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Songs of Pain

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Songs of Pain
Studio album by
Daniel Johnston
Released1981
Recorded1980–1981
StudioThe Johnston Residence's Basement, West Virginia
Length56:29
LabelStress Records (self-published)
Dual Tone
ProducerDaniel Johnston
Daniel Johnston chronology
Songs of Pain
(1981) 		Don't Be Scared
(1982)
Original cassette
An original self-published cassette made by Daniel Johnston.
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
Allmusic[1]
Pitchfork Media[2]

Songs of Pain is the first album by folk singer-songwriter Daniel Johnston, recorded on a simple tape recorder and released on Compact Cassette. Johnston recorded these songs in the basement of his parents' house in West Virginia.[3] It was recorded in 1980 and 1981, and handed out to friends by Johnston. It was rereleased on cassette by Stress Records in 1988, and on Compact Disc in 2003 by the label Dual Tone, together with More Songs of Pain as Early Recordings Volume 1.

Background

Johnston began writing songs in 1979 to impress his friends Laurie Allen and Dave Thornberry. Johnston had a crush on Allen, and equated her with true love and all that was good with the world. Many of the songs written were self deprecating love songs to impress Allen. Eventually, in 1980, Johnston began recording the songs and compiling them into albums to share with his peers. The albums were recorded on a $59 Sanyo cassette recorder with Radio Shack tape stock. Johnston performed most of the instrumentation, and overdubbed the vocals himself.[4]

During the early recording of the album, in 1980, Johnston discovered that Allen was engaged to an undertaker, and was heartbroken when she moved to Florida with him,[5] fuelling much of the album's depressive moods.

'Songs of Pain' was recorded between 1980 and 1981 during Daniel Johnston's Freshman, Sophomore and Junior years studying at Kent State University in East Liverpool, Ohio. During this period, Johnston lived in his parents' basement in West Virginia, where he would make recordings to share with friends and fellow students.[5] According to Douglas Wolk, writing for Pitchfork, the album was compiled for musician/painter Katy McCarty,[6] who met Johnston circa 1985.[5] Although Billboard mentions that Johnston began distributing 'Songs of Pain' when he moved to Houston, Texas[7] in 1983. The album would be officially released in 1988 by Stress Records.[8]

Sound

All songs feature Johnston on vocals and piano, except for "Premarital Sex", where he plays the organ. The opening track, "Grievances", introduces themes that reoccur throughout Johnston's career. He sings about his unrequited love for "the librarian", which refers to a girl named Laurie Allen who has functioned as a muse in many of Johnston's songs; this has been described as the quintessential Daniel Johnston song, including by Johnston himself.[9] The lyrical and the musical themes of the song have been alluded to in later works, some examples include 'Museum of Love' which features an identical chord progression in its verses,[10] as well as 'Love Defined', (From both The Lost Recordings and Yip/Jump Music) which features part of the same progression during the line 'Love does not insist on its own way'.[11][12] The word "grievances" has also been reused in the song title "Don't Let the Sun Go Down on Your Grievances".

Other themes on the album are premarital sex ("Joy Without Pleasure" and "Premarital Sex"), Christianity ("A Little Story") and cannabis ("Pot Head").

Between some of the songs are recorded confrontations between Johnston and his mother. Speaking on "The Goat Show" (a track featured on 'The Lost Recordings Volume 2'), Johnston implies this was an "act" he and his mother had been working on this act "for about 20 years".

David Raposa for Pitchfork noted an influence from The Kinks' 'Lola' on the track 'Wicked Will',[2] and Billboard Magazine compared 'Urge' to material by Plastic Ono Band, as well as 'Joy Without Pleasure' to the 'prim' song-writing of Paul McCartney.[13]

Legacy

In a 2003 review of the 'Songs of Pain' CD compilation (Which collects both this album and its 1983 sequel 'More Songs of Pain), David Raposa for Pitchfork discussed the album's tracks positively, describing the material as 'chilling,' 'jaunty' and 'happy-go-lucky.'[2]

In Pitchfork's 2010 review of 'The Story of an Artist' (A 6 disc collection of Johnston's early material), Douglas Wolk described 'Never Relaxed' as 'The funniest thing that Johnston ever recorded,' and 'Living Life' as 'A bloodied but unbowed power-pop tune.' Wolk also compared the album to 'More Songs of Pain,' which he called 'A more accomplished if less bracing take on a lot of the same themes.'[6] On Billboard's '12 essential Daniel Johnston Tracks' article, both 'Urge' and 'Joy Without Pleasure' were included. [13] Willoughby Thom, writing for The Observer's retrospective on Daniel Johnston, describes Songs of Pain favorably, calling it 'Emotional and intensely beautiful,' praising its sincerity, truth, and simplistic lyrics.[14]

