Red House Painters "Old Ramon" (2001)

Old Ramon
release date: Apr. 10, 2001
format: digital
[album rate: 3,5 / 5] [3,62]
producer: Mark Kozelek
label: Sub Pop Records - nationality: USA

Track highlights: 2. "Byrd Joel" - 3. "Void" - 4. "Between Days" - 5. "Cruiser" (4 / 5) - 7. "River" - 8. "Smokey" - 10. "Kavita"

6th and final studio album by Red House Painters in a new line-up after guitarist Gordon Mack left the band in '95. Here the band consists of songwriter, vocalist and guitarist Mark Kozelek, new guitarist Phil Carney (former guitarist of Indian Bingo), bassist Jerry Vessel and drummer Anthony Koutsos.

The album was actually recorded three years earlier but due to a merging of labels the band stood without a record contract, and not until Mark Kozelek succeeded in purchasing the recordings of the album, he managed to finally release it on the American label, Sub Pop. All tracks are credited Kozelek and they're typical of his style a combination of alt. folk and singer / songwriter.

Some tracks point to what was to become one of Kozelek's most praised albums - my absolute favourite by Kozelek - the Sun Kil Moon debut album Ghosts of the Great Highway (2003) and as a Red House Painter's album it's quite light-hearted.

Red House Painters dissolved in early 2001, or actually morphed into a new band with primarily Kozelek but also Carney, Vessel and Koutsos taking part in the formation of Sun Kil Moon.

[ allmusic.com, NME 4 / 5 stars ]

Red House Painters "Songs for a Blue Guitar" (1996)

Songs for a Blue Guitar
release date: Jul. 23, 1996
format: digital
[album rate: 3,5 / 5] [3,44]
producer: Mark Kozelek
label: Supreme Recordings - nationality: USA

Track highlights: 1. "Have You Forgotten" (alt. version) - 2. "Song for a Blue Guitar" - 3. "Make Like Paper" - 5. "Trailways" - 7. "Long Distance Runaround" (4 / 5) - 8. "All Mixed Up" - 9. "Revelation Big Sur" (4 / 5) - 10. "Silly Love Songs"

5th studio album by Red House Painters released on Supreme Recordings is basically a Mark Kozelek solo album, as he is the only musician on the album. The band had been on contract with British 4AD Records but after finishing this album the band was released from its contract (as 4AD wouldn't release it). Supreme Recordings (a sub-label of Island Records) eventually signed with the band and released the album. Three of the tracks here are cover versions by Yes (track #7), The Cars (track #8), and Wings (track #10).
It contains both very quiet and slow primarily acoustic tracks, as well as a few garage rock-styled or folk rock-oriented compositions that come close to the style of Neil Young with Crazy Horse, and I think the many soft and hard (unpolished) directions are the weakness of the album, but all in all, a fine album.
[ allmusic.com, Rolling Stone 3,5 / 5 stars ]

Red House Painters "Ocean Beach" (1995)

Ocean Beach
release date: Mar. 28, 1995
format: digital
[album rate: 3,5 / 5] [3,32]
producer: Mark Kozelek
label: 4AD Records - nationality: USA

Track highlights: 1. "Cabezon" - 2. "Summer Dress" - 3. "San Geronimo" - 5. "Over My Head" - 8. "Moments"

4th studio album by Red House Painters is the band's final release on 4AD and also the last to feature founding guitarist Gordon Mack.

The style has been altered compared to the previous albums by the band and their longer progressive takes. Instead the music has become slower, sometimes acoustic - more folk-oriented and less band-founded.

The album may be above average but not as such a favourite.

