Just for a Day

Music critic Jim DeRogatis called the album's style “one of the lushest and most layered sounds of the shoegazer movement.”{{Cite book |last=DeRogatis |first=Jim |title=Turn on Your Mind: Four Decades of Great Psychedelic Rock |publisher=Hal Leonard |year=2003 |pages=515}}

Just for a Day was recorded at Courtyard Studios, formerly known as Georgetown Studios, in Abingdon in the Thames Valley.

Just for a Day was released on 2 September 1991 by Creation Records.{{cite press release |url=https://pbs.twimg.com/media/DlmGAuPX0AEat6y?format=jpg |title=Slowdive |publisher=Appearing |year=1991 |access-date=8 May 2021 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20210508161449/https://pbs.twimg.com/media/DlmGAuPX0AEat6y?format=jpg |archive-date=8 May 2021 |url-status=unfit}} It peaked at number 32 on the UK Albums Chart. Prior to the album's release, the EP Holding Our Breath, which featured the Just for a Day song "Catch the Breeze" as its lead track,{{cite web |url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/holding-our-breath-mw0001890394 |title=Holding Our Breath – Slowdive |publisher=AllMusic |access-date=8 May 2021 |last=Kellman |first=Andy}} was issued on CD and 12" vinyl on 3 June 1991, along with its 7" vinyl equivalent, the "Catch the Breeze" single.{{cite magazine |url=https://worldradiohistory.com/UK/Music-Week/1991/MW-1991-06-01.pdf |title=New Releases: Singles |magazine=Music Week |date=1 June 1991 |access-date=8 May 2021 |page=21}}{{cite AV media |title=Holding Our Breath |url=https://live.staticflickr.com/5295/5461211492_2e731d3e7d_c.jpg |access-date=8 May 2021 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20210508171545/https://live.staticflickr.com/5295/5461211492_2e731d3e7d_c.jpg |archive-date=8 May 2021 |url-status=unfit |publisher=Creation Records |year=1991 |type=press advertisement}} In the United States, Just for a Day was released by SBK Records in 1992.{{cite magazine |url=https://worldradiohistory.com/Archive-All-Music/Billboard/90s/1992/Billboard-1992-01-18.pdf |title=Album Releases |magazine=Billboard |volume=104 |issue=3 |date=18 January 1992 |access-date=8 May 2021 |page=50}}

On 14 November 2005,{{cite web |url=http://www.pitchforkmedia.com/news/05-11/07.shtml |title=Slowdive to Receive Reissue Treatment |website=Pitchfork |date=November 2005 |access-date=8 May 2021 |last=Solarski |first=Matthew |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20051123230638/http://www.pitchforkmedia.com/news/05-11/07.shtml |archive-date=23 November 2005 |url-status=dead}} a remastered edition of Just for a Day was issued by the Sanctuary Records subsidiary label Castle Music, supplemented by an extra disc containing tracks from the band's first three EPs: Slowdive, Morningrise and Holding Our Breath.{{cite web |url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/release/just-for-a-day-sanctuary-2cd-mr0001452974 |title=Just for a Day [Sanctuary 2CD] – Slowdive |publisher=AllMusic |access-date=8 May 2021 |last=Abebe |first=Nitsuh}}{{cite AV media notes |title=Just for a Day |others=Slowdive |publisher=Castle Music |year=2005 |id=CMEDD 1244 |type=liner notes}} Another remastered edition featuring the same bonus material was released by Cherry Red Records on 16 August 2010.{{cite web |url=http://cherryred.co.uk/cherryred/artists/slowdive.php |title=Slowdive |publisher=Cherry Red Records |access-date=10 May 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101121214251/http://cherryred.co.uk/cherryred/artists/slowdive.php |archive-date=21 November 2010 |url-status=dead}}

{{Music ratings

| rev1 = AllMusic

| rev1score = {{Rating|3.5|5}}{{cite web |url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/just-for-a-day-mw0000273412 |title=Just for a Day – Slowdive |publisher=AllMusic |access-date=21 May 2010 |last=Abebe |first=Nitsuh}}

| rev2 = Chicago Tribune

| rev2score = {{Rating|2.5|4}}{{cite news |url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/1992/02/20/slowdivejust-for-a-day-creationsbk-starstar-12slowdive/ |title=Slowdive: Just for a Day (Creation/SBK) |newspaper=Chicago Tribune |date=20 February 1992 |access-date=27 July 2019 |last=Caro |first=Mark}}

