Starlite Walker

Starlite Walker is the first studio album by American indie rock band Silver Jews.^[8][9] It was released in 1994 as an LP and CD on Drag City (DC55) in America and on Domino (WIG15) in Europe.^[10][11]

Starlite Walker
Studio album by Silver Jews
Released	October 24, 1994
Recorded	June 1994
Genre	Alternative country[1]
Length	32:46
Label	Drag City
Producer	Davis McCain, Doug Easley, Silver Jews
Silver Jews chronology
The Arizona Record (1993) Starlite Walker (1994) The Natural Bridge (1996)

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[2]
The Encyclopedia of Popular Music	[3]
Entertainment Weekly	B[4]
MusicHound Rock: The Essential Album Guide	[5]
The New Rolling Stone Album Guide	[6]
Record Collector	[7]

Production

Starlite Walker was recorded in 1994 at Easley Recordings, in Memphis, Tennessee.^[2] It was produced by Davis McCain, Doug Easley, and the band.^[5] David Berman claimed that "Trains Across the Sea" was the first song that he ever composed.^[12]

In a documentary about the band, Berman stated that the early development of the album was influenced by his job as a security guard at the Whitney: "We were working at the Whitney with all this conceptual art, and we were learning about it … and so I thought, “Well let’s just make this record that looks like a record, and has song titles and everything, but the songs would be the ones we make at home that sound terrible.”^[13]

Music

In his book Gimme Indie Rock, music journalist Andrew Earles wrote that the album "mixes '70s afternoon rock, Pavement's indie balladry, Berman's poignant lyricism, and lone troubadour folk of the '60s and '70s".^[14]

Critical reception

Trouser Press wrote that "while it gets laid-back enough at times to pass for a long-lost New Riders of the Purple Sage album, Starlite Walker possesses enough temperate charm to soothe even the most savage discordophile."^[15] Drowned in Sound wrote that the album "may very well be the greatest jam session of half-formed ideas ever made."^[16]

Track listing

All tracks composed by David Berman; except where indicated

1. "Introduction II"
2. "Trains Across the Sea"
3. "The Moon Is the Number 18"
4. "Advice to the Graduate"
5. "Tide to the Oceans" (Berman, Stephen Malkmus)
6. "Pan American Blues"
7. "New Orleans"
8. "The Country Diary of a Subway Conductor"
9. "Living Waters"
10. "Rebel Jew"
11. "The Silver Pageant"

Personnel

Personnel

The Silver Jews

• David Berman – lead vocals, guitar, piano, percussion
• Stephen Malkmus – guitar, backing vocals, piano, bass, percussion
• Steve West – drums, backing vocals, percussion
• Bob Nastanovich – drums, backing vocals, percussion, synthesizer

Additional personnel

• Doug Easley – pedal steel guitar; whistle on "Living Waters"
• David McCain — pink noise
• Andra Sherman — triangle
• Dan Mackta — Wurlitzer electric piano on "The Country Diary of a Subway Conductor"
• David McCain – engineer, producer
• Doug Easley – engineer, producer
• Billy Smith – photography

References

1. Buckley, Peter (2003). The Rough Guide to Rock. Rough Guides. p. 775. ISBN 978-1-84353-105-0.
2. Phares, Heather. "Starlite Walker - Silver Jews | Songs, Reviews, Credits". AllMusic. Retrieved January 10, 2021.
3. Larkin, Colin (2006). The Encyclopedia of Popular Music. MUZE. p. 457. ISBN 978-0-19-531373-4.
4. Browne, David (January 27, 1995). "The latest in indie music". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved January 10, 2021.
5. MusicHound Rock: The Essential Album Guide. Visible Ink Press. 1999. p. 1015. ISBN 978-1-57859-061-2.
6. The New Rolling Stone Album Guide. Simon & Schuster. 2004. p. 735.
7. "Starlite Walker - Record Collector Magazine".
8. Phares, Heather. "Silver Jews Biography, Songs, & Albums". AllMusic. Retrieved January 10, 2021.
9. Bevan, David (September 6, 2012). "SILVER JEWS – 'STARLITE WALKER'". Spin. Retrieved January 10, 2021.
10. "Silver Jews - Starlite Walker | Drag City". Drag City. Retrieved January 10, 2021.
11. "Silver Jews - Starlite Walker (CD) | Domino Mart". Domino Recording Company. Retrieved January 10, 2021.
12. Hogan, Marc; Sodomsky, Sam (August 9, 2019). "15 Songs That Defined David Berman's Heavy Magic". Pitchfork. Retrieved January 10, 2021.
13. Deluca, Leo (2018-10-19). "Silver Jews' 'American Water' Turns 20". Stereogum. Retrieved 2024-05-29.
14. Earles, Andrew (2014). Gimme Indie Rock: 500 Essential Underground Rock Albums 1981-1996. Voyageur Press (published September 15, 2014). p. 284.
15. Sprague, Deborah; Simon, Jesse. "Silver Jews". Trouser Press. Retrieved January 10, 2021.
16. Porter, Bruce (June 30, 2009). "Alt Country Week: Silver Jews - A Morality Play in Six Acts". Drowned in Sound. Archived from the original on August 15, 2019. Retrieved January 10, 2021.