Today we celebrate the 30th anniversary of TOOL’s debut full-length album ‘Undertow’. It was released April 6th, 1993, via Zoo Entertainment. It was recorded in late 1992 at the legendary Sound City Studios in Van Nuys California, with additional recording at Grandmaster Recorders in Hollywood. This was the follow-up to TOOL’s EP ‘Opiate’ that was released the year prior. Some of the tracks that were recorded during the ‘Opiate’ sessions but not used on the EP were included on ‘Undertow’. This was TOOL’s one and only album to feature original bassist Paul D’Amour.
In July of 1993, TOOL played the site of JFK Stadium in South Philadelphia, part of the 3rd annual Lollapalooza festival. The massive venue had been demolished less than a year prior, so Lollapalooza organizers held the event in an open field where JFK Stadium once stood, as construction hadn’t begun yet on the “Spectrum II”, now known as the Wells Fargo Center. Rage Against the Machine, Alice in Chains, Primus, Fishbone, Dinosaur Jr., Arrested Development, Babes in Toyland and a couple dozen more bands were on the bill for a packed and presumably hot day of music.
We will most certainly celebrate the 30th anniversary of TOOL’s ‘Undertow’ today on my show! Hope you can tune in! -bp
'Undertow' (inside cover)
The album’s artwork was designed by TOOL guitarist Adam Jones. It also features Moe, Jones’ pet pig on the back cover. There was a bit of controversy regarding the nude pictures included with the liner notes inside the cover, causing stores like Kmart & WalMart to remove the album from their shelves. The band ultimately released an alternate version with a giant barcode on a white background. I have never actually seen one of the alternate versions out in the wild, only on the interwebs.
'Undertow' (back cover)
In typical TOOL fashion, if you have the North American pressing of the album, it features 69 tracks, with 58 of them silent. Tracks 10-67 are all one second each in length, where track 68 is two seconds. Of the actual audio tracks on the album, ‘Undertow’ boasts some of TOOL’s biggest hits, like “Sober”, “Prison Sex” & “Flood”.
'Undertow' (front cover)
If you are lucky enough to find an Australasian version of ‘Undertow’, it comes with a bonus disc and over 40 minutes of Live TOOL from their shows in Irwindale and Dronten in 1993.
