Wednesday, July 14, 2010

that dog. - the self-titled debut album (GBG deluxe edition)



THAT DOG
the self-titled debut album
(GBG Deluxe Edition)
  • 15 original album tracks
  • 19 bonus tracks
  • 3 bonus videos 
  • image gallery
  • additional multimedia
File size: 195.56 MB (RAR bundle)
NOTE: You must have the necessary software to be able to open and extract files from the RAR archive format to access the individual music files. To download a quick, easy and free application that will do the trick, click here.
All music files are in the MP3 format, most encoded at 192kbps.
Videos are in the MP4 format.
You must have necessary codecs installed to play these files.


tracklisting
01 old timer.
02 jump.
03 raina.
04 you are here.
05 just like me.
06 she.
07 angel.
08 westside angst.
09 she looks at me.
10 punk rock girl.
11 zodiac.
12 family functions.
13 she looks at me (reprise).
14 paid programming.
15 this boy.
bonus tracks
16 buy me flowers.
17 untitled.
18 grunge couple.
19 i invented a head.
20 campfire.
21 sit on the floor (peel session).
22 one summer night (peel session).
23 grunge couple (live).
24 old timer (original 7" version).
25 raina (original 7" version).
26 she (original 7" version).
27 westside angst (original 7" version).
28 angel  (original 7" rip).
29 jump  (original 7" rip).
30 paid programming  (original 7" rip).
31 she looks at me.
performed by matt sharp
32 angel.
performed by waldo the dog faced boy
33 cherry llama.
performed by salamander
34 hand glides.
performed by salamander

videos
old timer. (promo video)
you are here. (SpinCycleMedia photo show)
paid programming. (SpinCycleMedia photo show)

In a continuing line of albums that I believe should get the expanded bonus deluxe edition treatment, but never will, I give you that dog. - the self-titled debut album (grrlbandgeek deluxe edition).

That Dog (or that dog. as they styled themselves upon arrival) were an L.A. pop band active from 1992-1998 that featured Anna Waronker (daughter of record mogul Lenny Waronker), Rachel and Petra Haden (two of jazz bassist Charlie Haden's triplet daughters) and Tony Maxwell on drums. They gathered alot of buzz upon their debut given their high-profile pedigrees, but it was their unique sound, centered around Waronker's simple pop meanderings backed by the Haden sisters pitch-perfect harmonies that really got the conversation started. Someone once called them a punk-rock Roches, and for this record anyways, I can't think of a better description. Their first release - a double 7" single on the Hawthorne based Magnatone Records - quickly became the buzz record of the moment generating lots of airplay on local college stations KXLU and KCRW. The latters Chris Douridas, host of Morning Becomes Eclectic brought the band to the attention of DGC/Geffen Records, who immediately began wooing the baby band with a deal.

Just as the band was about to sign with Geffen, they got word that Ivo Watts-Russell, the head of 4AD International had heard the group's single on the John Peel Sessions show on BBC Radio and was also keen to ink the band. This presented a serious dilemma for the band - 4AD had been one of the most important labels to the band members growing up, but they had already preliminarily entered into a contract with Geffen. What to do? In a unique tale of record label collaboration, Geffen agreed to allow the first album to be released by Guernica (an imprint of 4AD) in the territories outside of North America, while DGC would release it within the States through the alternative distribution channel RED. This allowed for two separate releases of the same record, with two different artwork designs in early 1994. The Guernica/4AD release featured a design that was beautiful and sleek in line with much of the other 4AD packages of the time, while the DGC release featured basically the same artwork as used by the band on their debut single (albeit in an expanded capacity). The record itself was pretty much a re-issue of their debut single, with some additional songs thrown on for good measure. The songs "Raina", "She" and "Old Timer" which had all appeared on the debut single had been re-recorded, while "Westside Angst" had been slightly edited (the dialing sound at the beginning of the song was cut). The songs "Jump", "Angel", and "Paid Programming" all appear on the album as they had initially appeared on wax. (All of the songs from the debut single are included here as bonus tracks - forgive the quality - they were mastered from the original test pressing which wasn't in the best shape.)

