Real Ramona, The - Throwing Muses > Reviews > The mother of all Indie chicks' finest hour

Author's product rating:   

Originality	Groundbreaking
Lyrics	Thought-provoking
Quality and consistency of tracks	Flawless
How does it compare to the artist's other releases	Outstanding
Value for Money	Excellent

Advantages:	Influencial, pioneering, inspirational female led Indie rock
Disadvantages:	A left of centre taste is required for this unique sound

Recommend to potential buyers:

yes

Full review

THE LONG ROAD TO RAMONA

My interest in Throwing Muses was sparked some 2 years before the release of this album. Whilst watching some music program, on ITV on a Saturday morning whilst a 6th former (The Chart Show maybe?), during the Indie Charts, where they would show short clips of the top 10, in at number 2, behind the Pixies with Monkey Gone to Heaven (I wasn't aware of them either, as it happens - their time would come at university, but not yet) was Throwing Muses with a track called Dizzy. All I remember seeing was a mad woman yelling "dizzy dizzy dizzy in my head" and on a hunch, I decided this needed further investigation. Remember this was a time where record listening posts were hard to come by and the internet as a source of useless info effectively didn't exist; all you had was your instincts & pocket money. I bought the album that track was from, Hunkpapa. I was impressed with the thick, meaty quality of the vinyl (a rarity at the time) and the thick meaty quality of the music within, and decided that yes - this was a hunch that paid off. I was officially a Muses fan.

Fast forward 2 years and in my 2nd year at university, I bought this vinyl album on the day of release from Warp records in Sheffield. God, how do I remember that? I always remember the pointless minutiae; if only that applied to my education. Anyway, I only had a tape deck in my uni digs and so enlisted the help of a hi-fi geek on my course. His primary love in life was his super duper hi fi separates system. Unfortunately, his audiophile obsession made him more interested in production values than the music itself - if you ask me, a great song is a great song on a crackly mono radio or expensive SACD player. He insisted Tina Turner was the greatest thing he'd ever heard on his setup. But anyway, such was his attention to detail, I distinctly remember him proudly telling me how he'd switched the fridge and freezer off while recording the album onto tape for me, to stop any capacitor switching interfering with the recording. Mmm. I must point out that we studied Electronic Engineering, so although this was pretty way out to me, I can imagine how much more way out that would be to a, erm, relatively normal person.

And so - armed with my freshly recorded TDK tape - I was ready to tackle Throwing Muses new album!

THROWING MUSES

The Real Ramona was released in 1991 and was Throwing Muses 4th studio album. Formed in 1981, the Muses already had a cult following, and this is generally acclaimed as their greatest work. The main creative force was Kristin Hersh, an American from the east coast New England city of Providence, Rhode Island. Much to my shame, until I visited there 2 years ago I thought it actually was a island off New York somewhere, only reachable by ferry. It isn't. I was also most disappointed not to see a big bronze statue of Hersh in Providence's main square. Kristin was joined by her step-sister, Tanya Donelley. It might be pushing it to call it a Lennon and McCartney creative axis, but certainly Hersh's mad woman screaming was countered somewhat by Donelley's sugary pop melodies, and the latter was usually allowed a written and lead vocal track on every album. To complete the line up at the time, Fred Abong (a dead ringer for Joe Mangel off Neighbours) was on bass and David Narcizo on drums. At the time, it wasn't so common for female vocalists to be the lead in rock guitar bands, more so Indie ones, and in my opinion Hersh and her contemporaries paved the way for people like Lush, PJ Harvey, and, much later, Alanis Morissette. I spotted lead singer Miki from Lush at a Muses gig once and have read in interviews her extolling the Muses' virtues. Interestingly, Hersh was later diagnosed with bipolar disorder, and medication now controls that, making her a more mellow person and much less interesting artist, sad to say. Pain is definitely art in my experience. A Hersh story I once read was her being threatened at gunpoint at an early gig and her retort along the lines of "go ahead I was going to do it myself anyway". The gunman walked off, probably more scared than he'd hoped Hersh would be.

The Muses were the first ever American band to sign to legendary UK Indie label 4AD, home of acts like Pale Saints & The Cocteau Twins. Label chief Ivo watched them a few times and kept on approaching them stating that "we don't sign American bands". "OK" said a bemused Hersh several times, having not even asked for 4AD's attention, before Ivo finally offered them a contract. Their signing paved the way for fellow New Englanders, The Pixies, who also found a home at 4AD.

