Ocean Beach
Studio album by
Red House Painters
ReleasedMarch 27, 1995
Recorded1994
Genre
Length54:42
LanguageEnglish
Label4AD
ProducerMark Kozelek
Red House Painters chronology
Shock Me EP
(1994)		 Ocean Beach
(1995)		 Songs for a Blue Guitar
(1996)

Ocean Beach is the fourth studio album by Red House Painters, released in 1995 by 4AD. The album saw the group and Mark Kozelek move toward a more pastoral and folk-influenced arrangement style, in contrast to the lengthy, droning epics that featured on their early albums. Ocean Beach was also the last album to feature founding guitarist Gorden Mack, as well as being the band's last studio album released by 4AD. The album features an unlisted hidden track, referred to as "Brockwell Park (Part 2)" less than 20 seconds after "Drop" ends. The double 10" vinyl release of the album (now long out of print) features the band's acoustic cover of Yes' 1971 hit "Long Distance Runaround." Kozelek would go on to record another version of the song (with electric guitars and an extended outro) for Red House Painters' next album, Songs for a Blue Guitar.

A rarely seen music video shot on 16mm film was directed by Matt Amato for the song "Summer Dress."[2] The video was filmed aboard a vintage street car and at the historic Victoria Theater in San Francisco's Mission District.

An original idea for the album's front cover artwork was a photo of what could be broken pews in an abandoned church, or old beds in an abandoned hospital ward.[3]

Reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[1]
Chicago Tribune[4]
Entertainment WeeklyA[5]
The Guardian[6]
Houston Chronicle[7]
Pitchfork8.4/10[8]
Q[9]
Rolling Stone[10]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide[11]
Select4/5[12]

Caspar Smith of Select gave the album a rating of four out of five, stating that Kozelek "is right up there among the new breed of rootsy singer-songwriters".[12]

Ocean Beach was ranked number 58 by Pitchfork in their original 1999 list of the Top 100 Albums of the 1990s.[13]

Track listing

All tracks are written by Mark Kozelek, except where noted

No.TitleLength
1."Cabezon"3:11
2."Summer Dress"2:54
3."San Geronimo"7:39
4."Shadows"6:04
5."Over My Head"7:03
6."Red Carpet"2:36
7."Brockwell Park"3:53
8."Moments"7:54
9."Drop" / "Brockwell Park (Part 2)" (Hidden Track)13:28

Double 10" vinyl release

Side A
No.TitleLength
1."Cabezon"3:09
2."Summer Dress"2:52
3."San Geronimo"7:37
Side B
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
4."Shadows" 6:02
5."Over My Head" 7:01
6."Long Distance Runaround"Jon Anderson2:29
Side C
No.TitleLength
7."Red Carpet"2:34
8."Brockwell Park"3:51
9."Moments"7:52
Side D
No.TitleLength
10."Drop" / "Brockwell Park (Part 2)" (Hidden Track)13:26

Release history

Country Date Label Format Catalogue #
United Kingdom March 27, 1995 4AD CD CAD 5005 CD
Double 10" LP DAD D 5005
July 6, 1998 CD (reissue) GAD 5005 CD
United States March 28, 1995 Warner Bros. Records CD 9 45859-2
November 2, 1999 4AD CD (reissue) GAD 5005 CD

Notes

  • Additional musicians: Dan Barbee and Carrie Bradley.
  • Recorded and mixed at Coast Recorders, San Francisco.
  • Additional recording at Hyde Street Studios, San Francisco; and David Wellhousen's Studio, San Francisco.
  • Art direction and design by Paul McMenamin at v23.
  • Photography by Melodie McDaniel.

"Summer Dress" single

Although no commercial singles were ever released from the album, a promotional-only CD was issued for "Summer Dress" in the US in April 1995. The single features an exclusive radio edit of "San Geronimo."

Warner Bros./4AD, PRO-CD-7474:

  1. "Summer Dress – 2:52
  2. "San Geronimo" (Edit) – 5:03

References

  1. 1 2 Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "Ocean Beach – Red House Painters". AllMusic. Retrieved March 30, 2018.
  2. ↑ "Summer Dress" music video
  3. ↑ "Ocean Beach" cover artwork idea, 4AD's website Archived 2009-06-04 at the Wayback Machine
  4. ↑ McKeough, Kevin (April 6, 1995). "Red House Painters: Ocean Beach (4 AD)". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved March 30, 2018.
  5. ↑ Woodward, Josef (March 31, 1995). "Ocean Beach". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved March 30, 2018.
  6. ↑ Sullivan, Caroline (March 31, 1995). "Red House Painters: Ocean Beach (4AD)". The Guardian.
  7. ↑ Snyder, Michael (April 23, 1995). "Sad Confessions Can Be Uplifting". Houston Chronicle. Retrieved May 2, 2020.
  8. ↑ Stosuy, Brandon (May 6, 2015). "Red House Painters: Box Set". Pitchfork. Retrieved March 30, 2018.
  9. ↑ "Red House Painters: Ocean Beach". Q. No. 104. May 1995. p. 12.
  10. ↑ Evans, Paul (May 18, 1995). "Red House Painters: Ocean Beach". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on October 1, 2007. Retrieved March 30, 2018.
  11. ↑ Seward, Scott (2004). "Red House Painters". In Brackett, Nathan; Hoard, Christian (eds.). The New Rolling Stone Album Guide (4th ed.). Simon & Schuster. p. 682. ISBN 0-7432-0169-8.
  12. 1 2 Smith, Caspar (May 1995). "Red House Painters: Ocean Beach". Select. No. 59. p. 100.
  13. ↑ Pitchforkmedia Top 100 Albums of the 1990s (Original List)
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