Love Is a Dog from Hell explained

Love is a Dog From Hell
Type:studio
Artist:Maggie Estep
Cover:Maggie Estep - Love is a Dog From Hell.jpg
Genre:Spoken word, trip hop, ambient, alternative rock
Label:Mouth Almighty/Mercury
Producer:Knox Chandler, Maggie Estep, Steve Lyon
Prev Title:No More Mr. Nice Girl
Prev Year:1994

Love is a Dog From Hell is the second and final studio album by American spoken word artist Maggie Estep. It was released on July 1, 1997 via Mouth Almighty and Mercury Records.[1] [2] The album represents a musical departure from Estep's previous album, No More Mr. Nice Girl. It features spoken word tracks that are influenced by various electronic music genres, such as ambient, techno and trip hop, as well as "straight-on rock songs."[3]

The album also includes a cover of the Lou Reed song, "Vicious", from Transformer. A music video for the cover was directed by Steve Buscemi and features an appearance by Reed.

Critical reception

The album generally received positive reviews. Stephen Thomas Erlewine of Allmusic wrote: "Although Maggie Estep's poetry, prose and songs lose some power when they are not seen live, Love Is a Dog from Hell is a more effective album than her debut, No More Mister Nice Girl. Estep sounds more comfortable in the studio than before, and the musical backdrops are a little sharper," while also describing her words as "stellar, capturing her acidic wit at its biting best." Tom Roe of CMJ also praised the album, stating: "Estep sounds more at home in this environment than making all that pseudo-metal noise." He also compared Estep to other "poets with musical sides", such as John S. Hall and Laurie Anderson, while noting the newly introduced ambient and techno elements in her music.[4] Village Voice critic Robert Christgau named "Emotional Idiot", "Jenny's Shirt", and "Scab Maids on Speed" as highlights while giving the album an honorable mention in his May 1997 "Consumer Guide" column.[5]

Track listing

  1. "Master of Lunacy"  - 3:52
  2. "I'm an Emotional Idiot"  - 2:09
  3. "Mrs. McCormick"  - 0:08
  4. "Gum"  - 3:39
  5. "Stalk Me"  - 3:07
  6. "Portnoy's Psychiatric Complaint"  - 0:27
  7. "Vicious" (Lou Reed)  - 3:00
  8. "Fireater"  - 4:17
  9. "David Cronenberg"  - 0:35
  10. "(Writer Guy) I Want Mangos"  - 3:37
  11. "Jenny's Shirt"  - 4:12
  12. "How to Get Free Hamburgers"  - 4:19
  13. "Miles Howard Chandler"  - 0:08
  14. "Scab Maids On Speed"  - 1:33
  15. "Welcome To The Monkeyhouse"  - 3:59

Personnel

Guest speakers
Additional personnel

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Gen-X Icon, Poet and Novelist Maggie Estep Dead at 50 . . February 13, 2014 . February 14, 2014 . Grow, Kory.
  2. Book: Thus Spake the Corpse: Poetry & essays . David R. Godine Publisher . Codrescu, Andrei and Laura Rosenthal . 1999 . 408 . 1574231006.
  3. Web site: Maggie Estep Gets 'Vicious' With Lou Reed . https://web.archive.org/web/20140222085126/http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/509718/maggie-estep-gets-vicious-with-lou-reed.jhtml . dead . February 22, 2014 . . May 31, 1997 . February 14, 2014 . Kaufman, Gil.
  4. Maggie Estep - Love is a Dog From Hell . Roe, Tom . . August 1997 . 48 . 30 . 1074-6978 .
  5. News: Christgau. Robert. May 27, 1997. Consumer Guide. The Village Voice. July 8, 2020.
  6. CMJ Top 200 . . September 1997 . 51 . 537 . 8 . 0890-0795 .

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