This new reissue from Optic Nerve Recordings duplicates the original 53rd & 3rd Records 12" EP of Crashing Through from 1987 as a double 7" 45rpm in gate fold sleeve. Cover art by Heather Lewis.
‘The secret to Beat Happening’s complete
domination of rock lies not in the music’s
simplicity, nor what some fuckheads see as
feigned innocence or eccentricity: Calvin,
Heather and Bret take on situations and ideas,
not ‘cause they think it’s funny or strange
to feel the way they do - - - Beat Happening
truly live in the world they sing about...it’s
not a sense of wonder they convey, it’s the
truest sense of abandon anyone’s created in
way too long.’ - - - Gerard Cosloy, Conflict ‘The only band in the history of the planet
to be equally influenced by The Raincoats and
Minor Threat. Beat Hap manufactures a
universally acceptable sound that is as likable
as a cool rain. Jamboree is their heaviest
outing yet (actual “power chords” can be heard)
but remains completely at odds with the more
“pushable” (out a window, please) bands on the
new breed RT roster. A perfect record ,
from a perfect band.’
- - - Jimmy Johnson, Forced Exposure
‘With shy, unpretentious lyrics, minimalist
rattlings and vocals akin to Lux Interior
eating Scott Walker, the members of Beat
Happening were the modern primitives of indie
America from 1985 to 1992. To DIY acolytes,
the trio’s investigations were perhaps as
significant and influential as those of The
Velvet Underground two decades earlier.
Calvin Johnson, Heather Lewis and Bret
Lunsford formed Beat Happening in the early
'80s in Olympia, Wash., long before
Twin Peaks and Nirvana made the Pacific
Northwest cool. “I don’t think there was
even a democratic statement or any discussion
about it,” says Johnson about the band’s most
noted virtue: a sense of fair play demonstrated by
a revolving door of compositional, instrumental
and vocal responsibilities. “Most of the early
stuff was improvisational, probably because none
of us were particularly accomplished on any
instrument.” At a time when few people had really
learned what the revolution of punk meant let
alone put it into practice, Beat Happening
was pragmatic and political, without rules
or boundaries as to leader, guitarist, etc.’
- - - A.D. Amorosi, Magnet
songs included are:
1. Crashing Through [Jamboree album version produced by Steve Fisk]
2. The This Many Boyfriends Club [live version recorded by Rich Jensen in Corvallis, OR, 1987]
3. Look Around [originally released on the International Pop Underground series Vol. I, 1987]
4. That Girl [originally released on International Pop Underground series Vol. I, 1987]