| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [1] |
| Christgau's Consumer Guide | B+[2] |
| Spin Alternative Record Guide | 7/10[3] |
The Wayward Bus is the second studio album by American indie pop band The Magnetic Fields, released in 1992 by record label PoPuP.
As with the band's previous album Distant Plastic Trees, Susan Anway acts as lead vocalist on The Wayward Bus, which is the last Magnetic Fields album to feature her in this role. Subsequent albums would see the Magnetic Fields' chief songwriter Stephin Merritt and other band members take on lead vocal duties.
Merritt acknowledged the influence of Phil Spector on the first half of the album: "It's a comment about Phil Spector songs. The second half is whatever I had lying around. Most people listen just to the first half of the record and assume it's all like that, a Phil Spector tribute or something, which it really isn't."[4]
Content
The title of the album is taken from the John Steinbeck novel The Wayward Bus.
The front cover was painted by Wendy Smith, the girlfriend of Stuart Moxham from Young Marble Giants. She had previously provided front covers for releases by The Gist and The Weekend.[5]
Release
The Wayward Bus was reissued by Merge Records in 1994 as the second half of a double album compilation with Distant Plastic Trees.
Track listing
All tracks are written by Stephin Merritt.
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "When You Were My Baby" | 2:43 |
| 2. | "The Saddest Story Ever Told" | 2:12 |
| 3. | "Lovers from the Moon" | 2:52 |
| 4. | "Candy" | 2:32 |
| 5. | "Tokyo à Go-Go" | 3:12 |
| 6. | "Summer Lies" | 2:59 |
| 7. | "Old Orchard Beach" | 2:54 |
| 8. | "Jeremy" | 3:01 |
| 9. | "Dancing in Your Eyes" | 2:56 |
| 10. | "Suddenly There Is a Tidal Wave" | 3:18 |
Personnel
- Stephin Merritt – songwriting, instrumentation and production
- Claudia Gonson – cocktail drums
- Sam Davol – cello
- Additional personnel
- Susan Anway – vocals
- Johny Blood – tuba, horns
- Wendy Smith – album cover
References
- ^ Orens, Geoff. "The Wayward Bus – Magnetic Fields". AllMusic. Retrieved February 22, 2016.
- ^ Christgau, Robert (2000). "Magnetic Fields: The Wayward Bus". Christgau's Consumer Guide: Albums of the '90s. Macmillan Publishers. ISBN 0-312-24560-2. Retrieved February 22, 2016.
- ^ Weisbard, Eric; Marks, Craig, eds. (1995). Spin Alternative Record Guide. Vintage Books. ISBN 0-679-75574-8.
- ^ https://www.avclub.com/stephin-merritt-1798207855
- ^ http://www.youngmarblegiants.com/ymgfaq.html