One Chord to Another

One Chord to Another
Studio album by Sloan
Released	June 12, 1996 (1996-06-12)
Recorded	December 1995 – January 1996
Studio	Idea of East Recording Studio, (Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada)[1]
Genre	Power pop alternative rock
Length	38:26
Label	Murderecords, The Enclave
Producer	Laurence Currie Sloan
Sloan chronology
Twice Removed (1994)Twice Removed1994 One Chord to Another (1996) Recorded Live at a Sloan Party (1997)Recorded Live at a Sloan Party1997

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[2]
Entertainment Weekly	B+[3]
Rolling Stone	[4]

One Chord to Another is the third studio album by the Canadian rock band Sloan, released on June 12, 1996, by Murderecords.^[2]

One Chord to Another was a few of firsts for Sloan, It was the band's first LP released on their independent label, Murderecords. It was also the band's first album to win a Juno award.^[5]

After rumours that they had broken up following the problems they faced with Geffen Records when Twice Removed was released, Sloan began touring and writing again in 1995 and released One Chord to Another on Murderecords in 1996. The album was recorded over a two-week period and cost $10,000 to make, $110,000 less than the cost of their previous album.^[1] Like their previous album, One Chord to Another is a catchy, Beatles-influenced power pop record.^[2] It was also the band's first album to feature trumpets.

Commercial and critical performance

The album debuted at No. 16 on the Canadian Albums Chart.^[6] It was certified gold in Canada on November 21, 1996.^[7] By February 1997, the album had sold 80,000 units in Canada.^[8] It remains to be Sloan's best-selling album.^[9]

The album won the award for Best Alternative Album at the 1997 Juno Awards.^[5] In a 2000 poll by music magazine Chart, One Chord to Another was voted the ninth greatest Canadian album of all time.^[10] It was also ranked 34th in Bob Mersereau's 2007 book The Top 100 Canadian Albums.

Track listing

All songs credited to Sloan.

1. "The Good in Everyone" (Patrick Pentland/Sloan) – 2:17
2. "Nothing Left to Make Me Want to Stay" (Chris Murphy/Sloan) – 2:35
3. "Autobiography" (Chris Murphy/Sloan) – 3:18
4. "Junior Panthers" (Jay Ferguson/Sloan) – 2:38
5. G Turns to D" (Chris Murphy/Sloan) – 3:24
6. A Side Wins" (Andrew Scott/Sloan) – 3:11
7. "Everything You've Done Wrong" (Patrick Pentland/Sloan) – 3:29
8. "Anyone Who's Anyone" (Chris Murphy/Sloan) – 2:48
9. "The Lines You Amend" (Jay Ferguson/Sloan) – 2:32
10. "Take the Bench" (Chris Murphy/Sloan) – 3:50
11. "Can't Face Up" (Patrick Pentland/Sloan) – 3:53
12. "400 Metres" (Andrew Scott/Sloan) – 4:31

Japanese Bonus Tracks

• "Stood Up" (Chris Murphy/Sloan) – 3:50
• "Same Old Flame" (Patrick Pentland/Sloan) – 3:53

B-sides

• "Stood Up" (7" single)
• "Same Old Flame" (7" single)
• "Autobiography" (Demo) ("The Good in Everyone" 7")

Note: Prior to the release of One Chord to Another, Sloan released "Same Old Flame" b/w "Stood Up" as a 7" single on murderecords. These songs were re-recorded for the first pressing of One Chord to Another in Japan, released on EMI. While these versions of "Stood Up" are a Chris Murphy original, the song by the same name on Recorded "Live" at a Sloan Party! is a cover of a Matthew Grimson song.

American and Japanese releases

One Chord to Another was not released until 1997 in the United States on the independent label, The Enclave. It was originally released in an LP-style cardboard gatefold jacket rather than a traditional plastic jewel box, and included a 10-track bonus CD of material entitled Recorded Live at a Sloan Party! This bonus CD consisted of cover versions and re-recordings of previous Sloan songs; it was recorded in the studio but was overdubbed with miscellaneous party-type sounds to give the impression of being recorded live at an intimate gathering of friends (somewhat akin to the Beach Boys' Party! album). To date, the "Sloan Party" CD has not been released in the band's native Canada and has only been available as an American import. In 2016, the "Sloan Party" album was released on vinyl as part of the 20th anniversary One Chord to Another box set, and featuring new album art reminiscent of the Beach Boys' Party! album.

1. "Let's Get the Party Started" (Sloan) – 2:28
2. "I Can Feel It" (Patrick Pentland/Sloan) - 3:54 (new version; original version on Twice Removed)
3. "Dignified and Old" (Jonathan Richman) - 3:12 (originally performed by The Modern Lovers)
4. "Glitter and Gold" (Barry Mann/Cynthia Weil) - 3:02 (originally performed by The Everly Brothers and later The Turtles)
5. "Over You" (Bryan Ferry/Phil Manzanera) - 3:20 (originally performed by Roxy Music)
6. "I Am the Cancer" (Chris Murphy/Sloan) – 3:22 (new version; original version on Smeared)
7. "I Can't Let Go" (Al Gorgoni/Chip Taylor) – 2:35 (originally performed by The Hollies)
8. "Stood Up" (Matthew Grimson) – 3:28 (originally performed by Matthew Grimson)
9. "On the Road Again/Transona Five" (Tim Gane/Floyd Jones/Lætitia Sadier/Alan Wilson) – 4:42 (originally performed by Canned Heat and Stereolab, respectively)
10. "I Wouldn't Want to Lose Your Love" (Myles Goodwyn) – 5:45 (originally performed by April Wine)

Note: All of track 1 and the last 2:35 of track 10 consist of party sound effects only; track 8 is a cover of a song by Matthew Grimson, not the similarly-titled song released as a 1996 7" single by Sloan.

One Chord to Another was Sloan's first album to be released in Japan. They secured a distribution deal with EMI, who released the album with new recordings of "Stood Up" and "Same Old Flame". When Navy Blues was released in Canada, however, Sloan's distribution deal with Universal Canada led to new Japanese distribution with Universal Japan. Universal then released Sloan's first three albums in Japan. The new Universal Japan version of One Chord to Another was a one-disc release featuring Recorded Live at a Sloan Party! as bonus tracks, making the original Japanese release on EMI, with its two exclusive tracks, a rarity in the Sloan catalogue.

References