Friday Night Is Killing Me | ||||
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Studio album by | ||||
Released | 1993 | |||
Genre | Rock | |||
Label | Sire/Reprise[1] | |||
Producer | Don Smith | |||
Bash & Pop chronology | ||||
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Friday Night Is Killing Me is the first album by the American rock band Bash & Pop, released in 1993.[2][3] It was Tommy Stinson's first project after the dissolution of the Replacements.[4] The band supported the album with a North American tour that included dates opening for the Black Crowes.[5]
The album was produced by Don Smith.[6] Stinson was unable to settle on a permanent band lineup, and ended up playing many of the instruments himself; it had already been his intention to switch from bass to guitar.[2][7] Members of the Heartbreakers also contributed to the recording, although Stinson wasn't in the studio during those sessions.[8] The album's last track, "First Steps", was originally demoed for the Replacements' Don't Tell a Soul.[4] Stinson took voice lessons in order to improve his singing on the album; he also asked Paul Westerberg to contribute some backing vocals.[9][10]
The Chicago Tribune wrote: "Once past the ersatz Faces riffs, Stinson writes the kind of midtempo heart-wrenchers (the title track, 'Tiny Pieces') and acoustic ballads ('Nothing', 'First Steps') that came a dime a dozen to the Replacements' Paul Westerberg."[14] The Washington Post decided that, "unlike Westerberg, Stinson doesn't show much aptitude for the change-of-pace track."[1] Trouser Press considered that "Stinson can do a credible imitation of Rod Stewart’s lurch and rasp might be enough for a journeyman career, but Friday Night is hardly the adult achievement his alma mater primed him for."[20] The Indianapolis Star thought that "it's something like nuclear fission—when a great band breaks apart, astonishing energy is released."[16] The Lincoln Journal Star noted that the album "avoids the retro feel of the Black Crowes and Izzy Stradlin."[17]
AllMusic wrote that "decades after its release, the album feels like a bit of the hangover from the '80s, a celebration of irreverent roots rock performed with an audible grin."[11] Magnet considered it "the best batch of songs by any Replacement since 1987’s Pleased To Meet Me."[21] The Spin Alternative Record Guide opined that it "got over on sheer bar-band enthusiasm."[22]
No. | Title | Length |
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1. | "Never Aim to Please" | 4:09 |
2. | "Hang Ups" | 2:42 |
3. | "Loose Ends" | 4:09 |
4. | "One More Time" | 2:08 |
5. | "Tickled to Tears" | 3:37 |
6. | "Nothing" | 3:41 |
7. | "Fast & Hard" | 3:12 |
8. | "Friday Night (Is Killing Me)" | 4:39 |
9. | "He Means It" | 3:33 |
10. | "Tiny Pieces" | 4:37 |
11. | "First Steps" | 4:15 |