Review #7 - Pavement

Crooked Rain, Crooked Rain - 9.9
I know, this is my second Pavement review in a row....Sometimes I just want to listen to Pavement and nothing else, so why not be productive while I'm at it?
Crooked Rain is an incredible album. In my opinion, it is Pavement's first true masterpiece. Many would argue that Slanted and Enchanted is their first and also finest work, but I strongly disagree. Pavement really hit their stride here.
From probably their best album-opener in "Silence Kit" to all around great songs like "Gold Soundz" and "Heaven is a Truck," Crooked Rain is a very solid album. It also features tons of awe-inspiring moments as well: The opening hook to "Elevate Me Later," "Stop Breathin"'s spectacular guitar solo...
Arguably two of the band's finest tracks are also collected here. "Cut Your Hair" is probably their biggest single and closest brush with mainstream fame and success. Then you have "Range Life," which is their finest moment in my estimation.
The reason I took off .1 points and didn't make this album a perfect 10 is because side 2 of this LP features several throwaway tracks. I'm sure the band was going for experimentation, but I would have preferred more great songs instead of "5/4 = Unity" and "Hit the Plane Down."
However, those songs would still be above average moments on another band's album. They are surrounded by such greatness that they seem like a cut below here.
So many of Pavement's best songs come from this album, and it is probably almost universally considered their best album, with greatest going to Slanted and Enchanted.
One beef before I end this review...Rateyourmusic has Crooked Rain ranked as the third best album of 1994. How on earth did Nas and Portishead beat this album out?! "Glory Box" is a great song...but its just one song.