Formed in 1984, Dinosaur Jr carved a singular path through the latter half of the 1980s and early 1990s, issuing a number of highly influential albums in the process before finding a home with Sire Records. "Where You Been", their fifth record, emerged in 1993, at the height of enthusiasm for grunge and the alternative American rock scene the band had long been part of.
Produced by a new line-up of the group (longtime drummer Murph and new bassist Mike Johnson completing the three-piece), the album became the band's most successful up to that point, reaching #50 in the US (where it sold over a quarter of a million copies) and #10 in the UK album charts, and spawning the hit single 'Start Choppin'.
Released to unanimously positive reviews, and containing many tracks that would become staples and fan favourites, "Where You Been" continued Dinosaur Jr's global ascent, being issued simultaneously across the US, Europe, Australasia, Asia and South America.
Collected together here with related B-sides, BBC session recordings and a previously unreleased live recording made at St Paul Civic Centre in June 1993, and accompanied by in-depth sleevenotes from Mojo's Keith Cameron (based on recent and exclusive interviews with J Mascis), this edition provides a glimpse of a band in rampant form riding a hard-earned wave of popularity and credibility.
Review
By the time Where You Been surfaced, Seattle had completely exploded, and given that Dinosaur Jr.'s sound, attitude, and more were as proto-slacker as could be, the temptation must have been great to cash in. But J Mascis stuck to his guns, and there's little about Where You Been that would have seemed out of place on Green Mind or even some earlier records. - All Music 4/5