| rev3 = Entertainment Weekly

| rev3score = B{{cite magazine |url=https://ew.com/article/1992/02/21/just-day/ |title=Just for a Day |magazine=Entertainment Weekly |date=21 February 1992 |access-date=27 July 2019 |last=DiMartino |first=Dave |archive-date=27 July 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190727103413/https://ew.com/article/1992/02/21/just-day/ |url-status=dead }}

| rev4 = NME

| rev4score = 8/10{{cite magazine |title=Slowdive: Just for a Day |magazine=NME |date=24 August 1991 |last=Williams |first=Simon |page=33}}

| rev5 = Pitchfork

| rev5score = 7.0/10{{cite web |url=https://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/11841-just-for-a-day-souvlaki-pygmalion/ |title=Slowdive: Just for a Day / Souvlaki / Pygmalion |website=Pitchfork |date=28 November 2005 |access-date=21 May 2010 |last=Abebe |first=Nitsuh}}

| rev6 = Q

| rev6score = {{Rating|3|5}}{{cite magazine |title=Slowdive: Just for a Day |magazine=Q |issue=62 |date=November 1991 |last=Aston |first=Martin}}

| rev7 = Record Collector

| rev7score = {{Rating|4|5}}{{cite magazine |title=Slowdive: Just for a Day / Souvlaki / Pygmalion |magazine=Record Collector |page=86 |quote=Just for a Day allows for an inspection of the group's organic growth...}}

| rev8 = Rolling Stone

| rev8score = {{Rating|2|5}}{{cite magazine |url=http://www.rollingstone.com/artists/slowdive/albums/album/209955/review/5942057/just_for_a_day |title=Slowdive: Just For A Day |magazine=Rolling Stone |date=5 March 1992 |access-date=2 August 2019 |last=Robbins |first=Ira |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070531152401/http://www.rollingstone.com/artists/slowdive/albums/album/209955/review/5942057/just_for_a_day |archive-date=31 May 2007 |url-status=dead}}

| rev9 = Select

| rev9score = 3/5{{cite magazine |title=Slowdive: Just for a Day |magazine=Select |issue=16 |date=October 1991 |last=Maier |first=Dan |author-link=Daniel Maier |page=71}}

| rev10 = Stylus Magazine

| rev10score = A−{{cite web |url=http://www.stylusmagazine.com/reviews/slowdive/just-for-a-day.htm |title=Slowdive – Just For A Day – Review |website=Stylus Magazine |date=17 January 2006 |access-date=27 July 2019 |last=Parrish |first=Peter |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140330025016/http://www.stylusmagazine.com/reviews/slowdive/just-for-a-day.htm |archive-date=30 March 2014 |url-status=dead}}

}}

The initial reception to Just for a Day from the British music press was lukewarm,{{cite AV media notes |chapter=Slowdive: Souvlaki |chapter-url=http://www.ianwatsonuk.com/slowdivetwo.html |access-date=9 May 2021 |last=Watson |first=Ian |title=Souvlaki |title-link=Souvlaki (album) |others=Slowdive |publisher=Castle Music |year=2005 |id=CMEDD 1245 |type=liner notes}} in contrast to the enthusiasm with which Slowdive's earlier releases had been met.{{cite web |url=https://www.allmusic.com/artist/slowdive-mn0000030431/biography |title=Slowdive |publisher=AllMusic |access-date=8 May 2021 |last=Kellman |first=Andy}} Jon Ridge, reviewing Just for a Day for Lime Lizard magazine, thought that the album was premature, describing it as "more a continuation, or aqueous celebration rather, than an advancement" compared to the band's "rather spiffing" previous EPs.{{cite magazine |title=Slowdive: Just for a Day |magazine=Lime Lizard |date=October 1991 |last=Ridge |first=Jon |page=52}} Dan Maier of Select found Slowdive "too direct" in their musical approach, writing that they "just sing slowly, play fuzzy, and end up sounding like the Cocteau Twins with ballast." Melody Maker was especially disparaging, with critic Paul Lester panning Just for a Day as a "major fucking letdown".{{cite magazine |title=Dive Bomb |magazine=Melody Maker |date=31 August 1991 |last=Lester |first=Paul |author-link=Paul Lester |page=32}} Conversely, Simon Williams of NME championed the record, calling it "frequently exceptional" and "a fine, fragrant affair".

