Going Blank Again

Going Blank Again is the second studio album by British rock band Ride, released on 9 March 1992 on Creation Records.[1] It was produced by Alan Moulder, and peaked at No. 5 in the UK Albums Chart.[2] In October 2009 the album was certified gold by the British Phonographic Industry for sales of over 100,000 units.

Going Blank Again
Studio album by
Ride
Released9 March 1992[1]
StudioChipping Norton Recording Studios, Chipping Norton
Blackbarn Studios, Ripley
GenreShoegaze, neo-psychedelia, dream pop
Length50:24
LabelCreation
ProducerAlan Moulder, Ride
Ride chronology
Today Forever
(1991)		 Going Blank Again
(1992)		 Grasshopper
(1992)
Singles from Going Blank Again
  1. "Leave Them All Behind"
    Released: 10 February 1992
  2. "Twisterella"
    Released: 13 April 1992

Background and production

Following Ride's 1990 debut album Nowhere, Ride released Going Blank Again as their second full-length record, accompanied by the singles "Leave Them All Behind" (10 February 1992)[3] and "Twisterella" (13 April 1992),[4] the latter named in reference to a song in the 1963 kitchen sink drama Billy Liar.[5][6] The album consists of ten tracks, selected from twenty-five that the band had recorded.[7]

It has been said that Going Blank Again resembles the band's debut album but also has an upbeat, power pop factor.[8] In this sense the album has been compared to the music of Teenage Fanclub who were Creation Records labelmates of Ride, although it is pointed out that Ride's vocals are more layered, and that the guitars are not as sharp and cutting as those of similar bands of the same era, whilst retaining the reverberating sound that was typical of the shoegaze sound.[8] The lyrics on the album have been criticised, but overall this was not seen as an important factor for the album given the nature of shoegaze.[8]

The band credit Christopher Gunson with creating the cover art for the album.[9]

Release

The album was re-released on 24 September 2001 featuring four bonus tracks on the Ignition label in the United Kingdom.[7][8] The four tracks were compiled from the two CD singles released from the album, "Leave Them All Behind" and "Twisterella". This omitted the original mix of "Chrome Waves", as found on the "Leave Them All Behind" CD single in February 1992 and the "Grasshopper" compilation EP in Japan in November of that year.[10] On 30 March 2012, a 20th Anniversary reissue of the album was announced, featuring the same track listing as the 2001 reissue, plus a bonus DVD of the band's 27/3/92 Brixton Academy concert, previously only released on VHS and laser disc, which had been out of print. According to a recent newsletter to fans, tracking down the original master of the video was no easy task:

After quite a lengthy stint of detective work, we managed to track down the original digital master tape of the Brixton live show. And it looks great! So we asked Catherine Marks and John Catlin at Alan Moulder’s studio to mix the audio afresh from the 2″ master tapes of the gig. Catherine had worked under Alan’s watchful eye on the Roxy LA mixes and so we were really happy that she could find time to mix and edit the Brixton audio. Needless to say, it sounds truly wonderful and we’re really pleased to now finally have a Ride release on DVD.[11]

Reception
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[12]
Chicago Tribune[13]
Entertainment WeeklyB+[14]
Los Angeles Times[15]
NME9/10[16]
Pitchfork8.7/10[17]
Q[18]
Select5/5[19]
Uncut7/10[20]
The Village VoiceA−[21]

Reviewing the album at the time, British music weekly NME noted that they did not have high hopes for Going Blank Again but that Ride "did the business" and restored the magazine's faith in the band,[22] noting particularly that they had taken on board a diverse set of influences and developed their sound:

This LP has some top punk rock bass guitar on it! Some new effects pedals! New ideas! It is not Going Nowhere Again which is the album we feared they'd make. Instead, GBA fills in the lines between Ride's beauty with cement and then builds like a demon. There is no stone left unturned, as they open up to new reference points... would you believe King Crimson? New Order? The Who? The Beach Boys? Ride have reinvented themselves whilst retaining all the cuteness of Haircut One Hundred.[22]

An academic study on My Bloody Valentine's seminal shoegazing album Loveless mentions that the tracks of Going Blank Again are "predictive" of later genres of indie rock, and notes that the seventh track "Cool Your Boots" is a "shoegazing classic".[23] "Leave Them All Behind" ranked number 273 in NME's list of The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time,[24] whilst the album itself ranked at number 407 in the corresponding greatest albums list published a year earlier.[25]

Track listing

All songs composed by Andy Bell, Loz Colbert, Mark Gardener, Steve Queralt.

