Originally released in 2005, “Prisoners of Love” collects Yo La Tengo’s finest moments from their first 16 years of recording – including fan faves like the first single ‘Autumn Sweater’, ‘Sugarcube’ and ‘Stockholm Syndrome’ and weirder cuts like their covers of Sun Ra’s ‘Nuclear War’ and Sandy Denny’s ‘By The Time It Gets Dark’.
Stretched across two discs and assembled musically rather than chronologically, Prisoners of Love is a fine way to get acquainted with Yo La Tengo, one of the US indie scene’s most reliable bands. Since forming in Hoboken, New Jersey back in 1984, the band have impressed critics and a tight but reliable global fanbase with their serious indie stylings, veering from the jangly pop of their 1986 debut album “Ride the Tiger” to the spacey…
…romanticism of 2013’s “Fade”. This bumper compilation celebrates the band’s first run of records – they’ve been around as long now since it was released as they were when it was released – and picks out their outstanding moments. It’s a weird way to absorb the Yo La Tengo if you’re a fan, as their albums have always been reliable and carefully pieced together, but when you’re looking at a catalogue of almost 20 full-lengths it can be hard to know where to start.
So “Prisoners of Love” works fine as an intro, starting strong with early hits like the fuzzy Sonic Youth-esque ‘Sugarcube’ and ‘Stockholm Syndrome’, moving through anthemic indie dancefloor classic ‘Tom Courtenay’, moody lounge-influenced ‘Autumn Sweater’ and the punky ‘The Story of Jazz’. And since no YLT compilation would be complete without at least a few covers, their versions of Sun Ra’s ‘Nuclear War’ and Sandy Denny’s ‘By The Time It Gets Dark’ lead off the album. The addition of a suite of demos and alternate versions is an an extra bonus – Kevin Shields’ chunky rework of ‘Autumn Sweater’ is essential.
CD1:
1. Shaker (3:20)
2. Sugarcube (3:21)
3. Barnaby, Hardly Working (4:37)
4. Little Eyes (4:22)
5. Stockholm Syndrome (2:51)
6. Our Way to Fall (4:18)
7. From a Motel 6 (4:09)
8. Swing for Life (5:17)
9. Tom Courtenay (3:30)
10. Lewis (2:30)
11. I Heard You Looking (7:02)
12. You Can Have It All (4:37)
13. Did I Tell You (3:28)
CD2:
1. The River of Water (2:32)
2. Autumn Sweater (5:18)
3. Big Day Coming (Second Version) (4:16)
4. Pablo and Andrea (4:16)
5. Drug Test (4:09)
6. Season of the Shark (4:30)
7. Upside-Down (2:41)
8. The Summer (2:40)
9. Tears Are in Your Eyes (4:35)
10. Blue Line Swinger (9:30)
11. The Story of Jazz (3:35)
12. Nuclear War (Version 1) (7:36)
13. By the Time It Gets Dark (3:02)
CD3:
1. Stay Away from Heaven (4:31)
2. Pencil Test (3:39)
3. Almost True (3:05)
4. Tom Courtenay (Acoustic Version) (3:13)
5. Big Day Coming (Demo) (3:43)
6. Dreaming (3:37)
7. Bad Politics (2:59)
8. Blue-Green Arrow (5:42)
9. Decora (Acoustic Version) (3:05)
10. Out the Window (4:16)
11. Weather Shy (4:54)
12. Dreams (4:46)
13. Autumn Sweater (Kevin Shields Remix) (8:39)
14. Ashes On The Ground (5:15)
15. Mr. Ameche Plays the Stranger (9:19)
16. Magnet (4:10)