In July 2021, the RO2 Gallery in Dallas, Texas, hosted an exhibition of Johnston's art named after the album, 'Story of an Artist & Songs of Pain'.[15]

Influence

In Hi How Are You, a book written on Johnston's career, Songs of Pain was listed as one of Kathy McCarty's most favored albums by the artist[16] and she included five songs from the album on her 1994 tribute to Johnston, Dead Dog's Eyeball.[17] In 1995, her cover of "Living Life" was featured in the romantic drama Film, Before Sunrise.[18]

Track listing

All tracks are written by Daniel Johnston. All tracks produced by Johnston

Side One
No.TitleLength
1."Grievances"2:49
2."A Little Story"3:30
3."Joy Without Pleasure"1:55
4."Never Relaxed"3:28
5."Brainwash"2:40
6."Pot Head"3:23
7."Wicked World"2:35
8."Lazy"2:41
Total length:23:01
Side Two
No.TitleLength
9."I Save Cigarette Butts"5:26
10."Like a Monkey in a Zoo"3:28
11."Wicked Will"1:45
12."An Idiot's End"4:36
13."Wild West Virginia"2:39
14."Since I Lost My Tooth"1:21
15."Urge"2:36
16."Living Life"4:08
17."Tuna Ketchup"2:06
18."Premarital Sex"3:05
19."Don't Act Nice"0:37
20."Hate Song"2:07
Total length:33:54

Release history

Year Label Format Region Notes
1988 Stress Records Cassette USA
2003 Dualtone CD As part of The Early Recordings, a 2-CD box set also containing 'More Songs of Pain'
2009 Stress Records Cassette
2010 Munster Records CD Spain As part of The Story Of An Artist, a 6-disc box set containing Johnston's albums recorded while living with his parents between 1980-1983.
LP
Eternal Yip Eye Music Cassette USA
2014
2019 CD-R

References

  1. ^ Allmusic review
  2. ^ a b c "Daniel Johnston: Songs of Pain: The Early Recordings, Vol. 1". Pitchfork. Retrieved 2021-10-11.
  3. ^ The Austin Chronicle: Songs of Pain Was Not in Vain, Louis Black
  4. ^ Yazdani, Tarssa; Goede, Don (2006). Hi, how are You?: The Life, Art & Music of Daniel Johnston. Last Gasp. pp. 6–7. ISBN 978-0-86719-667-2.
  5. ^ a b c The Devil and Daniel Johnston, Dr. Jeff Feuerzeig, 2005
  6. ^ a b "Daniel Johnston: The Story of an Artist". Pitchfork. Retrieved 2021-10-11.
  7. ^ "R.I.P. Daniel Johnston: 12 Essential Tracks From the Outsider Music Legend". Billboard. Retrieved 2021-10-11.
  8. ^ Songs Of Pain - Dan Johnston 1980-81, Stress Records, 1988
  9. ^ The Austin Chronicle: The Continuing Story of Daniel Johnston - Genius of Love, Ken Lieck
  10. ^ Daniel Johnston - Museum Of Love (Chords), retrieved 2021-10-11
  11. ^ "Daniel Johnston Song Lyrics". rejectedunknown.com. Retrieved 2021-11-10.
  12. ^ "Daniel Johnston Song Lyrics". rejectedunknown.com. Retrieved 2021-10-11.
  13. ^ a b "R.I.P. Daniel Johnston: 12 Essential Tracks From the Outsider Music Legend". Billboard. Retrieved 2021-10-11.
  14. ^ "Hi, how are you Daniel Johnston? // The Observer". The Observer. 2019-09-19. Retrieved 2021-10-11.
  15. ^ "Exhibition at Ro2 gallery reveals late artist Daniel Johnston wasn't his family's only creative soul". Dallas News. 2021-07-14. Retrieved 2021-10-11.
  16. ^ Yazdani, Tarssa; Goede, Don (2006). Hi, how are You?: The Life, Art & Music of Daniel Johnston. Last Gasp. ISBN 978-0-86719-667-2.
  17. ^ K. McCarty - Dead Dog's Eyeball: Songs Of Daniel Johnston (Justine, JUSCD002, 1994)
  18. ^ Before Sunrise (1995) - IMDb, retrieved 2022-03-21
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