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Beyond
Studio album by Dinosaur Jr.
Released	May 1, 2007
Recorded	September–December 2006
Venue	Bisquiteen (Amherst, MA)
Genre	Alternative rock indie rock noise rock
Length	49:34
Label	Fat Possum
Producer	J Mascis
Dinosaur Jr. chronology
Hand It Over (1997) Beyond (2007) Farm (2009)

Professional ratings

Aggregate scores
Source	Rating
Metacritic	79/100
Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic
Blender
Entertainment Weekly	B+
NME	8/10
Pitchfork	8.4/10
PopMatters
Slant Magazine
Spin	7/10
Sputnikmusic
Stylus Magazine	B+

Beyond is the eighth studio album by the alternative rock band Dinosaur Jr. It was their first LP in a decade after 1997's Hand It Over, and the first album by the original lineup since 1988's Bug.

Promotion

The band planned a full world tour in 2007 and played "Almost Ready" on the Late Show with David Letterman to support their album. A music video was made for "Been There All the Time", featuring Sonic Youth front-man Thurston Moore and his daughter, Coco. It was directed by Matt Dillon.

Release

The album was released through Fat Possum Records in the US and through the Play It Again, Sam label in Europe, Australia, New Zealand and Japan. It was also released in Ukraine through Moon Records. Both Fat Possum and PIAS released limited edition versions of it containing an extra 7 inch with the 2:47 track "Yer Son". The respective labels would go on to reissue the album in 2014, 2015 and 2016, the former even releasing a downloadable 256 kbit/s MP3 version of it.

Reception

The album has a Metacritic score of 79 based on 31 reviews, indicating "enerally favorable reviews". Zach Baron of Pitchfork gave the album a very positive review, comparing it favorably to other comebacks of the year. He writes: "Beneath Beyond's crystalline production is the sublime result: years and years of weariness and aging and conflict put back into the bottle. Less a theme park of the past and more of an actual trip there Beyond is nostalgic for everything but the band's own glory days. If anything, it's an exercise in making their entire twenty-year output sound contemporary again." Stephen Thomas Erlewine wrote that the "very existence of this new album is a surprise, but the real shock is that Beyond is a flat-out great record, a startling return to form for J Mascis as a guitarist and songwriter and Dinosaur Jr. as a band." He found the album to be less noisy and more stylistically diverse than the earlier efforts of the trio ("this sounds like the album that could have been released instead of Green Mind if Lou had stuck around, or if Dinosaur made the kind of grand major-label debut many expected them to deliver in the days before Nevermind.") He also finds the album to be "very different" from their past efforts "in that for the first time, Mascis is assertive about his talent. He sounds engaged -- in music, in life -- and it gives the album a powerful sense of purpose that the classic Dinosaur albums were lacking by their very design." He concludes by writing that "Beyond isn't merely a worthy album from a reunited band, it's simply a great record by any standard."

A mixed review came from Q, who wrote that "The spark that made initial albums such as Bug so special is still missing."

Accolades

In popular culture

"Almost Ready" was used on the Major League Baseball 2K8 and Skate 3 soundtracks, and "Pick Me Up" is downloadable content from the Rock Band series. The songs "Almost Ready" and "Crumble" were used in Alien Workshop's skateboarding film Mind Field.

Track listing

All tracks are written by J Mascis except where noted

Personnel

Dinosaur Jr.

• J Mascis – lead vocals, guitars, production, writer (1–3, 5–9, 11)
• Lou Barlow – bass, vocals, writer (4, 10)
• Murph – drums, percussion

Technical

• Rick Myers – design, artwork
• John Agnello – sound engineer
• Justin Pizzoferrato – sound engineer
• Greg Calbi – mastering
• John Agnello – mixing
• Burk Uzzle – cover photography
• Philipp Virus – photography
  • Recorded and mixed at Bisquiteen, Amherst, MA.
  • Mastered at Sterling Sound, NYC.

Charts

Beyond debuted at #69 on the Billboard 200 and peaked at #19 on the Top Rock Albums chart. In 2012 it was awarded a double silver certification from the Independent Music Companies Association, which indicated sales of at least 40,000 copies throughout Europe.

