To the Center | ||||
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Studio album by | ||||
Released | August 24, 1999 | |||
Recorded | April 1999 | |||
Studio | Hanszek Audio, Seattle, Washington | |||
Genre | ||||
Length | 47:51 | |||
Label |
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Producer |
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Nebula chronology | ||||
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To the Center is the debut studio album by the American stoner rock band Nebula. [1] [2] It was released on August 24, 1999, on Sub Pop. [3] The album was later reissued in 2018 by the band's current label, Heavy Psych Sounds Records. [4] [5]
Recorded in Seattle, the album was produced with Jack Endino. [6] Guitar player Eddie Glass employed a Gibson SG. [7]
Mark Arm sang on the band's cover of the Stooges' "I Need Somebody". [8]
Review scores | |
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Source | Rating |
AllMusic | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
Antichrist Magazine | 78/100 [10] |
Chicago Sun-Times | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
Classic Rock | 8/10 [11] |
Myglobalmind | 9/10 [12] |
New Noise Magazine | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
Exclaim! wrote that Glass "transformed himself into a veritable guitar god almost overnight in an era wherein the slightest six-string noodling is waved off the road, considered indulgent." [3] The Chicago Tribune thought that "acoustic guitars, sitar, [and] synthesizer give this Hendrix-like trio added texture." [14] OC Weekly decided that "the band also gets a little groovy, pulling out the aural incense to jam on the Fugazi-like 'Freedom' and synthesizer-laced, Jefferson Airplane-ish 'Synthetic Dream'." [15]
The Province determined that "this power trio seems to have blotted up its churn and burn from ancient Frisco acid rock band, Blue Cheer." [16] Tucson Weekly deemed To the Center "an album which undeniably pushes the band to the forefront of its genre, whether or not you've got a bong in front of you." [17]
Houston Press wrote: "On a song such as 'Come Down', Nebula actually does what few '90s bands have ever done, chemically enhanced or not: It achieves true heaviness. After the song's simple three-note syncopated intro doubles back on itself, Glass scratches his guitar pick down his strings before singing the hurried lyrics. And it's during those one and a half seconds, the time it takes for Glass's pick to travel a few inches, that Nebula is the heaviest band on earth. Not since Ritchie Blackmore's days with Deep Purple has the simple gesture of pick scratching been used so perfectly." [18]
AllMusic called the album a "retro-psychedelic heavy rock platter, long on stripped-down riff muscle and surprisingly technically adept guitar jams." [9]
All tracks are written by Eddie Glass and Ruben Romano, except where noted. All music by Glass
No. | Title | Lyrics | Length |
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1. | "To the Center" | 6:31 | |
2. | "Come Down" | 2:01 | |
3. | "Whatcha Lookin' For" | 2:37 | |
4. | "Clearlight" | 4:29 | |
5. | "Freedom" | 7:14 | |
6. | "Antigone" | 2:30 | |
7. | "I Need Somebody" | Iggy Pop, James Williamson | 4:18 |
8. | "So Low" | 3:45 | |
9. | "Synthetic Dream" | 4:28 | |
10. | "Fields of Psilocybin" | 2:15 | |
11. | "Between Time" | Randy Holden | 3:22 |
12. | "You Mean Nothing" | 4:21 | |
Total length: | 47:51 |
Additional personnel