Buffalo Tom

no i think this is it actually

One of my first introductions to the wonderful world of American alt-rock. Let Me Come Over is still classic, Red Letter Day is ok, everything after that - meh.

They feel like an American counterpart to Teenage Fanclub in many ways - churning out their own brand of not-quite-so alternative guitar rock, and getting a little less alternative and a little less acclaim with every release. Except I'm still kind of interested in TF but gave up on BT a long time ago.

while i agree that the last couple of albums were a bit weaker, they still had some fantastic later singles, 'summer' being one of their very best and 'wiser' certainly up there as well

Except I'm still kind of interested in TF but gave up on BT a long time ago.

pretty much the opposite for me - with a couple of minor exceptions TF have bored me to death since grand prix

'round 'bout '91, me and a friend went to the Middle East club in Cambridge, to see the Sunday bellydancing. When we got there, Buffolo Tom was still working on a matinee set. After they finished, it was really weird to watch the upstairs room transform from the indie rock stage to something that felt like a Syrian wedding. Out come table clothes and artificial flowers and a steam platter full of grape leaves. I preferred the band with the oud. The actual dancer appeared to be French Canadian.

their last album was great, i liked it a lot better than 'red letter day'. 'let me come over' is still just wonderful; their b-sides collection was good too. i remember when Let Me Come Over was released, a the melody maker end-of-year round-up suggesting it might get lost in the grunge-tumult for being a little more nuanced and 'mature' - i think that holds, though i think 'mature' cuts both ways, and they were definmitely more trad than alternative every step of the way - not a bad thing necessarily, but it is what it is.

100,000 warnings!

(add 400,000)

i used to love "Taillights Fade", but now i can't deal with the grunginess of it.(till the grunge comeback to come)

IMHO:

Buffalo Tom, 1988 great
Birdbrain, 1990 disappointing
Let Me Come Over, 1992 great
Big Red Letter Day, 1993 great
Sleepy Eyed, 1995 disappointing
Smitten, 1998 disappointing
A-sides from Buffalo Tom, 2000 great
B-sides & other stuff never heard
Three Easy Pieces, 2007 disappointing

http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51CY643G80L._SX220_.jpg

http://g-ecx.images-amazon.com/images/G/01/ciu/cd/d9/029f828fd7a0af2b7cfc3110._AA280_.L.jpg

I guess my love for them faded after I saw them being boring and getting blown away by Bettie Serveert, their support act, - who came back for an encore while the main act didn't since the crowd was going home - at a show in (I think it was) 1993.

i used to love "Taillights Fade", but now i can't deal with the grunginess of it.(till the grunge comeback to come)

Welcome to 3 years past the grunge comeback. Have some Hinder.

it wasnt a real, big comeback.
wai till 2010, (my fortune teller says)

I must have seen them on the same tour (1993, Bettie Serveert), but they weren't boring imho iirc etc. xp.

Another parallel with Teenage Fanclub - third album was the critical/commercial breakthough (I think, not that I've checked chart positions or anything). And I've never heard the first two.

I guess my love for them faded after I saw them being boring

I see what you did there.

Hmm. I'm glad to hear folks seem to think they had a spotty career. I still pull out Let Me Come Over to this day and I quite enjoyed Red Letter Day, too, but I've always felt strangely guilty that I never investigated them beyond that. I believe I saw them with Bettie Serveert too...they were fantastic.

I only ask because I saw them play a couple of days ago and thought they were fantastic. And I guess when you start your set with 'Velvet Roof', 'Summer', 'Rachael' and 'Tailights Fade', your really not going to go too far wrong.

"you're"

Back again! New album, Skins, out on Feb 15th 2011 - announcement & a new track:

http://www.buffalotom.com

oooh, i tweeted (i know) abt them last week. love these guys, and thought their last LP was one of their best.

Let Me Come Over is one of my favorite albums of all time, so many great memories of listening to this my senior yr of high school driving around at night with friends.

Big Red Letter Day is the only thing I ever owned by them but I loved the shit out of it at the time.

you guys should go wear some big flannel shirts together or something.

MAYBE WE WILL SCOTT

got the most lovely purple flannel shirt for xmas...

let me come over is my favourite of theirs, tho the title always has me thinking about neil young's 'when you dance (i can really love)'...

rediscovering these dudes. it's 1992 all over again for the moment.

20 motherfucking years ago.

you can't beat Let Me Come Over. I really love Smitten too.

ah, "velvet roof". I will track it down right now I think.

Had LMCO on tape, think I used to play side B then A, punching out of the gate with Velvet Roof and finishing with the dizzying Larry. Seems all wrong the other way round.

Might give their 2011 effort Skins a go, see if it really is a doggedly likable set of straightforward rock songs and if it stands up without the aid of nostalgia.

They deserve to be better remembered..Let Me Come Over is a classic in my humble opinion!

http://devonrecordclub.wordpress.com/2013/03/15/buffalo-tom-let-me-come-over-round-48-toms-selection/

Actually like Big Red Letter Day at least as much as LMCO, but they don't even need to remembered cause they're still around! They put out a record a year or two back that I personally thought was only meh, but they're 2007 record Three Easy Pieces was fantastic.

Though I'm only one listen into it, Bill Janovitz's new solo record Walt Whitman Mall is sounding pretty great so far.

It's awesome. DISCLOSURE: I supported the making of the album on his Pledge Music page or whatever he did.

I could do without the yawnsome Simon and Garfunkel cover, but otherwise I'm really enjoying the new record. A highlight:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ylnPVrq78Qc

seeing them tonight. smitten is underheard and underrated

that should be a fun show!

good band