Released June 22, 1994 | Length 50:03 | |
Recorded November 29–December 5, 1993 Tortoise(1994) Rhythms, Resolutions & Clusters(1995) | ||
Tortoise is the eponymous debut studio album by Chicago-based instrumental rock band Tortoise. It was released in 1994 on the Thrill Jockey record label. By March 1998, Tortoise had sold 35,000 copies (8,000 LPs and 27,000 CDs).
The album is dedicated to the memory Michael F. Cergizan, who was a member of bassist Doug McCombs', and John Herndon's (both current members of Tortoise) band "Simple." in 1988.
The song "Cornpone Brunch" begins with a sample of the "Wonderful Radio Jingle" at the beginning of The Who Sell Out.
Reception
In his review for Allmusic, Glenn Swan states "Here, multi-instrumentalists John McEntire, Dan Bitney, John Herdon, Douglas McCombs, and Bundy K. Brown share equal responsibility and trust in each other, pouring out a thick stew of meditative grooves, light production experiments, and rusty guitar-string ambience -- the likes of which have rarely sounded so approachable, but this is not to say the album is a sellout leap into commercialism. There are a couple head scratchers and murky moments that fail to make much of an impact, but the quintet have spun such a rich web of mood and personality that any fall from grace barely changes altitude".