THE REAL RAMONA TRACK BY TRACK REVIEW

Counting Backwards - a relative hit, this was Hersh toning it down a bit, holding down a more than usual poppy groove, with jangly guitars and Donelley "ahhh"ing in the background.

Him Dancing - Funky percussion and choppy guitar work, along with Hersh SINGING - this was unheard of.

Red Shoes - More of a mellow, laid back groove and it's noticeable how Narcizo's drumming nails down each track, with guitar swirling round and in and out of it.

Graffiti - thick bass and more gentle, chopping guitar - a Muses ballad? Surely not. But apparently so; "see my name on the wall" Hersh positively coos.

Golden Thing - so far it's been a soft introduction but things step up a gear here, a faster, more urgent percussive arrangement, with Hersh warming up a bit and started to shout just a little bit.

Ellen West - it seems to me this was being built up to, slowly but surely. The guitar, bass and drums gradually builds and by the end "I need you here, I need you here" screams Hersh. Even now the wailing guitar, manic bass and drumming after that lyric at the end of the track makes the hairs on the back of my neck stand up. This is one of my favourite Muses tracks ever.

Dylan - not much to say about this short, dreamy instrumental track other than it is named after one of Hersh's sons. The closing track of side 1 of the record (as it was), takes you down a notch again.

Hook In Her Head - onto side 2, and another of those tracks that builds, with jangly guitars and that steady drumming again as Hersh wails. Suddenly, the track is thrown into another direction and the drumming becomes more manic, the guitar wailing.

Not Too Soon -. Donelley's first track on the album, her sugary pop voice with Hersh's harsher, rocking guitars in symbiosis.

Honeychain - Donelley again, probably having wrestled the guitar off her step sibling, adds a poppy riffing guitar to her sweet vocal, in perhaps a precursor to her Belly work.

Say Goodbye - this was a track less than a minute long from the previous album Hunkpapa, but it's been shaped into a barnstormer. It starts with what sounds like a sample of a street preacher, and goes into thumping bass and guitar and manic drumming. Hersh's singing mutating into screaming, building up into an almighty punch. Another of my fave tracks.

Two Step - the perfect closing track; after the adrenalin rush of Say Goodbye. Slow, chiming guitar leads into Hersh's mellow singing, bringing you back down again.

TRACK LISTING

1. "Counting Backwards" - 3:15
2. "Him Dancing" - 1:10
3. "Red Shoes" - 3:33
4. "Graffiti" - 2:37
5. "Golden Thing" - 2:25
6. "Ellen West" - 2:49
7. "Dylan" - 1:40
8. "Hook in Her Head" - 6:32
9. "Not Too Soon" - 3:09
10. "Honeychain" - 4:24
11. "Say Goodbye" - 3:54
12. "Two Step" - 4:34

LEGACY

Donelley would go on to leave the band after this album and first join Pixies bassist Kim Deal in The Breeders. Her own band Belly followed, satisfying her more poppy sensibilities. Belly had a few hits, the one that was most notable was perhaps "Feed The Tree". She is a solo artist these days but popped up on their self titled Muses comeback album of 2003 on guest vocals. Hersh still fronts the Muses and David Narcizo is still on board. Fred Abong left the group after The Real Ramona and joined Belly with Donelley. Hersh continues to be a solo artist of repute in her own right. Her biggest hit in 1994, "Your Ghost" had Michael Stipe from REM as guest vocalist. She has released several solo albums; the latest one, Learn To Sing Like A Star, was released earlier this year.

Kristen Hersh's influence isn't perhaps so obvious, but their Indie sound was certainly pioneering, a dominant female lead rocking hard. In one way or another, all contemporary Indie girl artists owe a debt to Hersh.

CONCLUSION

The Real Ramona was a slight departure from their earlier work, as it was poppier, more accessible and less manic, but no less driven. In part is attributable to Tanya Donelley two allotted tracks, twice her usual allowance. This contrasts nicely with Hersh's somewhat mellowing shouting, screaming and wailing. From the Muses' body of work, this is their most accessible, poppy album and highly recommended to anyone who wants to know whom the likes of Alanis Morissette and PJ Harvey owe a creative and gender pioneering debt.