Teenage Symphonies to God
Studio album by
Velvet Crush
Released1994
GenrePower pop
Label550 Music/Epic Records[1]
ProducerMitch Easter, Velvet Crush
Velvet Crush chronology
The Post-Greatness EP
(1992)		 Teenage Symphonies to God
(1994)		 Heavy Changes
(1998)

Teenage Symphonies to God is the second album by the American power pop band Velvet Crush, released in 1994.[2][3] The title of the album is a reference to Brian Wilson's description of the music he was creating for Smile.[4] Teenage Symphonies to God had sold around 20,000 copies by the end of the 1990s.[5]

The band supported the album by opening for the Jesus and Mary Chain and Mazzy Star on a North American tour.[6]

Production

"Why Not Your Baby" was written by Gene Clark; "Something's Gotta Give" is a cover of the Matthew Sweet song.[7][8] The album was produced by Mitch Easter and the band.[9][1] Recorded in Winston-Salem, the album's original songs were written by the three band members; some work was also done at Charlotte's Reflection Studios.[10][11] Greg Leisz contributed pedal steel to a few songs.[12]

The cover artwork is an homage to Frank Holmes's work on Smile.[13]

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[14]
Calgary HeraldB+[15]
The Charlotte Observer[11]
Chicago Tribune[16]
Deseret News[17]
The Encyclopedia of Popular Music[18]
MusicHound Rock: The Essential Album Guide[19]
Rolling Stone[20]
San Antonio Express-News[21]
The Tampa Tribune[22]

The Washington Post thought that the music "is rooted in the ambitious pop-rock of the bands such as Yardbirds and the Byrds ... but most closely resembles the eclectic '60s-rock revivalism of '80s groups like Game Theory."[8] Trouser Press wrote that the "tone is warmer, more intimate ... Lyrics face difficulties with equal parts compassion and confusion—and little emotional success."[23] The Chicago Tribune considered that "unlike other Radio City admirers, the Velvet Crush not only rocks the melodies and draws blood on the ballads, but gets at the underlying sadness that permeated Big Star's tunes."[16]

Rolling Stone opined that "while Velvet Crush have no problems crafting such catchy major-key, tambourine-shaking testaments to heartfelt longing as 'Hold Me Up', the group ultimately suffers from sonic myopia."[20] Stereo Review called the album "top-to-bottom great," writing that "if there's symphonic grandeur here, it's more implied than elaborated on, but it can be divined in touches like the mesmerizing riff and circular, overlapping vocals that float through the unforgettably lovely 'Time Wraps Around You'."[24] The Telegram & Gazette noted that the album "delicately balances the band's songwriting craftsmanship and the inherent throw-away nature of pop music, harkening back to a time when the picture of screaming teens attending a Rolling Stones concert was almost as powerful as the music itself."[25]

AllMusic wrote that "Velvet Crush manage to inject a real enthusiasm and freshness in the standard three-minute pop song."[14] MusicHound Rock: The Essential Album Guide deemed the album "a compelling and important work that deserves attention."[19]

Track listing

No.TitleLength
1."Hold Me Up" 
2."My Blank Pages" 
3."Why Not Your Baby" 
4."Time Wraps Around You" 
5."Atmosphere" 
6."#10" 
7."Faster Days" 
8."Something's Gotta Give" 
9."This Life is Killing Me" 
10."Weird Summer" 
11."Star Trip" 
12."Keep on Lingerin'" 

Personnel

  • Jeffrey Borchardt - guitar
  • Paul Chastain - bass, vocals
  • Ric Menck - drums

