1983 was a pivotal year for music. Locally, the Athens music and art world was well represented - with the B-52s’ “Whammy,” R.E.M.’s “Murmur,” Pylon’s “Chomp” and Love Tractor’s “Around The Bend” representing the big four bands of the scene. Each title has endured as an influential cult favorite, bristling with uncompromising individuality.
“I think 1983 was the apex of a movement in a way,” says Love Tractor’s Mark Cline. “In Athens and probably everywhere else. Everything was kind of downhill from there, but during that time, everyone seemed to be riding a real creative peak. The B’s had already moved to New York, of course, but the rest of us were still in town and ready to hit the road. Then it all sort of exploded and everything had changed by the time we got back to town. People were moving in from all over the place to be a part of what we created.”
As one of the few true designers of the oft-copied Athens sound, Love Tractor directly impacted several generations of music fans. Founded in 1979 by Cline with fellow art students Mike Richmond and Armistead Wellford to entertain themselves as they explored the possibilities of music as conceptual art. Drummers Kit Swartz (formerly of the Side Effects) and Bill Berry (yes, the one from R.E.M.) rounded out the band’s early line-ups.
Multi-instrumentalist Cline says “Around The Bend” was created as a way to expound on the burgeoning musical ideas the combo had only hinted at on their 1981 self-titled debut. “This album is aptly titled,” he writes in the newly revised record’s liner notes, “We were looking ‘around the bend,’ peering into dark, sometimes dusty places for original or under-used sounds, styles and rhythms.”
Credit: Courtesy of Propeller Sound Recordings
Credit: Courtesy of Propeller Sound Recordings
Indeed, each of the nine tracks represents a different artistic mindset, connected by the undeniable Love Tractor sound — a unique interplay of guitars, bass, drums — and occasional vocals. In addition to containing arguably the band’s best compositions, it also holds two of their best-known tracks. “Pretty,” often seen in the dimly lit clip from the 1986 documentary “Athens, GA Inside/Out,” and “Spin Your Partner,” the rollicking video that landed the band pop culture status due to repeated MTV airplay.
Astute viewers will notice a number of interesting Athens and Atlanta landmarks in “Spin Your Partner,” with exterior shots of the 40 Watt Club, the Night Owl Lounge, the 688 Club, Agora Ballroom and the parking lot of Tom Jumper Chevrolet.
“We sequenced it so you can listen to the entire thing as an actual long-playing album,” explains Cline, describing the running order of the original release. “Or you can take it track by track. It seems to work either way.” He adds the band decided to leave the original sequence intact for the new edition, which includes two alternate mixes produced by the late Alfredo Villar, formerly of The Fans, a popular Atlanta band of the ‘80s.
Credit: Courtesy of Curtis Knapp
Credit: Courtesy of Curtis Knapp
To celebrate the new 40th anniversary release of “Around The Bend,” issued today (Sept. 1) via Propeller Sound Recordings, Cline has crafted a unique “video album,” containing all nine audio selections from the record, paired with newly-created psychedelic collages and appropriately mind-melding images – with the original “Spin Your Partner” video (directed by Howard Libov) included as a fun bonus.
The AJC is pleased to present the premiere of the complete video album of Love Tractor’s “Around The Bend.”
Track listing (in order):
“Highland Sweetheart”
“Cutting Corners”
“Spin Your Partner”
“Pretty”
“Fat Birds”
“Paint (your face and stand in the corner)”
“Slum Dungeon”
“J.E.B. Pharaohs”
“Timberland”
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