PERE UBU – THE MODERN DANCE LP – Nr MINT US ORIGINAL PUNK INDIE

Pere Ubu – The Modern Dance
(Blank Records  1978  BLANK001  US Press)

Vinyl in Nr MINT condition

Sleeve in Nr MINT/Excellent+ condition
– a little wear on corners and tiny corner cut top right
 

The Modern Dance is the debut album by American rock band Pere Ubu, released in 1978.

Pere Ubu is an experimental rock music group formed in Cleveland, Ohio, in 1975. Despite many long-term band members, singer David Thomas is the only constant. The group is named after Père Ubu (“father Ubu”), the protagonist of Ubu Roi (“Ubu, the King”), a play by French writer Alfred Jarry.

While Pere Ubu have never been widely popular—usually categorized as “underground rock“—they have a devoted following and are an influential and critically acclaimed band.

Critical opinions of Pere Ubu include, “the most original and important of the new wave bands”, “the world’s only expressionist Rock ‘n’ Roll band”, and “Pere Ubu will be looked back on as the most important group to have come out of America in the last decade and a half. Either that or they will be entirely forgotten”.

Pere Ubu have compiled a list of guidelines for touring, live performances and the like: “Lighting should be theatrical rather than rockist. We are interested in atmosphere, mood, drama, energy, subtlety, imagination—not rock cliché.” The Danish Broadcasting Corporation is one of the few organizations they trust to record live performances, “solely on the basis of the King of Denmark’s defense of the Jews in WWII”.

To define their music, Pere Ubu coined the term avant-garage to reflect interest in both experimental avant-garde music (especially Musique concrète) and raw, direct blues-influenced garage rock. Thomas has stated the term is “a joke invented to have something to give journalists when they yelp for a neat sound bite or pigeonhole”.

Track listing

All songs written by Pere Ubu, except where noted. (Copyright Virgin Music)

Side one

1. “Non-Alignment Pact” – 3:18
2. “The Modern Dance” – 3:28
3. “Laughing” – 4:35
4. “Street Waves” – 3:04
5. “Chinese Radiation” – 3:27

Side two

1. “Life Stinks” (Peter Laughner) – 1:52
2. “Real World” – 3:59
3. “Over My Head” – 3:48
4. “Sentimental Journey” – 6:05
5. “Humor Me” – 2:44

Personnel

• David Thomas – vocals, musette, percussion
• Tom Herman – guitar, backing vocals
• Allen Ravenstine – EML 101 & 200 analog synthesizers, saxophone, tapes
• Tony Maimone – bass, piano, backing vocals
• Scott Krauss – drums
• Tim Wright – bass (tracks 2 and 9)