References

  1. 1 2 "Album reviews -- Teenage Symphonies To God by Velvet Crush". Billboard. 106 (31): 50. Jul 30, 1994.
  2. ↑ "Velvet Crush Biography, Songs, & Albums". AllMusic. Archived from the original on 2021-09-20. Retrieved 2021-09-20.
  3. ↑ Menck, Ric (January 15, 2007). "The Byrds' The Notorious Byrd Brothers". Bloomsbury Publishing USA. Archived from the original on September 20, 2021. Retrieved September 20, 2021 – via Google Books.
  4. ↑ Margasak, Peter (July 19, 2016). "Another chance to dig into the pop perfection of Velvet Crush". Chicago Reader. Archived from the original on September 20, 2021. Retrieved September 20, 2021.
  5. ↑ Fried, Fran (December 31, 1999). "In pop music, the 1990s was a strange, fragmented decade". New Haven Register. p. E1.
  6. ↑ Quintavell, Faith (19 Oct 1994). "AT TROC, DARKNESS FLATTERS JESUS & MARY CHAIN". The Philadelphia Inquirer. p. F2.
  7. ↑ "VELVET CRUSH SHOWS LOVE OF ROCK 'N' ROLL". Hartford Courant. Archived from the original on 2021-10-19. Retrieved 20 September 2021.
  8. 1 2 "VELVET CRUSH: SOFT ON INDIVIDUAL STYLE". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on 19 October 2021. Retrieved 20 September 2021.
  9. ↑ Thompson, Dave (September 20, 2000). "Alternative Rock". Hal Leonard Corporation. Archived from the original on September 23, 2021. Retrieved September 20, 2021 – via Google Books.
  10. ↑ Newman, Melinda (May 28, 1994). "550 Music is conductor for Velvet Crush's 'Symphonies'". Billboard. 106 (22): 11.
  11. 1 2 McCollum, Brian (August 12, 1994). "ROCK/POP". The Charlotte Observer. p. 7F.
  12. ↑ Eichenberger, Bill (September 15, 1994). "'SYMPHONIES' SHOWS BEAUTY AT ITS BEST". The Columbus Dispatch. FEATURES - Weekender. p. 11.
  13. ↑ Priore, Domenic; Wilson, Brian; Parks, Van Dyke (March 7, 2005). "Smile: The Story of Brian Wilson's Lost Masterpiece". Omnibus Press. Archived from the original on September 20, 2021. Retrieved September 20, 2021 – via Google Books.
  14. 1 2 "Teenage Symphonies to God - Velvet Crush | Songs, Reviews, Credits | AllMusic". Archived from the original on 2021-09-20. Retrieved 2021-09-20 – via www.allmusic.com.
  15. ↑ Buckingham, Brooker (7 Aug 1994). "RECENT RELEASES". Calgary Herald. p. A12.
  16. 1 2 Kot, Greg (28 July 1994). "STELLAR TRIBUTE". Chicago Tribune. Tempo. p. 7.
  17. ↑ Vice, Jeff (September 29, 1994). "FUTURE OF POP RESTS IN PROMISING HANDS". Deseret News. p. F4.
  18. ↑ Larkin, Colin (2006). The Encyclopedia of Popular Music. Vol. 8. MUZE. p. 413.
  19. 1 2 MusicHound Rock: The Essential Album Guide. Visible Ink Press. 1999. p. 1194.
  20. 1 2 Zinman, Greg (Dec 1, 1994). "Recordings -- Teenage Symphonies to God by Velvet Crush". Rolling Stone (696): 128–129.
  21. ↑ Johnson, Robert (February 17, 1995). "Teenage Symphonies to God Velvet Crush 550 Music/Epic". San Antonio Express-News. Records.
  22. ↑ O'Neill, Mike (August 12, 1994). "VELVET CRUSH, Teenage Symphonies to God". The Tampa Tribune. Friday Extra!. p. 21.
  23. ↑ "Velvet Crush". Trouser Press. Archived from the original on 8 October 2021. Retrieved 20 September 2021.
  24. ↑ Puterbaugh, Parke (Jan 1995). "Popular music -- Teenage Symphonies to God by Velvet Crush". Stereo Review. 60 (1): 135.
  25. ↑ McLennan, Scott (4 Sep 1994). "Velvet Crush retrieves that throw-away pop sound". Telegram & Gazette. DATEBOOK. p. 9.
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