The Modern Dance

The Modern Dance
Studio album by Pere Ubu
Released	January 1978
Recorded	October 1976; January 1977; November 1977
Studio	Cleveland Recording and Suma Studios, Cleveland, Ohio, United States
Genre	Art punk[1]
Length	36:20
Label	Blank
Producer	Pere Ubu Ken Hamann
Pere Ubu chronology
The Modern Dance (1978) Dub Housing (1978)

The Modern Dance is the debut studio album by American rock band Pere Ubu. It was released in January 1978 by record label Blank.

A 5.1 surround sound version was released as the DVD-Audio side of a DualDisc in 2005.

Track listing

All songs written and composed by Pere Ubu (David Thomas, Tom Herman, Allen Ravenstine, Tony Maimone and Scott Krauss), except as noted.

Side one

1. "Non-Alignment Pact" – 3:18
2. "The Modern Dance" – 3:28
3. "Laughing" – 4:35
4. "Street Waves" – 3:04
5. "Chinese Radiation" – 3:27

Side two

1. "Life Stinks" (Peter Laughner) – 1:52
2. "Real World" – 3:59
3. "Over My Head" – 3:48
4. "Sentimental Journey" – 6:05
5. "Humor Me" – 2:44

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[1]
Christgau's Record Guide	A–[2]
Encyclopedia of Popular Music	[3]
The Great Rock Discography	9/10[4]
Q	[5]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide	[6]
Spin Alternative Record Guide	10/10[7]

The Modern Dance has been critically acclaimed. In a contemporary review for The Village Voice, Robert Christgau wrote that "even though there's too much Radio Ethiopia and not enough Redondo Beach," he would be "listening through the failed stuff—the highs are worth it".^[8] Christgau later raised his initial B+ rating a notch and re-affirmed that "the highs are worth it, and the failed stuff ain't bad" in his revised review.^[2] At the same time, Ken Tucker, writing in Rolling Stone, called it vivid and exhilarating, even if "harsh and willfully ugly".^[9]

Personnel

Pere Ubu

• David Thomas – vocals, musette, percussion, production
• Tom Herman – guitar, backing vocals, production
• Allen Ravenstine – EML 101 & 200 analog synthesizers, saxophone, tapes, production
• Tony Maimone – bass, piano, backing vocals, production
• Scott Krauss – drums, production
• Tim Wright – bass guitar on "The Modern Dance" and "Sentimental Journey", production

Technical

• S. W. Taylor – sleeve artwork
• Ken Hamann – engineering, production
• Mike Bishop – engineering assistance
• Paul Hamann – engineering assistance
• Mik Mellen – sleeve photography

Release history

Year of Release	Place of Release	Format	Label
1978	United States	Vinyl LP	Blank
1981	United Kingdom	Vinyl LP	Rough Trade
1988	United Kingdom	Vinyl LP	Fontana
1988	Germany	CD	Fontana
1998	United Kingdom	CD	Cooking Vinyl
1998	United States	CD	DGC
1999	Italy	Vinyl LP	Get Back
2005	Europe	DualDisc	Silverline
2007	United States	Vinyl LP	Blank
2008	United Kingdom	CD	Cooking Vinyl
2015	United Kingdom & United States	CD and Vinyl LP	Fire Records (UK)

References

1. Dougan, John. "The Modern Dance – Pere Ubu". AllMusic. Retrieved January 20, 2013.
2. Christgau, Robert. "Pere Ubu: The Modern Dance". RobertChristgau.com. Retrieved November 20, 2007.
3. Larkin, Colin (2007). The Encyclopedia of Popular Music (5th ed.). Omnibus Press. ISBN 0-857-12595-8.
5. "Pere Ubu: The Modern Dance". Q: 123. [I]f you're curious about the original post-punks, THE MODERN DANCE remains absolutely essential. Cited at "The Modern Dance CD". Buy.com. Retrieved October 16, 2006.
6. DeCurtis, Anthony; Henke, James; George-Warren, Holly, eds. (1992). The Rolling Stone Album Guide (3rd ed.). Random House. ISBN 0-679-73729-4.
7. Weisbard, Eric; Marks, Craig, eds. (1995). Spin Alternative Record Guide. Vintage Books. ISBN 0-679-75574-8.
8. Christgau, Robert (March 27, 1978). "Christgau's Consumer Guide". The Village Voice. Retrieved January 26, 2012.
9. Tucker, Ken (June 1, 1978). "Pere Ubu The Modern Dance / The Suicide Commandos Make a Record > Album Reviews". Rolling Stone (266). Archived from the original on 1 October 2007. Retrieved 29 August 2007.

External links

• The Modern Dance at Discogs (list of releases)