Everything about Long Division totally explained
Long Division is the second album by the
Rustic Overtones, originally released on November 17, 1995. Clocking in at and hour and seven minutes, the album remains the band's longest release to date. "Simple Song," the second track from the album, received extensive airtime by Portland alternative station
WCYY, and is largely responsible for the band's rise to prominence on the Portland music scene. The album remains a fan favorite, and will be re-released in a special edition format with three bonus tracks in early 2008.
Musical Stlye
Shish Boom Bam, with songs such as "Fake Face" and "Colors of Discipline" essentially being straight ska songs and many other songs having heavy ska influences. However, the album also expanded the horizons of the band's sound further into the realms of rock and soul. Songs such as "Simple Song" and "Dig" were essentially at their core rock songs, and "20 Years" was arguably the heaviest alternative song that they'd yet put out, a style that they'd eventually pursue on 2001's
Viva Nueva! The straight jam feeling that much of the songs of Shish Boom Bam was infused into the songs of Long Division with more of a funk and soul feeling, much thanks to the addition of keyboardist
Spencer Albee. Albee's keyboards gave the band a much more soul feeling that the band had lacked before Long Division that would soon come to largely define the band's sound.
Legacy
"Long Division" remains a favorite among the Rustic Overtones' fan base, despite not being widely available for nearly a decade. Several songs from the album were put into WCYY's regular rotation, including "Simple Song," which topped the station's listener vote-based "top 5 at five" for months. Long Division is often seen as the band's "breakthrough" album that made them a big name in the
Portland, Maine local music scene, largely thanks to the large amount of airtime that "Simple Song" received. Prior to the breakup, many songs from the album were commonly found in their setlists. After the band reunited in 2007, songs from the album were less commonly played as the touring was more focused around material from
Rooms by the Hour,
Viva Nueva! and
Light at the End, although songs such as "About a Kid," "Simple Song," "Long Division," and "Pop Trash" are still occasionally played. Despite its important status as the band's breakthrough album and its popularity among the fans, until spring 2008 the band hadn't released the album since the days of Rooms by the Hours, making the album nearly impossible to find. Occasional copies were still found on websites such as
eBay and
Amazon.com, although they usually ended up selling for high amounts of money. Copies could also rarely be found at second-hand music stores across the northeast United States, especially in
Maine and
Massachusetts, the states where the band toured the most during their original run.
Track listing
- "About a Kid"
- "Simple Song"
- "Spunk Drive 185"
- "Colors of Discipline"
- "20 Years"
- "Fake Face"
- "Dig"
- "Feel"
- "Pimp"
- "Long Division"
- "Slowly"
- "Outlaw Biker"
- "Pop Trash"
2008 Deluxe Edition bonus tracks
-
- "Red Afternoon"
-
- "Redemption Pays"
-
- "Let Me Grabbitz"
2008 Re-release
On November 15, 2007, the band announced in a teaser trailer on their MySpace that they were to re-release the album for the holiday season. The trailer, whose main purpose was to announce a Rustic Overtones documentary/live DVD to be released in spring 2008, featured the song "About a Kid" from the album. On November 24, 2007, the band announced to the crowd at a show at Portland club "The Asylum" that the album was to be re-released on the band's new record deal, and that the re-issue would contain outtakes from the original album sessions. Due to delays, the album wasn't re-released until March 19, 2007, independently and not on the band's new record deal as previously assumed. This new deluxe edition features old and new artwork by Patrick Corrigan on cardboard packaging that includes an essay by drummer Tony McNaboe as a fold-out insert. The new releases' bonus tracks include "Red Afternoon" which was toured during the band's original run, "Redemption Pays," and "Let Me Grabbitz," which was originally known to fans as "The Secret Song."
Personnel
- Dave Gutter - lead vocals, guitar, lyrics
- "Captain Beautiful" (Spencer Albee) - keyboards, piano, backing vocals
- Tony McNaboe - drums, backing vocals
- Jon Roods - bass, backing vocals
- Ryan Zoidis - alto saxophone, backing vocals
- Jason Ward - baritone saxophone, backing vocals, lyrics on "Pimp"
- Pete Giordano - additional vocals on "About a Kid"
- Brant Dadaleares - guest vocals on "20 Years"
- Paul Chamberlain - guest trumpet on "20 Years"
- Steve Marquis - guest guitar on "20 Years"
- Matt Staples - guest percussion on "20 Years"
- Colin Decker - producer, engineer, mixer
- Jonathan Wyman - mastering
- Susan Morrow - band photos
- Patrick Corrigan - album artwork and design
- O Brian Lawrence - album design
Further Information
Get more info on 'Long Division'.
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