The Flaming Lips: The Soft Bulletin (Indie Exclusive Zoetropic Pic Disc) Vinyl 2LP
$56.95
<p><i><a href="https://www.turntablelab.com/search?type=product&q=The+Flaming+Lips" target="_blank"><strong>The Flaming Lips</strong></a> signed to Warner Brothers in 1992</i>; part of a frenzied mass-signing of American indie bands by major-labels looking for the next <a href="https://www.turntablelab.com/search?type=product&q=Nirvana" target="_blank"><strong>Nirvana</strong></a>. By 1998, they had failed to deliver a worthy successor to their lone crossover hit “She Don’t Use Jelly” and were in danger of being dropped by Warners. Their previous effort, the bloated & grandiose 4-part multitrack full-length <a href="https://www.turntablelab.com/search?type=product&q=Zaireeka" target="_blank"><em>Zaireeka</em></a> was nearly the last straw. Guitar virtuoso <strong>Ronald Jones</strong> had recently quit the band, and rather than try to replace him, the remaining band members (along with producer <a href="https://www.turntablelab.com/search?type=product&q=Dave+Fridmann" target="_blank"><strong>Dave Fridmann</strong></a> of <a href="https://www.turntablelab.com/search?type=product&q=Mercury+Rev" target="_blank"><strong>Mercury Rev</strong></a>) instead decided to go a different direction, ditching the slacker rock formula and filling the void of guitars with dense layers of piano, synth, samples and drum machines. It’s the band’s most earnest and eye-watering effort to date, and the somber tone (the original working title was <em>The Soft Bullet In</em>) permeating tracks like “Feeling Yourself Disintegrate,” “The Spiderbite Song” and “Sleeping On The Roof” is said to stem from <a href="https://www.turntablelab.com/search?type=product&q=Wayne+Coyne" target="_blank"><strong>Wayne Coyne</strong></a>’s grief from the imminent death of his terminally ill father. But the album is front-loaded with lasers-and-confetti bliss; opener “Race For The Prize” is a pre-emptive victory lap, followed by pyrotechnics-laden “A Spoonful Weighs A Ton” and jazz-funk-prog masterclass “The Spark That Bled” (check out the <strong>808 Mafia</strong> hi-hats predating “Hard In Da Paint” by more than a decade). This is the watershed moment that drew a distinction between what was previously just a quirky Oklahoma slacker guitar band, and one of the world’s foremost stadium rock acts, who would further advance the lush aesthetic established on <em>The Soft Bulletin</em> with <a href="https://www.turntablelab.com/search?type=product&q=Yoshimi+Battles+The+Pink+Robots" target="_blank"><em>Yoshimi Battles The Pink Robots</em></a> and <em>At War With The Mystics</em> and go on to collaborate with the likes of <strong>Ke$ha</strong> and <strong>Miley Cyrus</strong>. It’s been called the <strong>Flaming Lips</strong>’ <a href="https://www.turntablelab.com/search?&q=Pet%20Sounds&filter=Brand/Manufacturer/Artist_fq:%22Beach%20Boys%22" target="_blank"><em>Pet Sounds</em></a>, and if you appreciate <a href="https://www.turntablelab.com/search?type=product&q=beach+boys" target="_blank"><strong>Brian Wilson</strong></a>’s forward-thinking baroque-pop arrangements, and <strong>Wayne Coyne</strong>’s voice doesn’t totally annoy you, you probably love this record already. Recommended.</p> <ul> <li>25th anniversary edition</li> <li>zoetropic picture disc double vinyl pressing</li> <li>indie exclusive</li> <li>limited edition</li> <li>original release year: 1999</li> <li>music label: Warner Records 2024</li> </ul> <h6>reviewed by hannibal chew 01/2018</h6>