Masters of Reality is the debut album by Masters of Reality, released in 1989 on Def American. Due to the artwork on the cover, the original release is sometimes referred to as The Blue Garden.
| Masters of Reality | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | 1989 | |||
| Studio | Atlantic Studios, Chung King Studios and Platinum Isle, New York City, Sound City Studios, Los Angeles | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | 40:55 | |||
| Label | Def American | |||
| Producer | Rick Rubin | |||
| Masters of Reality chronology | ||||
| ||||
| 1990 edition cover | ||||
 | ||||
A reissue was released in 1990 on the Delicious Vinyl label. The reissue had a new cover, a change in song sequence and the addition of the song "Doraldina's Prophecies". Delicious Vinyl would reissue the album again in 2012 on deluxe compact disc and vinyl, bundled with the live album How High the Moon: Live at the Viper Room.
The track "The Blue Garden" is sampled on Lemon Jelly's track "'88 aka Come Down on Me" on their 2005 album '64–'95.
Critical reception
edit| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [2] |
| Collector's Guide to Heavy Metal | 10/10[3] |
| Hi-Fi News & Record Review | A:1*[4] |
| Kerrang! | [5] |
| Rolling Stone |  [6] |
The Orange County Register called the album "a surprisingly winning pastiche of Cream, ZZ Top, and Neil Young."[7]
Track listings
editAll tracks are written by Chris Goss and Tim Harrington
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Theme for the Scientist of the Invisible" | 1:30 |
| 2. | "Domino" | 3:46 |
| 3. | "The Blue Garden" | 4:22 |
| 4. | "Gettin' High" | 3:09 |
| 5. | "The Candy Song" | 3:21 |
| 6. | "Magical Spell" | 5:03 |
| 7. | "The Eyes of Texas" | 3:20 |
| 8. | "Sleep Walkin'" | 3:33 |
| 9. | "Lookin' to Get Rite" | 3:06 |
| 10. | "John Brown" | 3:37 |
| 11. | "Kill the King" | 7:34 |
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Candy Song" | |
| 2. | "Doraldina's Prophecies" | |
| 3. | "John Brown" | |
| 4. | "Gettin' High" | |
| 5. | "Magical Spell" | |
| 6. | "Theme for the Scientist of the Invisible" | |
| 7. | "Domino" | |
| 8. | "The Blue Garden" | |
| 9. | "The Eyes of Texas" | |
| 10. | "Lookin' to Get Rite" | |
| 11. | "Kill the King" | |
| 12. | "Sleep Walkin'" |
Personnel
editBand members
edit- Chris Goss – vocals, guitar
- Tim Harrington – lead guitar
- Googe – bass
- Vinnie Ludovico – drums
Additional musicians
edit- Mr. Owl – additional keyboards
Production
edit- Rick Rubin – producer
- Matt Dike, Michael Ross, Chris Goss – additional production on 1990 edition
- David Bianco – engineer, mix engineer
- Steve Ett – engineer
- Brian Jenkins – assistant engineer
- John Leamy – cover painting
References
edit- ^ Dome, Malcolm (October 16, 2016). "10 Essential Stoner Rock Albums". Metal Hammer. Archived from the original on March 8, 2018. Retrieved May 21, 2017.
- ^ Henderson, Alex. "Masters of Reality - Masters of Reality review". AllMusic. Rovi Corporation. Retrieved October 15, 2011.
- ^ Popoff, Martin (November 1, 2005). The Collector's Guide to Heavy Metal: Volume 2: The Eighties. Burlington, Ontario, Canada: Collector's Guide Publishing. pp. 215–216. ISBN 978-1-894959-31-5.
- ^ "Review: Masters of Reality — Masters of Reality" (PDF). Hi-Fi News & Record Review (magazine). Vol. 34, no. 9. Croydon: Link House Magazines Ltd. September 1989. p. 105. ISSN 0142-6230. Archived from the original (PDF) on September 2, 2021. Retrieved September 2, 2021 – via World Radio History.
- ^ Jeffries, Neil (January 28, 1989). "Garden Party". Kerrang!. No. 223. p. 19. ISSN 0262-6624.
- ^ Tennenbaum, Rob (May 4, 1989). "Masters of Reality Album reviews". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on October 1, 2007. Retrieved October 15, 2011.
- ^ Darling, Cary (July 2, 1989). "Noteworthy albums for the first half of '89". Orange County Register. p. K23.