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Soul Rotation

{{Use mdy dates|date=May 2025}}

{{Infobox album

| name = Soul Rotation

| type = studio

| artist = The Dead Milkmen

| cover = Soul_Rotation.jpg

| alt =

| released = April 14, 1992

| recorded =

| venue =

| studio =

| genre = Punk, comedy rock

| length = 42:45

| label = Hollywood

| producer = Ted Niceley

| prev_title = Metaphysical Graffiti

| prev_year = 1990

| next_title = Not Richard, But Dick

| next_year = 1993

}}

{{Music ratings

| rev1 = AllMusic

| rev1Score = {{Rating|2|5}}{{AllMusic|class=album|id=r57076}}

|rev2 = Calgary Herald

|rev2score = B{{cite journal |last1=Dunlop |first1=Neil |title=Recent releases |journal=Calgary Herald |date=24 May 1992 |page=C2}}

|rev3 = Chicago Tribune

|rev3score = {{rating|3|4}}{{cite journal |last1=Caro |first1=Mark |title=Recordings |journal=Chicago Tribune |date=9 Apr 1992 |page=C7}}

|rev4 = The Encyclopedia of Popular Music

|rev4score = {{rating|3|5}}{{cite book |last1=Larkin |first1=Colin |title=The Encyclopedia of Popular Music |date=2006 |publisher=MUZE |volume=2 |pages=802–803}}

|rev5 = The Indianapolis Star

|rev5score = {{rating|2|4}}{{cite journal |last1=Hall |first1=Steve |title=The Dead Milkmen Soul Rotation Hollywood |journal=The Indianapolis Star |date=5 June 1992 |page=B7}}

| rev6 = Spin

| rev6Score = {{rating|1|1|full=Solid lime.svg}}{{Cite web|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ov3_OLmQ4PMC&q=Soul+Rotation+dead+milkmen&pg=PT83|title=Spins|work=Spin|date=May 19, 1992|publisher=SPIN Media LLC|via=Google Books}}

|rev7 = Telegram & Gazette

|rev7score = {{rating|3|4}}{{cite journal |last1=Semon |first1=Craig S. |title=The Dead Milkmen keep swinging at pretension |journal=Telegram & Gazette |date=14 June 1992 |page=12}}

}}

Soul Rotation is the sixth studio album by the Dead Milkmen, released in 1992.{{Cite web|url=https://www.allmusic.com/artist/dead-milkmen-mn0000140891/biography|title=Dead Milkmen | Biography & History|website=AllMusic}}{{Cite web|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1992-10-23-va-443-story.html|title=MUSIC : Milkmen to Deliver : The Philadelphia rock quartet, noted for its off-center lyrics, will perform at the Palomino.|date=October 23, 1992|website=Los Angeles Times}} It was their first album to be released on Hollywood Records.{{Cite web|url=https://www.avclub.com/butterfly-joe-1798208036|title=Butterfly Joe|website=The A.V. Club}}{{cite magazine |last1=Newman |first1=Melinda |title=Strange Brew |magazine=Billboard |date=Jun 27, 1992 |volume=104 |issue=26 |page=34}} The album was digitally re-released in 2013, after being out of print for many years.

The album peaked at No. 16 on Billboard's Heatseekers Albums chart.{{Cite magazine|url=https://www.billboard.com/artist/the-dead-milkmen/chart-history/tlp/|title=The Dead Milkmen|magazine=Billboard}}

Production

Soul Rotation was produced by Ted Niceley. It marked the first time the band cut an entire album using digital recording methods.{{Cite web|url=https://www.mcall.com/news/mc-xpm-1992-06-20-2850726-story.html|title=NEW LABEL, NAMES, DELIVERY FRESHEN UP DEAD MILKMEN|first=TIM|last=BLANGGER|website=mcall.com|date=20 June 1992 }} The band, heeding past criticism of their albums, decided to focus as much on the instrumentation as the lyrics. The Dead Milkmen improvised more in the studio, and are collectively credited with writing the songs.{{Cite web|url=https://tulsaworld.com/archive/the-dead-milkmen/article_b12c5fb1-1ef9-525a-bfcb-5a5479a8c6cb.html|title=THE DEAD MILKMEN|first=John|last=Wooley|website=Tulsa World|date=26 July 1992 }} The band employed a horn section, The Uptown Horns, on several tracks.

Critical reception

Trouser Press called Soul Rotation "the first genuinely good album of [the band's] career," writing that "the gentleness of the band’s adult humor is well-served by equally unprepossessing eclectic pop-rock that makes varied use of the Uptown Horns and Rodney’s keyboard sideline."{{Cite web|url=http://www.trouserpress.com/entry.php?a=dead_milkmen|title=TrouserPress.com :: Dead Milkmen|website=www.trouserpress.com}} The Tulsa World deemed it "funny ... even when it's dealing with serious subjects." The Indianapolis Star wrote: "Somewhere along the line, the Dead Milkmen lost their playful sense of humor. Despite the strong music, their ironic lyrics seem flat without the punchlines."

The Ottawa Citizen wrote that "the arrangements here are carefully conceived and comparatively hook-laden."{{cite journal |last1=Erskine |first1=Evelyn |title=The Dead Milkmen Soul Rotation |journal=Ottawa Citizen |date=13 June 1992 |page=H3}} The Chicago Tribune judged it "a sprightly little pop album," writing that the "Philadelphia foursome is moving away from constant jokiness and concentrating more on melody and groove, even if it hasn't forsaken its tongue-in-cheek lyrics, amateurish vocals and unvarnished pep." The Gazette decided that the "smartass Philly thrash-soul-punkers make the big time with a major-label album that finds all of the humor intact ... even if the punk part sounds more like a frat affectation now."{{cite journal |last1=Lepage |first1=Mark |title=THE DEAD MILKMEN Soul Rotation |journal=The Gazette |date=20 June 1992 |page=E2}}

Track listing

  1. "At the Moment" - 3:00
  2. "The Secret of Life" - 4:20
  3. "Big Scary Place" - 3:24
  4. "Belafonte's Inferno" - 2:52
  5. "The Conspiracy Song" - 2:21
  6. "How It's Gonna Be" - 4:55
  7. "All Around the World" - 3:56
  8. "Silly Dreams" - 3:34
  9. "Wonderfully Colored Plastic War Toys" - 2:36
  10. "God's Kid Brother" - 2:39
  11. "If I Had a Gun" - 2:28
  12. "Here Comes Mr. X" - 2:18
  13. "Shaft in Greenland" - 4:30

References

{{Reflist}}

{{The Dead Milkmen}}

{{Authority control}}

Category:1992 albums

Category:The Dead Milkmen albums

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