Two Steps from the Middle Ages

Two Steps from the Middle Ages (1988) is the fifth studio album by power pop band Game Theory.

Two Steps from the Middle Ages
Studio album by
Game Theory
Released1988
Recorded1988
GenreAlternative rock, power pop
Length41:38
LabelEnigma Records
ProducerMitch Easter
Game Theory chronology
Lolita Nation
(1987)		 Two Steps from the Middle Ages
(1988)		 Tinker to Evers to Chance
(1990)
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[1]
PopMatters[2]
Mitch Easter producing Two Steps from the Middle Ages in San Francisco, 1988

History

Miller intended the album to be "a more straightforward, singles-based record" than its predecessor, Lolita Nation:

The band as a whole plays more aggressively on the album's songs, from [Gil] Ray's muted yet driving drum pulse that opens the album through [Shelley] LaFreniere's heavier, more ominous keyboard contributions. Miller's guitar playing is less foregrounded than on previous albums, allowing space for his bandmates to fill the sound.[2]

In a review of the 2017 reissue, PopMatters wrote that the album "point[ed] forward towards what would, by 1993, become fashionable under the 'alternative' label. One can hear echoes of Game Theory's trailblazing in many of the bands that enjoyed success in the early '90s, including Belly and, especially, Smashing Pumpkins."[2]

After the group was disbanded in 1990, leader Scott Miller went on to form The Loud Family. Game Theory would not release another album until Supercalifragile came out in 2017, four years after Miller's death.[3]

Songs

The title of the song "Room For One More, Honey," is a reference to an episode of the American television program The Twilight Zone titled Twenty Two.

The album's title has at least a double meaning (referring to both dance steps from the historical period known as the Middle Ages as well as to a person who is "two steps" from middle age) and comes from an alternating rhyme in the fifth track:

Unfolding their defense in stages
Harshest critics can't refuse
Two steps from the middle ages
Rose details and ruby shoes

In 2012, the song "Rolling with the Moody Girls" was covered by Home Blitz on their EP Frozen Track.

Track listing

All songs written by Scott Miller.

  1. "Room For One More, Honey" – 3:03
  2. "What the Whole World Wants" – 4:29
  3. "The Picture of Agreeability" – 0:57
  4. "Amelia, Have You Lost" – 3:23
  5. "Rolling with the Moody Girls" – 3:09
  6. "Wyoming" – 3:24
  7. "In a Delorean" – 3:11
  8. "You Drive" – 4:09
  9. "Leilani" – 3:02
  10. "Wish I Could Stand or Have" – 1:59
  11. "Don't Entertain Me Twice" – 3:59
  12. "Throwing the Election" - 4:16
  13. "Initiations Week" - 2:29

Personnel
  • Guillaume Gassuan - bass and backing vocals
  • Gil Ray - drums, backing vocals and guitar
  • Donnette Thayer - guitar and vocals
  • Shelley LaFreniere - Synthesizers and backing vocals
  • Scott Miller - vocals and guitar
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References
  1. Two Steps from the Middle Ages at AllMusic.
  2. Whitelock, Ed (June 8, 2017). "Game Theory: 2 Steps From the Middle Ages". PopMatters. Archived from the original on 2019-02-22.
  3. Shoup, Brad (May 30, 2018). "64 More Acts That Took 20 Or More Years Between Albums". Stereogum. Archived from the original on 2019-02-08.
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