Wayward Bus/Distant Plastic Trees

The Magnetic Fields: Susan Anway (vocals); Stephin Merritt (various instruments).
Additional personnel: Sam Davol (cello); Johny Blood (tuba, horns); Claudia Gonson (percussion).
Engineer: Ken Michaels.
THE WAYWARD BUS was originally released on Popup in 1992. DISTANT PLASTIC TREES was originally released in England on Red Flame in 1991.
Track 11 is a silent track.
The Magnetic Fields' first two albums, available on one CD, differ from the band's later work in that it is not songwriter Stephin Merritt who is singing his tales of wounded hope, starry-eyed romance, and quiet desperation. Susan Anway, whose classic '60s pop voice bears remarkable resemblance to that of Petula Clark, is the vocalist here, and her performance is transcendent. 1990's less-is-more DISTANT PLASTIC TREES is directly indebted to early-'80s minimalist-pop geniuses the Young Marble Giants, especially on the hypnotic "You Love To Fail" and the tremendously affecting "100,000 Fireflies," perhaps Merritt's most heartbreakingly beautiful song.
By comparison, 1991's THE WAYWARD BUS is downright lush, combining Merritt's avowed love for Phil Spector, ABBA, and '60s French pop into keyboard-based two-minute pop classics like the Ronettes homage "When You Were My Baby" and the swinging "Suddenly There Is A Tidal Wave." Taken together, both albums are the perfect introduction to Stephin Merritt's magical pop world.