In a retrospective essay, Trouser Press deemed the material on Just for a Day inconsistent, but concluded that "the songs that are solid are breathtaking, and those that aren't are at least hypnotic and slowly sensuous."{{cite web |url=https://trouserpress.com/reviews/slowdive |title=Slowdive |website=Trouser Press |access-date=10 June 2016 |last1=Rabid |first1=Jack |last2=Neate |first2=Wilson}} Reappraising the album in 2005 for Pitchfork, Nitsuh Abebe said that "if anything in Slowdive's catalogue will seem dated, it's the overgroomed production on these songs", while nonetheless noting a "terrifically oceanic" quality to Just for a Day as a whole. In his review of the record for AllMusic, Abebe cited the songs "Celia's Dream" and "Erik's Song" in particular as being indicative of what he believed was the more fully realized sound of Slowdive's next album, Souvlaki (1993).

Critic Ned Raggett ranked Just for a Day at number 17 on his decade-end list of the best albums of the 1990s for Freaky Trigger.{{cite web |url=http://www.netcomuk.co.uk/~tewing/ned/nedmain.html |title=The Top 136 Or So Albums Of The Nineties |website=Freaky Trigger |access-date=6 March 2011 |last=Raggett |first=Ned |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110219063845/http://www.netcomuk.co.uk/~tewing/ned/nedmain.html |archive-date=19 February 2011 |url-status=dead}} In 2016, Pitchfork listed it as the seventh best shoegaze album of all time.{{cite web |url=https://pitchfork.com/features/lists-and-guides/9966-the-50-best-shoegaze-albums-of-all-time/?page=5 |title=The 50 Best Shoegaze Albums of All Time |website=Pitchfork |date=24 October 2016 |access-date=22 September 2018 |page=5}}

{{Track listing

| all_writing = Neil Halstead, except where noted

| title1 = Spanish Air

| length1 = 6:00

| title2 = Celia's Dream

| length2 = 4:06

| title3 = Catch the Breeze

| length3 = 4:16

| title4 = Ballad of Sister Sue

| length4 = 4:31

| title5 = Erik's Song (Instrumental)

| length5 = 4:24

| title6 = Waves

| length6 = 5:50

| title7 = Brighter

| length7 = 3:47

| title8 = The Sadman

| length8 = 4:43

| title9 = Primal

| length9 = 5:30

| total_length = 43:07

}}

{{Track listing

| headline = 2005 reissue bonus disc

| title1 = Slowdive

| length1 = 5:13

| title2 = Avalyn I

| length2 = 4:50

| title3 = Avalyn II

| length3 = 8:08

| title4 = Morningrise

| length4 = 4:18

| title5 = She Calls

| length5 = 5:35

| title6 = Losing Today

| writer6 = {{hlist|Halstead{{cite AV media notes |title=Just for a Day |others=Slowdive |publisher=Cherry Red Records |year=2010 |id=CDBRED 461 |type=liner notes}}|Nick Chaplin|Rachel Goswell}}

| length6 = 4:59

| title7 = Golden Hair

| writer7 = {{hlist|Syd Barrett|James Joyce}}

| length7 = 4:02

| title8 = Shine

| writer8 = {{hlist|Halstead|Chaplin|Goswell|Christian Savill}}

| length8 = 5:21

| title9 = Albatross

| length9 = 5:15

| title10 = Catch the Breeze

| note10 = Peel session, 21/4/91

| length10 = 4:07

| title11 = Shine

| note11 = Peel session, 21/4/91

| writer11 = {{hlist|Halstead|Chaplin|Goswell|Savill}}

| length11 = 5:17

| title12 = Golden Hair

| note12 = Peel session, 21/4/91

| writer12 = {{hlist|Barrett|Joyce}}

| length12 = 3:45

| total_length = 60:50

}}

Credits are adapted from the album's liner notes.{{cite AV media notes |title=Just for a Day |others=Slowdive |publisher=Creation Records |year=1991 |id=cre cd 094 |type=liner notes}}

Slowdive

• Rachel Goswell – vocals, guitar
• Neil Halstead – vocals, guitar
• Christian Savill – guitar
• Nick Chaplin – bass guitar
• Simon Scott – drums

Production

• Neil Halstead – production
• Chris Hufford – production, engineering
• Slowdive – mixing

Design

• Califram – photography

{{reflist}}

• {{Discogs master|9473|Just for a Day}}
• {{MusicBrainz release group|mbid=223866ce-e81a-3120-b215-b7ee69ebbfc7|name=Just for a Day}}

{{Slowdive}}

{{Authority control}}

Category:1991 debut albums

Category:Slowdive albums

Category:Creation Records albums

Category:SBK Records albums