Blaze of Glory [Bonus Tracks] [LP]

by Game Theory

Overview

Game Theory were only a few months old when they began recording their debut album, 1982's Blaze of Glory, in a makeshift studio in the home of singer, guitarist, songwriter, and all-around idea man Scott Miller. Blaze of Glory is in many respects the work of a band taking baby steps, but it's also a very ambitious work that represents Miller's desire to move on from his juvenilia with his previous band, Alternate Learning, and this LP sounds like a rough draft for what Miller would achieve on albums like Real Nighttime and The Big Shot Chronicles. Considering it was recorded in a semi-pro home studio, the production on Blaze of Glory is assertive, and the first flashes of Miller's infatuation with audio montage and fragmented songwriting can be found here, though they're used very sparingly, and while it's clear the group was trying to emulate certain specific studio techniques of the day, the low-budget processing on the drums and the very dated synth patches doubtless have a lot to do with why Miller became reluctant to let fans hear this material in its original form (he re-recorded "Bad Year at UCLA" and "Sleeping Through Heaven" for the 1990 Game Theory collection Tinker to Evers to Chance, and most tracks from this album were remixed and/or given fresh overdubs for the 1993 collection Distortion of Glory). The grander attempts at a big sound on "The Girls are Ready to Go" and "Stupid Heart" work only so well (and are a reminder of how much producer Mitch Easter brought to the later Game Theory albums), but more modest performances like "Mary Magdalene" and "It Gives Me Chills" are very effective indeed, and tunes like "Sleeping Through Heaven," "Something to Show," and "All I Want Is Everything" make it obvious that Miller was already a superb songwriter with a unique take on smart pop. Game Theory would grow by leaps and bounds by the time they released their next full-length album, 1985's Real Nighttime, but Blaze of Glory shows that Miller's creative vision was very much in place in 1982, even if he was still working out the mechanics of putting it on tape. ~ Mark Deming

Product Details

Release Date:	09/02/2014
Label:	Omnivore
UPC:	0816651016365

Tracks

1. Something to Show
2. Tin Scarecrow
3. White Blues
4. Date with an Angel
5. Mary Magdalene
6. The Young Drug
7. Bad Year at UCLA
8. All I Want Is Everything
9. Stupid Heart
10. Sleeping Through Heaven
11. It Gives Me Chills
12. The Girls Are Ready to Go
13. Another Wasted Afternoon
14. What's the Matter
15. Scott Miller Testing Laboratories: Record Test #1
16. In the Still of the Night
17. Bad Year at UCLA (Reprise)
18. She's a Woman of the Wind
19. Scott Miller Testing Laboratories: Record Test #2
20. Beach State Rocking
21. Aliens in Our Midst
22. Untitled Piano Piece
23. The New You
24. Scott Miller Testing Laboratories: Record Test #3
25. Bad Year at UCLA
26. Scott Miller Testing Laboratories: Record Test #4
27. Mary Magdalene

Album Credits

Performance Credits

Game Theory   Primary Artist
Jozef Becker   Primary Artist,Drums,Drum Overdubs
Alternate Learning   Primary Artist
Scott Miller   Primary Artist,Piano,Guitar,Vocals,Guitar (Rhythm)
Dave Gill   Drums
Donnie Jupiter   Guitar,Vocals
Fred Juhos   Bass,Vocals,Vocals (Background)
Mike Irwin   Drums
Donnette Thayer   Vocals (Background),Percussion
Nan Becker   Vocals (Background),Keyboards
Eric Landers   Drums
Scott Gallaway   Bass,Guitar
Byl Miller   Keyboards
Carolyn O'Rourke   Bass
Mirk Irwin   Drums

Technical Credits

Michael Graves   Restoration
Donnie Jupiter   Composer
Cheryl Pawelski   Release Production
Greg Allen   Reissue Design,Reissue Art Director
Gavin Lurssen   Mastering
Jonathan Segel   Project Assistant
Scott Miller   Composer,Cover Art,Composer
Mitch Easter   Producer
Mike Irwin   Cover Art
Pat Thomas   Release Production
Lee Lodyga   Project Assistant
Robert Toren   Photography
Dan Vallor   Release Production
Jennifer Beecroft Polishook   Photography
Reuben Cohen   Mastering
Eileen Lucero   Editorial
Bryan George   Licensing
Audrey Bilger   Project Assistant
Dutch Cramblitt   Project Assistant
Nikki Nieves   Project Assistant
Brad Rosenberger   Project Assistant
Carolyn O'Rourke   Composer