Grotto of Miracles

1986 studio album by Sun City Girls

Grotto of Miracles

Studio album by

Sun City Girls

Released| 1986 (1986)
Recorded| April 1985 (1985-04)
Studio| Radical Recording, Tempe, AZ
Genre| Experimental rock, psychedelic rock
Length| 42:40
Label| Placebo PLA-19[1]
Sun City Girls chronology
| Sun City Girls
(1984)  | Grotto of Miracles
(1986)  | Horse Cock Phepner
(1987)

|
|

Professional ratingsReview scores

Source| Rating
AllMusic| [2]
The Encyclopedia of Popular Music| [3]
Spin Alternative Record Guide| 8/10[4]

Grotto of Miracles is the second studio album by the American experimental rock band Sun City Girls.[5][6] It was released in 1986 by Placebo Records.[7] Like many of the band's LPs, Grotto of Miracles has since become a collector's item.[8]

## Critical reception

[edit]

Trouser Press wrote: "With demented lyrical concepts and such offbeat accessories as antelope bells, chimes and temple blocks, Grotto of Miracles is an ethnic stew that shows enormous creative growth."[7] The Chicago Reader wrote that the band's "wiggy instrumentals were flavored by surf rock, jazz, and noise, and would give way to pummeling art rock, nonsensical rants, and meandering improvisation."[9] Perfect Sound Forever praised the "beautiful, Rick [Bishop]-heavy, unusually near-accessible first side."[10] Maximum Rocknroll called the album "very musical, poetic, downright pretty, distinctively ugly, the great acid experience or background music."[11]

## Track listing

[edit]

All tracks are written by Sun City Girls, except "Kal el Lazi Kad Ham", which is a traditional arrangement.

Side oneNo.| Title| Length

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|

1.| "Radio Morocco"| 5:00
2.| "Different Kind of Whore"| 4:24
3.| "In a Lesbian Meadow"| 2:17
4.| "Swing of Kings"| 2:05
5.| "Damcar"| 2:40
6.| "Kal el Lazi Kad Ham"| 5:28

Side twoNo.| Title| Length

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|

1.| "Black Weather Shoes"| 1:13
2.| "Mama's Milk (Too Dry)"| 1:00
3.| "The Spice Nest"| 5:17
4.| "Frankincense and Fish"| 4:00
5.| "The Mystery of Death"| 3:15
6.| "Ask Heem (202 456 7369)"| 4:50
7.| "It's My Old Friend the Future"| 1:16

## Personnel

[edit]

Adapted from the Grotto of Miracles liner notes.[12]

Sun City Girls

* Alan Bishop – bass guitar, melodica, autoharp, alto saxophone, trumpet, tape, percussion, vocals
* Richard Bishop – electric guitar, lap steel guitar, piano, keyboards, organ, melodica, cello, violin, flute, bells, percussion, vocals
* Charles Gocher – drums, percussion, temple block, bells, chimes, cymbal, gong, güiro, maracas, tambourine, autoharp, flute, horns, vocals

Production and additional personnel

* Tom Connell – engineering, mixing
* Joseph Cultice – photography
* David Oliphant – mixing
* Wade Olson – engineering
* Peggy Slinger – cover art
* Sun City Girls – mixing, design

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## Release history

[edit]

Region  | Date  | Label  | Format  | Catalog

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|
|
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United States  | 1986  | Placebo  | LP | PLA-19

## References

[edit]

1. ^ Blush, Steven; Petros, George (October 19, 2010). American Hardcore (Second Edition): A Tribal History. Feral House. ISBN 9781932595987 - via Google Books.
2. ^ Chadbourne, Eugene. "Sun City Girls: Grotto of Miracles > Review". Allmusic. Retrieved July 11, 2015.
3. ^ Larkin, Colin (2006). The Encyclopedia of Popular Music. Vol. 7\. MUZE. p. 841.
4. ^ Spin Alternative Record Guide. Vintage Books. 1995. p. 385.
5. ^ Buckley, Peter (January 25, 2003). The Rough Guide to Rock. Rough Guides. ISBN 9781843531050 - via Google Books.
6. ^ "Sun City Girls raid the vaults and ready a new compilation of singles and rarities". Tiny Mix Tapes.
7. ^ a b Robbins, Ira; Sprague, David (2007). "Sun City Girls". Trouser Press. Retrieved July 11, 2015.
8. ^ Armstrong, Gene. "The Music Lives". Tucson Weekly.
9. ^ Margasak, Peter. "Sun City Girls". Chicago Reader.
10. ^ "Sun City Girls". www.furious.com.
11. ^ "Grotto of Miracles LP".
12. ^ Grotto of Miracles (sleeve). Phoenix, Arizona: Placebo Records. 1986.

* v
* t
* e

Sun City Girls

* Alan Bishop
* Richard Bishop
* Charles Gocher

Studio albums|

* Sun City Girls
* Grotto of Miracles
* Horse Cock Phepner
* Torch of the Mystics
* Dawn of the Devi
* Valentines From Matahari
* Kaliflower
* Jacks Creek
* Dante's Disneyland Inferno
* 330,003 Crossdressers From Beyond the Rig Veda
* Funeral Mariachi

Live albums|

* Bright Surroundings Dark Beginnings

Soundtrack albums|

* Juggernaut
* Piasa...Devourer of Men
* Dulce

Compilation albums|

* Box of Chameleons
* Singles Volume 1
* Singles Volume 2
* Singles Volume 3

Authority control databases |

* MusicBrainz release group

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