Mogwai Young Team

Young Team
Studio album by Mogwai
Released	21 October 1997
Recorded	MCM Studios, Hamilton, Scotland
Genre	Post-rock
Length	64:31
Label	Chemikal Underground
Producer	Paul Savage, Andy Miller
Mogwai chronology
Mogwai Young Team (1997) Come on Die Young (1999)

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic	[1]
Pitchfork Media	1997 (9.7/10.0)[2] 2008 (9.2/10)[3]
PopMatters	(9/10)[4]
Sputnikmusic	[5]

Mogwai Young Team (also known as Young Team) is the debut studio album by Scottish post-rock band Mogwai.

Overview

Mogwai Young Team was recorded in Summer 1997 at MCM Studios (now known as Chem19 Studios) in Hamilton, Scotland, and was produced by Paul Savage and Andy Miller. It is largely instrumental, with one notable exception ("R U Still in 2 It", which features vocals from Aidan Moffat of Arab Strap), although many songs feature recordings of various individuals speaking, whether over the phone ("Tracy"), reading ("Yes! I Am a Long Way from Home"), or just rambling ("Katrien").^[6] It features limited instrumentation, consisting mainly of guitar, bass and drums, although other instruments can sometimes be heard throughout the album, such as glockenspiel ("Tracy"), piano ("Radar Maker", "With Portfolio", "A Cheery Wave from Stranded Youngsters") and flute ("Mogwai Fear Satan"). The band had only written three of the songs before they entered the studio.^[7]

Mogwai Young Team was listed at #97 on Pitchfork Media's Top 100 Albums of the 1990s.^[8] The album sold more than 30,000 copies in the UK.^[9]

The "MYT" logo found inside the cover was created by Adam Piggot. The MYT logo is based on a popular mark used by young gangs in Glasgow, Scotland, a "Youth Team" is specific to an area "Sighthill Youth Team" for example. The Japanese sign on the cover reads "Fuji Bank". The picture was taken and inverted by Brendan O'Hare.

Track listing

All tracks were written by Stuart Braithwaite, Dominic Aitchison, Martin Bulloch, and John Cummings, except "R U Still in 2 It", lyrics by Aidan Moffat.

1. "Yes! I Am a Long Way from Home" – 5:57
2. "Like Herod" – 11:41
3. "Katrien" – 5:24
4. "Radar Maker" – 1:35
5. "Tracy" – 7:19
6. "Summer" (Priority Version) – 3:28
7. "With Portfolio" – 3:10
8. "R U Still in 2 It" – 7:20
9. "A Cheery Wave from Stranded Youngsters" – 2:18
10. "Mogwai Fear Satan" – 16:19

Re-release

Mogwai Young Team was re-released in May 2008 on the Chemikal Underground label, packaged as a remaster of the original album with a second disc containing rare tracks from the Young Team sessions and live recordings. Of the second disc, only "Young Face Gone Wrong" was previously unreleased, the following three tracks had earlier appeared on various compilation albums and other releases.

1. "Young Face Gone Wrong" – 2:58
2. "I Don't Know What to Say" – 1:15
3. "I Can't Remember" – 3:14
4. "Honey" – 4:18
5. "Katrien" (Live) – 5:31
6. "R U Still in 2 It" (Live) – 8:01
7. "Like Herod" (Live) – 7:53
8. "Summer (Priority)" (Live) – 2:59
9. "Mogwai Fear Satan" (Live) – 10:26

Personnel

Mogwai

• Stuart Braithwaite (listed as "pLasmatroN" in the liner notes) – guitar, glockenspiel
• Dominic Aitchison (listed as "DEMONIC" in the liner notes) – bass guitar
• Martin Bulloch (listed as "bionic" in the liner notes) – drums
• John Cummings (listed as "Cpt. Meat" in the liner notes) – guitar
• Brendan O'Hare (listed as "+the relic+" in the liner notes) – piano, guitar

Additional musicians

• Barry Burns – backmasked monologue on "Yes! I Am a Long Way from Home"
• Mari Myren – monologue on "Yes! I Am a Long Way from Home"
• Aidan Moffat – vocals on "R U Still in 2 It"
• Shona Brown – flute on "Mogwai Fear Satan"

Production

• Paul Savage – producer
• Andy Miller – producer
• Keith Cameron – liner notes (for 2008 deluxe reissue)

Release history

Country	Release date	Record label	Format	Catalogue #
United States	21 October 1997	Jet Set	CD	TWA07CD
			2LP	TWA07
United Kingdom	28 October 1997	Chemikal Underground	CD	CHEM018CD
			2LP	CHEM018
Australia/New Zealand		Spunk	CD	URA013
United Kingdom	26 May 2008	Chemikal Underground	2CD reissue	CHEM106CD
			4LP box set	CHEM106

Notes

1. ^ Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "Young Team - Mogwai". http://www.allmusic.com/album/young-team-r317328. Retrieved 2 December 2010. 
2. ^ "Web Archive: Pitchfork Media: Album Reviews: Mogwai: Young Team". http://web.archive.org/web/19990101000000-20030131235959/http://www.pitchforkmedia.com/record-reviews/m/mogwai/young-team.shtml. Retrieved 2 December 2010. 
3. ^ Berman, Stuart (16 June 2008). "Pitchfork: Album Reviews: Mogwai: Young Team [Deluxe Edition"]. http://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/11600-young-team-2008-edition/. Retrieved 2 December 2010. 
4. ^ Mathers, Ian (17 July 2008). "Mogwai: Young Team - PopMatters". http://www.popmatters.com/pm/review/mogwai-young-team/. Retrieved 2 December 2010. 
5. ^ Hartwig, Andrew (17 March 2005). "Mogwai - Young Team". http://www.sputnikmusic.com/review/1948/Mogwai-Young-Team/. Retrieved 2 December 2010. 
6. ^ http://youngteam.co.uk/brightlight/eng/yngteam.php
7. ^ Wolk, Douglas (1999) "Our Gang", CMJ New Music Monthly, May 1999, retrieved 2010-04-17
8. ^ Pitchfork Media:Top 100 Albums of the 1990s
9. ^ Simmonds, Jeremy: "Mogwai", in Buckley, Peter (2003) The Rough Guide to Rock, Rough Guides, ISBN 978-1-84353-105-0, p. 684-6

External links

• Young Team at MusicBrainz