References

1. "Beyond by Dinosaur Jr". Retrieved May 1, 2020 – via www.metacritic.com.
2. https://www.allmusic.com/album/r1041597
3. http://www.blender.com/guide/new/54549/beyond.html
4. Brunner, Rob (May 25, 2007). "Dinosaur Jr – Beyond". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved January 25, 2014.
5. "Dinosaur Jr | NME". NME. April 30, 2007. Retrieved May 1, 2020.
6. "Dinosaur Jr.: Beyond". Pitchfork. Retrieved May 1, 2020.
7. Fiander, Matthew (May 3, 2007). "Dinosaur Jr.: Beyond". PopMatters. Retrieved January 25, 2014.
8. "Slant Magazine - Music Review: Dinosaur Jr.: Beyond". Slant Magazine. Archived from the original on September 27, 2007. Retrieved May 4, 2007.
9. Burgess, Aaron (May 21, 2007). "Dinosaur Jr., 'Beyond' (Fat Possum)". Spin Magazine. Retrieved January 25, 2014.
10. Fisher, Tyler (April 29, 2007). "Dinosaur Jr.: Beyond". Sputnikmusic. Retrieved August 25, 2016.
11. "Dinosaur Jr. - Beyond - Review - Stylus Magazine". Archived from the original on May 5, 2007. Retrieved 2007-05-04.
12. "Dinosaur Jr News". Archived from the original on February 3, 2007. Retrieved May 1, 2020.
13. Evandro Depiante (July 15, 2009), Dinosaur Jr. - Almost Ready (Live Letterman 2007), archived from the original on December 14, 2021, retrieved February 28, 2019
14. "New Dinosaur Jr Video – "Been There All The Time"". Stereogum. April 13, 2007. Retrieved February 28, 2019.
15. "Dinosaur Jr. - Beyond". Discogs. Retrieved February 28, 2019.
16. "Dinosaur Jr. - Beyond". Discogs. April 24, 2007. Retrieved February 28, 2019.
17. "Dinosaur Jr. - Beyond". Discogs. April 24, 2007. Retrieved February 28, 2019.
18. "Dinosaur Jr. - Beyond". Discogs. Retrieved February 28, 2019.
19. "Dinosaur Jr. - Beyond". Discogs. Retrieved February 28, 2019.
20. "Dinosaur Jr. - Beyond". Discogs. Retrieved February 28, 2019.
21. "Dinosaur Jr. - Beyond". Discogs. August 29, 2007. Retrieved February 28, 2019.
22. "Dinosaur Jr. - Beyond". Discogs. April 24, 2007. Retrieved February 28, 2019.
23. "Dinosaur Jr. - Beyond". Discogs. Retrieved February 28, 2019.
24. "Dinosaur Jr. - Beyond". Discogs. Retrieved February 28, 2019.
25. Beyond by Dinosaur Jr., retrieved February 28, 2019
26. "Dinosaur Jr.: Beyond". Pitchfork. Retrieved February 28, 2019.
27. "Beyond - Dinosaur Jr. | Songs, Reviews, Credits". AllMusic. Retrieved February 28, 2019.
28. "The 100 Best Albums of 2007". pastemagazine.com. July 2008. Archived from the original on July 23, 2018. Retrieved February 28, 2019.
29. "The 50 Best Albums of 2007". Pitchfork. December 18, 2007. Retrieved February 28, 2019.
30. "97bestof". Dropbox. Retrieved February 28, 2019.
31. "Rocklist.net...Steve Parker...More Classic Rock Lists." www.rocklistmusic.co.uk. Retrieved February 28, 2019.
32. "Glide's Best Albums Of The Decade". December 14, 2009.
33. "Major League Baseball 2K8 Soundtrack Announced - Xbox". February 6, 2012. Archived from the original on February 6, 2012. Retrieved February 28, 2019.
34. "Skate 3 Soundtrack Revealed". CINEMABLEND. March 21, 2010. Retrieved February 28, 2019.
35. "Alien Workshop - Mind Field skate video soundtrack - Video by Greg Hunt | Skatevideosite". www.skatevideosite.com. Archived from the original on July 14, 2014. Retrieved February 28, 2019.
36. "Dinosaur Jr. Beyond Chart History". Billboard. Retrieved February 28, 2019.
37. "13/12/12: More Independent Artists Take European Gold, Silver and Platinum Awards Than Ever Before | Impala". www.impalamusic.org. Archived from the original on July 15, 2019. Retrieved May 1, 2020.

External links

• Beyond at Metacritic
• Short story review of Beyond at The Wheel's Still in Spin

• 2007 albums
• Dinosaur Jr. albums
• Fat Possum Records albums