| Dragline | |
| Type: | Album |
| Artist: | Paw |
| Cover: | Paw-Dragline.jpg |
| Released: | 1993 |
| Studio: | Smart Studios, Madison, Wisconsin |
| Genre: |
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| Length: | 50:18 (1:08:13 in the re-release) |
| Label: | A&M |
| Next Title: | Death to Traitors |
| Next Year: | 1995 |
}}Dragline is the debut studio album by the American grunge band Paw.[1] It was released in 1993 through A&M Records. It sold around 80,000 copies.[2]
The single "Jessie" released in 1993, reached number 82 in the UK.[3] Other singles from the album included "Sleeping Bag" and "Couldn't Know" in 1993.
In 2015, the album was re-released by Cherry Red Records Ltd. with all the b-sides from the singles as bonus tracks as well as extensive liner notes and slightly different artwork (the band logo and the title are smaller).[4]
Produced by Mr. Colson and the band, the album was recorded at Smart Studios, in Madison, Wisconsin.[5] [6]
The Morning Call wrote that "the approach is elemental and effective: a rhythm pounces, and a metallic guitar groove drills holes before surrendering to softly ringing accents or gently strummed acoustics as [Mark] Hennessy sings about death and suffering in a throaty roar."[7] The Los Angeles Times deemed the album "country-grunge," writing: "It would take a major revolution to get country radio to play this—there's way too much wattage in the amps. But there is also plenty of Middle American sensibility, giving this debut a character all its own." The Calgary Herald said that the album "mixes melodic guitar with in-yer-face speed metal, kind-of a Pursuit of Happiness meets Metallica."
Trouser Press wrote that "much of the quartet’s sonic heft emanates from the formidable drum-pounding of Peter Fitch, whose brother Grant hammers out echo-drenched guitar riffs that revisit a limited number of arena-rock clichés with alarming frequency."[8] The New York Times wrote that "Hennessy's conviction, and his ability to distill situations into terse, allusive lyrics, make him a rival of Pearl Jam's Eddie Vedder."[9] The New Yorker called the album "equal parts metallic vigor and Southern-rock grit."[10]
Rolling Stone listed Dragline at No. 35 on its list of the "50 Greatest Grunge Albums."[11] In 2007, Martin Popoff named the album the 15th greatest heavy metal album of the 1990s.
All songs were written by Mark Hennessy and Grant Fitch, except where noted.