Youth of America

For the Birdbrain song, see Youth of America (Birdbrain song).
Youth of America
Studio album by Wipers
Released 1981
Recorded 1981
Studio Wave Sound Studios
Genre
Length 30:40
Label Park Avenue
Producer Greg Sage
Wipers chronology
Alien Boy
(1980)
Youth of America
(1981)
Over the Edge
(1983)

Youth of America is the second studio album by American punk rock band Wipers. It was released in 1981 by record label Park Avenue.

Content

The album marked a distinctive change in the band's sound. Compared to its predecessor, Is This Real?, which was composed mostly of raw, sleek and relatively traditional songs, Youth of America featured much longer and complex compositions; the title track alone clocks in at over 10 minutes. According to frontman Greg Sage, this change of pace was a deliberate counter-reaction against the trend of releasing short songs, which many punk bands did at the time.[1]

The Quietus noted the album's genre as post-punk[2] and further described its style as "a six track set of lowly garage rock which traverses the cosmos irrespective. Secondly, it's a gothic downer but leavened by motion and momentum thanks to its krautrock influences. And lastly it's a grittily real punk record defined by an unerring air of unreality – as unromantic as it is fantastical".[2]

Release and reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[3]
Consequence of Soundvery favorable[4]
Head Heritagefavorable[5]
MusicHound
Trouser Pressfavorable[6]

Released in 1981, Youth of America was, according to Sage, not well received in the United States at the time of its release, but fared better in Europe.[1]

In its retrospective review, Consequence of Sound wrote "From its style of production and songwriting to its driving, angular guitar work coupled with anthemic hooks, Youth of America is as strong and fresh-sounding today as it was 30 years ago."[4] The Quietus wrote "there may be more essential punk albums out there but never again did the genre sound so searching".[2]

Youth of America was later reissued on record labels Backbone and Restless, with different covers for each, and on Sage's own Zeno Records as the second disc of the Wipers Box Set, albeit with a different running order to the original vinyl issue.

Legacy

"Youth of America"
Sample of "Youth of America", from the album Youth of America by the Wipers in 1981. The overall song is over ten minutes long.

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Along with other Wipers records, Youth of America has since come to be acknowledged as an important album in the development of American underground and independent rock movements of the early 1980s.[7] Thurston Moore of Sonic Youth cited the album as an inspiration,[8] and covered the track "Pushing the Extreme" with Keith Nealy for Wipers tribute album Fourteen Songs for Greg Sage and The Wipers.

The title track was covered by The Melvins on their 2001 album Electroretard and Mission of Burma on the live album Snapshot. Kurt Cobain listed it in his top 50 albums of all time.[9][10]

Track listing

All tracks written by Greg Sage.

Side A
No.TitleLength
1."Taking Too Long"   
2."Can This Be"   
3."Pushing the Extreme"   
4."When It's Over"   
Side B
No.TitleLength
1."No Fair"   
2."Youth of America"   

Personnel

Wipers

References

  1. 1 2 "Wipers..Youth of America". zenorecords.com. Archived from the original on 28 February 2008. Retrieved 19 January 2013.
  2. 1 2 3 Calvert, John (October 26, 2011). "The Quietus | Features | Anniversary | 30 Years On: The Wipers' Youth of America Revisited". The Quietus. Retrieved August 15, 2016.
  3. Kellman, Andy. "Youth of America – Wipers : Songs, Reviews, Credits, Awards : AllMusic". AllMusic. Retrieved 19 January 2013.
  4. 1 2 Comaratta, Len. "Dusting 'Em Off: Wipers – Youth of America". Consequence of Sound.
  5. "Julian Cope Presents Head Heritage | Unsung | Reviews | The Wipers – Youth of America". Head Heritage. December 16, 2013. Retrieved August 15, 2016.
  6. Rabid, Jack. "TrouserPress.com :: Wipers". TrouserPress.com. Retrieved August 15, 2016.
  7. Kellman, Andy. "Wipers | Biography | AllMusic". AllMusic. Retrieved December 16, 2014.
  8. Thiessen, Brock (January 19, 2009). "Thurston Moore Says New Sonic Youth Album Inspired by the Wipers • News • exclaim.ca". exclaim.ca. Retrieved January 20, 2013.
  9. Kennedy, Thomas (May 9, 2013). ""Top 50 by Nirvana" |3= Journal // Joyful Noise Recordings". Joyful Noise Recordings. Archived from the original on October 18, 2014. Retrieved December 16, 2014.
  10. Cross, Gaar, Gendron, Martens, Yarm (2013). Nirvana: The Complete Illustrated History. p. 166. ISBN 978-0-7603-4521-4.
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