One impetus for getting the Guernica release was the additional 7" single that came with the vinyl edition of the album. The two songs featured on it "Buy Me Flowers" b/w "Untitled" (both included here as bonus tracks) are quite rare and showcase the early sound of the band. "Grunge Couple" was another early song that just missed being put on the record, so it was instead assigned for release on the 1994 compilation DGC Rarities, Vol. 1. The band later released this version (the studio version) of the song on a 7" single b/w "I Invented A Head" that was only sold at shows. "I Invented A Head" and a live version of "Grunge Couple" (also included here) were also featured on the "Old Timer" promo single that was sent to radio in late 1994. Also in late 1994 came the split 10" with Waldo The Dog Faced Boy, which featured that dog covering Waldo's "Campfire" on one side (#20) with them returning the favor on the reverse side with a cover of the that dog song "Angel" (#32).While that dog's cover tends to be more straight forward, Waldo The Dog Faced Boy's rendition is more of a mash-up with their own original song turning it into an 8-minute long opus.

"Sit On The Floor" (#21) and "One Summer Night" (#22) both hail from a John Peel Session for BBC Radio, recorded in January of 1993 but not aired until December of that year. ("One Summer Night" did well enough to chart at #26 in John Peel's Festive Fifty list for the year of 1994. The band would go on the re-record this song twice - once for the CD compilation Volume 9 in 1994 and then again for their second album Totally Crushed Out! in 1995.)

When asked who their favorite band in L.A. was in 1993 just prior to signing their record deal, Weezer unanimously answered "That Dog". Track 31 is a cover of "She Looks At Me" by Weezer bassist/Rentals leader Matt Sharp, recorded in early 1994. At the time Sharp was putting together a band called "That's Incredible!" that also featured Rachel Haden on vocals. (That's Incredible would eventually become the The Rentals - albeit with less involvement from Haden who was committed to That Dog's recording and touring schedule at the time.) His take on "She Looks at Me" is a genuine and heartfelt take on the innocent love song.

Rounding out the bonus tracks here are two songs from Salamander, a band that featured Rachel & Petra Haden along with Scott & Sean Wheatley, Evan Hartzell and Haden triplet sister Tanya on cello and existed (at least initially) simultaneously with that dog. When That Dog got signed to DGC/Geffen Records in 1993, they unfortunately had to leave the group to devote more time to that band, signaling the demise of Salamander as a group. The two tracks here: "Cherry Llama" and "Hand Glides" clearly show the early 4AD influence on the girls who both cited such bands as Lush and the Cocteau Twins as inspirations.

Next up: the GBG Deluxe Edition treatment of the second That Dog album Totally Crushed Out!...

8 comments:

  1. Thank you so much for posting your deluxe versions of the that dog. albums. I used to never miss a that dog. show in the early 90s. They were a wonderful band!

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  2. I've always wanted to hear the 7" stuff and get quality copies of the other out of print music. I buy most of what I can find, but still haven't assembled all of this. It's nauseating that so much of this stuff is out of print or otherwise unavailable, THANK YOU for correcting that error!!!

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  3. Big thank you for this also, particularly filling the back story of the band. I made a cassette of the John Peel session at the time and there is great song "He rocks", which along with "One summer night" just gets being keen on someone and trying to be cool when you're young
    http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio1/johnpeel/sessions/1990s/1993/Dec09thatdog/

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  4. Does anybody have any other That Dog rarities they would like to share? I am putting together my own That Dog rarities compilation that I would like to share with everyone. I have everything on these deluxe editions, plus some more: the KCRW session from 1995, the full acoustic show from McCabe's from 1995, You'll Do It Again live in Detroit (better sound than the Milwaukee show), the full Spaceland show, the full John Peel session (albeit in pretty poor quality), and some more here and there (Campfire in better quality and with the full ending, for instance).

    Here's some samples of what I have that's not on these deluxe discs: http://www.megaupload.com/?d=JQ1UVZ4R

    What I'm looking for: the KCRW session from 1993 (I know it's out there--I've seen it on some lists), an upgrade to the John Peel session (awjordan, could you help me out?), an upgrade to the Magnatone release, and anything else not on these deluxe discs, including any live shows you may have lying around.

    If you can help out, please drop me a line at iamonlyamachine at yahoo dot com. I'd like to share my compilation with the masses in honor of the reunion shows later this month. I hope you can do the same--no sense in sitting on these things, otherwise none of us will hear them! Thanks!

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  5. Oh, also, grrlbandgeek, thanks for making these deluxe albums! They're awesome! I'll be sure to share my compilation when I'm done with it so that we both have more stuff!

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  6. Thanks! This was hard to find, but it was well worth the time.

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  7. I pretty much love all you for the work shared here, and of course THAT DOG. I live in NYC and was shocked to see they're playing 2 reunion shows in May 2012. I got a ticket for the 2nd night because the first show was already sold out. CAN'T WAIT!!!

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