[nb 8]

Track listing

Music by Peter Bevilacqua and Frank Michaels, lyrics by Richard Brown, except where noted. Arrangements by the Proletariat.

Side A
No.TitleLyricsLength
1."Decorations" 3:04
2."Splendid Wars (Myth)" 1:42
3."Famine" 1:54
4."Embraced" 2:36
5."Events/Repeat" 1:56
6."Another Banner Raised"Frank Michaels1:42
7."Hollow Victory" 2:44
8."Condition" 2:09
9."Avoidance" 1:55
Side B
No.TitleLyricsLength
1."Pictures" 2:46
2."Bread and Circus" 2:08
3."Blind" 1:49
4."Subsidized" 3:22
5."Torn Curtain" 1:32
6."Purge"Michaels2:40
7."Scars" 1:37
8."Decide on Change"Peter Bevilacqua1:36
9."No Lesser of Evils" 2:18
Total length:39:30

Personnel

Notes

  1. Non-U Records
  2. Non-U #NON-U 01
  3. Radiobeat #RB 001
  4. Non-U #NON-U 01 / Radiobeat #RB 001
  5. Taang! #TAANG! 127
  6. Taang! #TAANG! 127
  7. Social Napalm #SNR 1
  8. Ss #SS085

References

  1. Blush, Steven (2001). American Hardcore: A Tribal History. Feral House. ISBN 9780922915712. p. 168.
  2. Sheppard, Oliver (October 5, 2016). "An interview with The Proletariat on their "Soma Holiday" reissue". Cvlt Nation. Retrieved October 6, 2016.
  3. Christgau, Robert (February 21, 1984). "Consumer Guide Album - The Proletariat: Soma Holiday (Non-U/Radiobeat, 1983)". Robert Christgau. Retrieved April 28, 2016.
  4. Neff, Joseph (October 25, 2016). "Graded on a Curve: The Proletariat, Soma Holiday". The Vinyl District. Retrieved October 26, 2016.
  5. Millman, Joyce (October 25, 1983). "Cellars by starlight - Prole cats". The Boston Phoenix. sec. 3, p. 6.
  6. "The Proletariat: Biography". Official Website of the Proletariat and Churn. Archived from the original on January 23, 2017.
  7. Foley, Ryan. "The Proletariat". The Music Museum of New England. Retrieved April 28, 2016.
  8. Scott, Tim (September 4, 2016). "How The Proletariat Became One Of the Most Incendiary Bands in Reagan’s America" (interview). Noisey. Retrieved September 15, 2016.
  9. Carnes, Aaron (October 25, 2016). "The Return of Boston Hardcore Anomaly, The Proletariat" (interview). Noisey. Retrieved October 27, 2016.
  10. Anderson, Rick. "Voodoo Economics and Other American Tragedies: AllMusic Review by Rick Anderson". AllMusic. Retrieved August 30, 2016.
  11. "The Proletariat: Soma Holiday". Official Website of the Proletariat and Churn. Archived from the original on June 1, 2016.
  12. "The Proletariat: Soma Holiday LP". Kill from the Heart. Archived from the original on June 2, 2016.
  13. Soma Holiday, advertisement (1983). Official Website of the Proletariat and Churn. Archived from the original on October 9, 2016.
  14. Bale, Jeff (October-November 1983). "The Proletariat: Soma Holiday (LP)". Maximumrocknroll (9).
  15. The Proletariat, Distortion, insert art. Official Website of the Proletariat and Churn. Archived from the original on October 9, 2016.
  16. Millman, Joyce (August 24, 1982). "Cellars by starlight – The dictatorship of the Proletariat". The Boston Phoenix.
  17. Quint, Al (September 1982). "The Proletariat: Distortion (Cassette)". Suburban Punk (1).
  18. Distortion, advertisement (1982). Official Website of the Proletariat and Churn. Archived from the original on October 9, 2016.
  19. Sheena (September 1982). "The Proletariat: From Each According to His Ability". Boston Rock (32). Archived from the original on November 7, 2016.
  20. Suburban Voice (ca. 2000). "The Proletariat: Voodoo Economics and Other American Tragedies (Taang! Dbl CD)" (review). Suburban Voice (43).
  21. "The Proletariat: Voodoo Economics and Other American Tragedies". Official Website of the Proletariat and Churn. Archived from the original on January 23, 2017.
  22. "SNR#1 - The Proletariat - "Soma Holiday" cassette tape". Social Napalm Records. Retrieved April 28, 2016.
  23. "The Proletariat". Kill from the Heart. Archived from the original on May 5, 2016.
  24. Marotta, Michael (August 12, 2016). "Anti-Indifference: Hardcore punk band The Proletariat return after three-decade hiatus". Vanyaland. Retrieved August 20, 2016.
  25. Ss Records; Sol Re Sol Records (August 16, 2016). "The Proletariat for President!". Ss Records – Sol Re Sol Records. Retrieved August 20, 2016.
  26. Jones, AJ "Phink" (August 19, 2016). "The Proletariat Reform and Announce First Reunion Shows". ThePunkSite. Retrieved August 20, 2016.
  27. Sperry-Fromm, Rob (September 8, 2016). "The Proletariat reissuing debut, going on reunion tour; Gang Green playing shows too". BrooklynVegan. Retrieved September 15, 2016.
  28. "The Proletariat - Soma Holiday LP". Ss Records – Sol Re Sol Records. Retrieved October 22, 2016.

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