[ allmusic.com 4,5 / 5, Rolling Stone 4 / 5 stars ]

Red House Painters "Shock Me" (1994) (ep)

Shock Me, ep
release date: Feb. 4, 1994
format: cd
[album rate: 3,5 / 5] [3,38]
producer: Mark Kozelek
label: 4AD Records - nationality: USA

Track highlights: 1. "Shock Me" - 2. "Sundays and Holidays" - 3. "Three-Legged Cat" - 4. "Shock Me (acoustic version) / [untitled track]"

A 4-track ep by Red House Painters released on 4AD follows less than 3 months after the full-length album Red House Painters [II].
The track "Shock Me" (Kiss cover song) comes in two versions, the latter being an acoustic version, lasting 4:32 min. followed by an approx. 6 min. long instrumental untitled track. Both versions of the title track are the ep's strongest (together with the untitled instrumental), and are also nice improvements to the original.
[ allmusic.com 3 / 5 stars ]

Red House Painters "Red House Painters" (2) (1993)

Red House Painters (2)
release date: Oct. 25, 1993
format: digital
[album rate: 3 / 5] [3,22]
producer: Mark Kozelek
label: 4AD Records - nationality: USA

Track highlights: 2. "Bubble" - 3. "I Am a Rock" - 5. "New Jersey" - 7. "Blindfold"

3th studio album by Red House Painters released on 4AD follows only 5 months after Red House Painters [I] (May '93). Like that, it only carries the title of the band name, thus being referred to as either Red House Painters [II], or Red House Painters [Bridge], with reference to the front cover.
Apparently, the album contains leftovers or songs from the same studio recordings as the previous album. It contains two covers: "I Am a Rock" written by Paul Simon and originally performed by Simon & Garfunkel, and the American national anthem "The Star-Spangled Banner" written by the American poet Francis Scott Key.
In my mind this is their so far least interesting album.
[ allmusic.com 3,5 / 5 stars ]

Red House Painters "Red House Painters" (1) (1993)

Red House Painters (1)
release date: May 24, 1993
format: cd
[album rate: 4 / 5] [3,78]
producer: Mark Kozelek
label: 4AD Records - nationality: USA

Tracklist: 1. "Grace Cathedral Park" - 2. "Down Through" - 3. "Katy Song" (4 / 5) - 4. "Mistress" - 5. "Things Mean a Lot" - 6. "Funhouse" - 7. "Take Me Out" - 8. "Rollercoaster" - 9. "New Jersey" - 10. "Dragonflies" - 11. "Mistress" (Piano Version) - 12. "Mother" - 13. "Strawberry Hill" - 14. "Brown Eyes"

2nd studio album by Red House Painters released on 4AD and produced by Mark Kozelek follows only 8 months after the band's debut, Down Colorful Hill (Sep. 1992). The self-titled album is often referred to as Red House Painters [Rollercoaster] with reference to the front cover as also the following album is without other title than the band name thus being referred to as Red House Painters [II], or: Red House Painters [Bridge].

All tracks are credited Mark Kozelek, and it's simply one of the band's best albums. I really like the shoegaze, and dream pop sound and the feel on this one, which may be typical for the productions on 4AD Records, although, it's not really a style related to later Kozelek albums.
[ allmusic.com 4,5 / 5 stars ]

Red House Painters "Down Colorful Hill" (1992)

Down Colorful Hill [debut]
release date: Sep. 14, 1992
format: digital
[album rate: 3,5 / 5] [3,54]
producer: non-produced (Red House Painters recordings)
label: 4AD Records - nationality: USA

Tracklist: 1. "24" - 2. "Medicine Bottle" - 3. "Down Colorful Hill" (4 / 5) - 4. "Japanese to English" - 5. "Lord Kill the Pain" - 6. "Michael"

Studio album debut by American quartet Red House Painters consisting of songwriter, vocalist and guitarist Mark Kozelek, guitarist Gordon Mack, bassist Jerry Vessel and drummer Anthony Koutsos released on the British label 4AD Records.
This is a 6-track album / ep without actual production credits. Fact is, it's practically only the demo-recordings by Red House Painters, which has been mixed by 4AD supervisors, Ivo Watts-Russell and John Fryer. All tracks are credited Mark Kozelek, and like its successor from 1993, it's characterized by a shoegaze or dream pop sound familiar to many other releases on 4AD Records.
This is a more introvert and dark album compared to most other albums by the band, and it also contains styles that may seem a bit confusing. The tracks "Lord Kill the Pain" and partly "Michael" sounds like copies of some tracks by The Smiths, which is far from the rest. Having said that, this is highly recommendable, and a great debut.
[ allmusic.com 4,5 / 5 stars ]