Soma Holiday (the Proletariat album) explained

Soma Holiday
Type:album
Artist:the Proletariat
Cover:TheProletariat_SomaHolidayLP_cover.jpeg
Released:1983
Recorded:March 1982  -
Studio:Radiobeat
Language:English
Chronology:The Proletariat
Prev Title:Distortion
Prev Year:1982
Next Title:Marketplace
Next Year:1985

Soma Holiday is the second release and the first studio album[1] by American punk rock band the Proletariat. It was also the debut output for Radiobeat Records.

The record was named after the drug used to control society in Aldous Huxley's novel Brave New World.[2] [3] [4] [5]

Production and release

Produced by Jimmy Dufour, Lou Giordano[1] and Frank Michaels, Soma Holiday was recorded and mixed at Radiobeat Studios in Boston, Massachusetts. Bill Kipper was in charge of the mastering of the album at Masterdisk in New York City.

The record includes the songs "Splendid Wars", "Events/Repeat", "Blind", and "Torn Curtain", which were originally featured on the band's debut EP Distortion, a limited edition seven-track cassette tape self-released the previous year.[1] [6]

Soma Holiday was originally co-released in 1983, as LP, on band's Non-U label and Radiobeat Records.[7] [8] [9] A second pressing of the album would be released later that same year.

Critical reception

In a contemporary review of the album, Joyce Millman, music critic at The Boston Phoenix, wrote:

Around the same time, Jeff Bale from Maximumrocknroll, was of the view that:

Distortion EP

Distortion
Type:ep
Artist:the Proletariat
Cover:TheProletariat DistortionEP cover.png
Released:July 1982
Recorded:November 1981  - March 1982
Studio:Radiobeat
Language:English
Label:Non-U
Producer:Jimmy Dufour
Chronology:The Proletariat
Next Title:Soma Holiday
Next Year:1983

Distortion is a seven-song EP and the first stand-alone release by the Proletariat. It was issued in July 1982[10] on the band's own label, Non-U Records, as a limited edition single-sided C46 cassette tape.[1] [6] [11] [12] [13]

The EP is composed of songs recorded in three separate sessions at Radiobeat Studios in Boston, Massachusetts with producer Jimmy Dufour:[14] "After the Rise" was recorded in November 1981 with Jimmy Johnson as audio engineer, "Westernization" was engineered by Dufour himself in January 1982, whereas the rest of the tracks were laid down in March 1982 with recording engineer Lou Giordano.[11]

The songs "Torn Curtain", "Splendid Wars", "Blind", and "Events/Repeat" would be re-released the following year on the band's first studio album Soma Holiday.[1]

The tracks "After the Rise", "White Hands", and "Westernization" would not be reissued until 1998, when they were included on the band's anthology Voodoo Economics and Other American Tragedies.[15] [6] [16] [17]

The cover and label art were designed by graphic artist Pickles. The insert liner notes sheet was created by Frank Michaels and Richard Brown. The EP's artwork includes a reproduction of Dorothea Lange's photo Migrant Mother (1936).[11]

Track listing

Music, lyrics, and arrangements by the Proletariat.[11]

Reissues

Long out of print in its original form, Soma Holiday was re-released, in its entirety, as part of the band's 2-CD anthology Voodoo Economics and Other American Tragedies, compiled in 1998 by Taang! Records.[6] [16] [17]

In October 1999, apparently under license from the band, the album was reissued in cassette-only format, featuring alternate cover art, on Social Napalm Records,[18] [19] a small DIY label based in Chelmsford, Massachusetts.

On October 21, 2016, 33 years after its debut, Soma Holiday was re-released for the first time in its original vinyl format, on Sacramento-based label Ss Records;[20] [5] [21] [22] [23] [24] [25] which also simultaneously released the album for the first time on CD.[20]

Track listing

Music by Peter Bevilacqua and Frank Michaels, lyrics by Richard Brown, except where noted. Arrangements by the Proletariat.

Personnel

The Proletariat[1]

Additional performers

Production

Additional production (2016 remastered LP reissue)

Further reading

Magazines

External links

Articles

Reviews

Notes and References

  1. [Joyce Millman|Millman, Joyce]
  2. https://web.archive.org/web/20170123042546/http://theproletariat.com/biograph.htm "The Proletariat: Biography"
  3. Foley, Ryan. "The Proletariat". The Music Museum of New England. Retrieved April 28, 2016.
  4. Scott, Tim (September 4, 2016). "How The Proletariat Became One Of the Most Incendiary Bands in Reagan’s America" (interview). Noisey. Retrieved September 15, 2016.
  5. Carnes, Aaron (October 25, 2016). "The Return of Boston Hardcore Anomaly, The Proletariat" (interview). Noisey. Retrieved October 27, 2016.
  6. Anderson, Rick. "Voodoo Economics and Other American Tragedies: AllMusic Review by Rick Anderson". AllMusic. Retrieved August 30, 2016.
  7. https://web.archive.org/web/20160601142744/http://theproletariat.com/soma.htm "The Proletariat: Soma Holiday"
  8. . Kill from the Heart. Archived from on June 2, 2016.
  9. https://web.archive.org/web/20161009144149/http://theproletariat.com/prole_soma_ad_frame.htm Soma Holiday, advertisement (1983)
  10. [Joyce Millman|Millman, Joyce]
  11. https://web.archive.org/web/20161009110638/http://theproletariat.com/distortion_art.htm The Proletariat, Distortion, insert art
  12. Quint, Al (September 1982). "The Proletariat: Distortion (Cassette)". Suburban Punk (1).
  13. https://web.archive.org/web/20161009111001/http://theproletariat.com/distortion_art2.htm Distortion, advertisement (1982)
  14. Sheena (September 1982). "The Proletariat: From Each According to His Ability". Boston Rock (32). Archived from the original on November 7, 2016.
  15. Taang! #TAANG! 127
  16. Suburban Voice (ca. 2000). "The Proletariat: Voodoo Economics and Other American Tragedies (Taang! Dbl CD)" (review). Suburban Voice (43).
  17. https://web.archive.org/web/20170123042543/http://theproletariat.com/voodoo.htm "The Proletariat: Voodoo Economics and Other American Tragedies"
  18. http://www.socialnapalm.com/label.htm "SNR#1 - The Proletariat - "Soma Holiday" cassette tape"
  19. . Kill from the Heart. Archived from on May 5, 2016.
  20. Ss #SS085
  21. Marotta, Michael (August 12, 2016). "Anti-Indifference: Hardcore punk band The Proletariat return after three-decade hiatus". Vanyaland. Retrieved August 20, 2016.
  22. Ss Records; Sol Re Sol Records (August 16, 2016). "The Proletariat for President!". Ss Records – Sol Re Sol Records. Retrieved August 20, 2016.
  23. Jones, AJ "Phink" (August 19, 2016). "The Proletariat Reform and Announce First Reunion Shows". ThePunkSite. Retrieved August 20, 2016.
  24. Sperry-Fromm, Rob (September 8, 2016). "The Proletariat reissuing debut, going on reunion tour; Gang Green playing shows too". BrooklynVegan. Retrieved September 15, 2016.
  25. http://ss-records-sol-re-sol-records.myshopify.com/collections/ss-records/products/the-proletariat-soma-holiday-lp "The Proletariat - Soma Holiday LP"

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