Original album
No.TitleLyricsLead vocalsLength
1."Leave Them All Behind"GardenerGardener and Bell8:17
2."Twisterella"GardenerGardener3:42
3."Not Fazed"BellGardener and Bell4:24
4."Chrome Waves"BellBell3:53
5."Mouse Trap"GardenerGardener and Bell5:14
6."Time of Her Time"BellBell3:16
7."Cool Your Boots"BellBell6:01
8."Making Judy Smile"BellBell2:39
9."Time Machine"GardenerGardener and Bell5:54
10."OX4"GardenerGardener and Bell7:03
Total length:50:24
Additional tracks
Bonus tracks
No.TitleLyricsMusicLead vocalsLength
11."Going Blank Again" (from the Twisterella EP, 1992)BellBellGardener and Bell3:21
12."Howard Hughes" (from the Twisterella EP, 1992)BellBellGardener and Bell4:03
13."Stampede" (from the Twisterella EP, 1992)GardenerGardenerGardener4:16
14."Grasshopper" (from the Leave Them All Behind EP, 1992) Bell, Colbert, Gardener, Queralt 10:56
Total length:73:04
DVD: Live at Brixton Academy
No.TitleLyricsMusicLength
1."Leave Them All Behind"GardenerBell, Colbert, Gardener, Queralt 
2."Taste"GardenerBell, Colbert, Gardener, Queralt 
3."Not Fazed"BellBell 
4."Unfamiliar"GardenerBell, Colbert, Gardener, Queralt 
5."Like a Daydream"BellBell 
6."OX4"GardenerBell, Colbert, Gardener, Queralt 
7."Perfect Time"GardenerBell, Colbert, Gardener, Queralt 
8."Twisterella"GardenerBell, Colbert, Gardener, Queralt 
9."Drive Blind"BellBell 
10."Making Judy Smile"BellBell 
11."Nowhere"ColbertBell, Colbert, Gardener, Queralt 
12."Vapour Trail"BellBell 
13."Chrome Waves"BellBell 
14."Mouse Trap"GardenerBell, Colbert, Gardener, Queralt 
15."Dreams Burn Down"BellBell 
16."Time of Her Time"BellBell 
17."Chelsea Girl"GardenerBell, Colbert, Gardener, Queralt 
Total length:1:22:09

Release history
Country Date Label Format Catalogue # Notes
United Kingdom 9 March 1992 Creation Records LP CRELP074 10 tracks (double vinyl)
CD CRECD074 10 tracks
United States March 1992 Sire Records CD 9 26836-2 10 tracks
United Kingdom 24 September 2001 Ignition Records CD IGN CD10 14 tracks
United States 2011 Obscure Alternatives LP OAR 1108 10 tracks (150-gram double vinyl)
United Kingdom 14 February 2012 Obscure Alternatives LP OAR 11081 10 tracks (150-gram double vinyl)
13 August 2012 Oxford Music CD/DVD 14 tracks + 17 track live DVD
gollark: Wow, even the *titles* look insane.
gollark: Well, it *opens*.
gollark: Yes, I work for a secret organization trying to keep REAL physics from the world so that people can be OPPRESSED by GRAVITY and ELECTRONS.
gollark: Also the "electric universe" thing seems to contradict half of physics and cannot, thus, be supported by it.
gollark: I don't think you know how this works.

References
  1. says, Skweekah. "Going Blank Again LP – RIDE". ride.band. Retrieved 3 July 2017.
  2. "The Official Charts Company - Ride - Going Blank Again". Official Charts Company. 29 July 2012. Retrieved 3 July 2017.
  3. "Leave Them All Behind EP – RIDE". ride.band. Retrieved 3 July 2017.
  4. "Twisterella EP – RIDE". ride.band. Retrieved 3 July 2017.
  5. AMG: "Leave Them All Behind"
  6. AMG: "Twisterella"
  7. Ride, Going Blank Again, Ride0x4.net Archived 14 January 2003 at Archive.today.
  8. AMG: Going Blank Again.
  9. "Q&A, Ride0X4.net". rideox4.net. Archived from the original on 27 August 2003. Retrieved 3 July 2017.
  10. "Grasshopper EP – RIDE". ride.band. Retrieved 3 July 2017.
  11. "Ride's 20th anniversary reissue of 'Going Blank Again' to feature 1992 concert on DVD".
  12. Kellman, Andy. "Going Blank Again – Ride". AllMusic. Retrieved 12 May 2016.
  13. Kot, Greg (2 April 1992). "Ride: Going Blank Again (Sire)". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved 12 May 2016.
  14. Browne, David (24 April 1992). "Going Blank Again". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved 12 May 2016.
  15. Hochman, Steve (29 March 1992). "Spring Album Roundup". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 12 May 2016.
  16. Lamacq, Steve (7 March 1992). "The Thames Lords". NME. Archived from the original on 4 June 2016. Retrieved 12 May 2016.
  17. Cohen, Ian (17 August 2012). "Ride: Going Blank Again". Pitchfork. Retrieved 12 May 2016.
  18. "Ride: Going Blank Again". Q (67): 82. April 1992.
  19. Cavanagh, David (April 1992). "The Big Trip". Select (22): 71.
  20. Richards, Sam (2 August 2012). "Ride reissues". Uncut. Retrieved 10 November 2015.
  21. Christgau, Robert (20 October 1992). "Consumer Guide". The Village Voice. Retrieved 12 May 2016.
  22. NME: Going Blank Again Archived 18 January 2008 at the Wayback Machine.
  23. Florida State University College of Music, thesis on My Bloody Valentine's Loveless, by David R. Fisher, 2006. Archived 23 January 2015 at the Wayback Machine
  24. "Rocklist.net....NME The 500 Greatest Songs Of All Time.. 2014". www.rocklistmusic.co.uk. Retrieved 3 July 2017.
  25. "Rocklist.net....NME: The 500 Greatest Albums Of All Time : October 2013". www.rocklistmusic.co.uk. Retrieved 3 July 2017.
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