Phonography | ||||
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Compilation album by | ||||
Released | April 26, 1976 | |||
Recorded | 1973–1976 | |||
Genre | ||||
Length | 44:07 | |||
Label | Vital | |||
Producer | R. Stevie Moore | |||
Compiler | Harry Palmer | |||
R. Stevie Moore chronology | ||||
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Phonography is the first official album by American multi-instrumentalist R. Stevie Moore, released in 1976 on the artist's private Vital Records "label". Its initial vinyl pressing was limited to 100 copies. The album mostly consists of selections from his self-released albums Stevie Moore Often (1975) and Stevie Moore Returns (1976), all recorded on 1/4 track 7½ ips reel-to-reel stereo tape decks. A 7-inch EP was issued in 1977 called Four from Phonography, which was the debut release by Moore's uncle Harry Palmer's H.P. Music label.
The album attracted a following among New York's punk and new wave circles.[1] One contemporary review in New York's Trouser Press magazine called the album "an outrageous collection of musical brain spewage" and "a true slash of genius".[2] Phonography ultimately became the best-known album of Moore's career.[3] In 1996, the album was included in the Rolling Stone book Alt-Rock-A-Rama as being among "The Fifty Most Significant Indie Records".[4] In 2011, The Wire's Matthew Ingram noted the album for anticipating "lo-fi, DIY, Hypnagogic Pop and more".[3]