Pony Express Record Explained

Pony Express Record
Type:	Album
Artist:	Shudder to Think
Cover:	STTPXR.jpg
Recorded:	1993^[1]
Studio:	Oz Studios, Baltimore
Length:	53:50
Label:	Epic
Producer:	Ted Niceley
Prev Title:	Get Your Goat
Prev Year:	1992
Next Title:	50,000 B.C.
Next Year:	1997

Pony Express Record is the fifth studio album by American post-hardcore band Shudder to Think, released in 1994 by Epic Records. It was the first album of the band to feature guitarist Nathan Larson and drummer Adam Wade, after the departure of founding members Chris Matthews and Mike Russell. The album saw the band attempting to craft a unique sound. According to Wade, "high up on our agenda it was like, 'No matter what, we cannot sound like anybody else.' We didn’t want to be Fugazi or Soundgarden—though those influences were there."^[2]

Reception

Pony Express Record has received considerable critical acclaim. Greg Prato of AllMusic retrospectively regarded it as "one of the most underrated rock records of the '90s". In 2003, Stylus Magazine writer Deen Freelon wrote that the album was "a jaw-dropping, head-scratching masterpiece back in '94 and remains so today".^[3]

Pitchfork placed the album at number 29 on its original 1999 list of the top 100 albums of the 1990s.^[4]

Track listing

All songs written by Craig Wedren, except where noted.

PonyExpressRecord.com exclusive MP3s

1. "Little by Little (vox)"
2. "Little by Little (no vox)"
3. "Circus Metal (PXR demo)"
4. "Kissi Penny (PXR demo)"
5. "Gang of $ (PXR demo)"
6. "X-French Tee Shirt (PXR demo)"

Personnel

Personnel per booklet.

Band

• Craig Wedren – lead vocals, guitar
• Nathan Larson – guitar
• Stuart Hill – bass
• Adam Wade – drums

Production

• Ted Niceley – production
• Andy Wallace – mixing
• Bob Ludwig – mastering
• Michael Rippe – assistant engineer
• Steve Palmieri – engineer
• Steve Cisco – engineer (mix)
• Will Weems – artwork, photography

Notes and References

1. https://www.facebook.com/shuddertothinkofficial/posts/oz-studios-baltimore-md-1993/910017035759332/
2. Web site: Jarnstrom . David . September 25, 2014 . Encore: Adam Wade On Shudder To Think’s Pony Express Record . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20230529100443/https://www.moderndrummer.com/2014/09/encore-adam-wade-shudder-thinks-pony-express-record/ . May 29, 2023 . December 13, 2023 . Modern Drummer.
3. Web site: Shudder to Think – Pony Express Record – On Second Thought. Stylus Magazine. September 1, 2003. May 28, 2020. Freelon. Deen. https://web.archive.org/web/20160303185744/http://www.stylusmagazine.com/articles/on_second_thought/shudder-to-think-pony-express-record.htm. March 3, 2016. dead.
4. Web site: Top 100 Albums of the '90s. 8. Pitchfork. May 28, 2020. https://web.archive.org/web/20000614184134/http://www.pitchforkmedia.com/top/90s/index8.shtml. June 14, 2000. dead.