Reunited and it feels so good. Man I love Opal's _Happy Nightmare Baby_. It's the only album they made. I got it when I was 18 and it blew me away. I thought it was so incredible. Well I got it again and it feels like the album never left me. Someone stole it from me in the first place. Never again. I love this album. I don't think there's a bad track on it. If you don't know the history here's a bio from Allmusic Guide:"The neo-psychedelic group Opal formed in the mid-'80s, featuring former Rain Parade guitarist David Roback and former Dream Syndicate bassist Kendra Smith. Initially, the group was called Clay Allison, but the group dropped the name after one single; Roback, Smith, and drummer Keith Mitchell released the remaining Clay Allison tracks under their own name in 1984 on the Fell From the Sun EP. After its release, the group adopted the name Opal and released an EP, Northern Line, in 1985. Happy Nightmare Baby, their first full-length album, followed in 1987. Smith left the group during the Happy Nightmare tour, effectively putting an end to the band. Roback continued with vocalist Hope Sandoval; the group then metamorphosed into Mazzy Star.""
I am says
Wow, Sam. This is an SST release that blew me away so many years ago. This album came to me while I was still a DJ, and I played the shite out of it.
Funny now that I think of it, Opal wasn't your usual SST fare.
Opal would probably be a good one for "What they did before becoming famous".
Thanks man.
fistula spume says
No problem I am. Glad to bring back the memories. I had it for only about a year and a half and then someone stole it with lots of others. It's such a great album. It definitely is a "What they did" story. I've listened to it 5 times in the last two days. So good. It is weird that it was on SST considering. I miss that label.
poebegone says
i have and love Happy Nightmare Baby, and Early Recordings as well. and i am not surprised you do. i love Opal and am giddy like a high school nerd that they are getting some mog love. (:
ps. hey, i miss SST. one thing that i had for a while and then got 'stolen' was something by Lali Puna, which may be why i've never talked about them on mog yet.
fistula spume says
Ooh I don't have Early Recordings. Need to look it up. I love them so much. Same goes for Lali Puna too. I think I have 2 or 3 of their albums. They're really short but sweet. It was a big bummer to have my cd's stolen cause I went to a lot of trouble to buy hard to find stuff at the time. I did manage to get some Lou Barlow cd's recently that I haven't heard in years. Think I'll post about them sometime soon. I thought you would be an Opal fan poe.
poebegone says
Early Recordings is a compilation so you probably know what's in there. i am almost quite sure i brought both with me to Cambodia (i must really love them - i left the other 90% of my CDs in the Philippines!), i'll go look for it and try to post stuff.
i love Lou Barlow! (and Folk Implosion! and Sebadoh!) so post away, dear. (:
wassonii says
Gonna have to claim complete ignorance regarding this outfit, for which I am sad, as I like Mazzy Star and although I likely had a previous opportunity to hear this, shamefully I don't think I did.
Thanks again, man. Keep this stuff in my ears!
I dunno how I missed this..but I ain't afraid to retro-comment! Maybe we were fighting back then Sam? Well I apoligize because yu brought the dopeness of Opal..Not yer typical SST fare..Damn though,,I wanted to post it. Aw look at that we're fighting again because of my jealous rage..phew, I'm over that now,too. Nice one Fisty.
Reunited and it feels so good. Man I love Opal's _Happy Nightmare Baby_. It's the only album they made. I got it when I was 18 and it blew me away. I thought it was so incredible. Well I got it again and it feels like the album never left me. Someone stole it from me in the first place. Never again. I love this album. I don't think there's a bad track on it. If you don't know the history here's a bio from Allmusic Guide:"The neo-psychedelic group Opal formed in the mid-'80s, featuring former Rain Parade guitarist David Roback and former Dream Syndicate bassist Kendra Smith. Initially, the group was called Clay Allison, but the group dropped the name after one single; Roback, Smith, and drummer Keith Mitchell released the remaining Clay Allison tracks under their own name in 1984 on the Fell From the Sun EP. After its release, the group adopted the name Opal and released an EP, Northern Line, in 1985. Happy Nightmare Baby, their first full-length album, followed in 1987. Smith left the group during the Happy Nightmare tour, effectively putting an end to the band. Roback continued with vocalist Hope Sandoval; the group then metamorphosed into Mazzy Star.""
Locating MOG account...
Comments (12)
I dunno how I missed this..but I ain't afraid to retro-comment! Maybe we were fighting back then Sam? Well I apoligize because yu brought the dopeness of Opal..Not yer typical SST fare..Damn though,,I wanted to post it. Aw look at that we're fighting again because of my jealous rage..phew, I'm over that now,too. Nice one Fisty.