The Modern Dance

The Modern Dance
Studio album by Pere Ubu
Released	January 1978
Recorded	October 1976; January 1977; November 1977
Studio	Cleveland Recording and Suma Studios, Cleveland, Ohio, United States
Genre	Art punk post-punk experimental rock
Length	36:20
Label	Blank
Producer	Pere Ubu Ken Hamann
Pere Ubu chronology
The Modern Dance (1978) Dub Housing (1978)
Singles from The Modern Dance
"Street Waves" Released: October 12, 1976 "The Modern Dance" Released: August 25, 1977

The Modern Dance is the debut album by American rock band Pere Ubu. It was released in January 1978 by record label Blank.

A 5.1 surround sound version was released as the DVD-Audio side of a DualDisc in 2005.

Critical reception

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic
Christgau's Record Guide	A−
Encyclopedia of Popular Music
The Independent
Mojo
New Musical Express	10/10
Q
Record Mirror
The Rolling Stone Album Guide
Spin Alternative Record Guide	10/10
Uncut

The Modern Dance has been critically acclaimed. Reviewing for The Village Voice in 1978, Robert Christgau wrote that "even though there's too much Radio Ethiopia and not enough 'Redondo Beach,'" he would be "listening through the failed stuff—the highs are worth it." In Christgau's Record Guide: Rock Albums of the Seventies (1981), he reaffirmed that "the highs are worth it, and the failed stuff ain't bad" in his revised review. Ken Tucker, writing in Rolling Stone, called it vivid and exhilarating, even if "harsh and willfully ugly".

NME named The Modern Dance the 11th best album of 1978. Fact placed the record at number 31 on its list of the 100 best albums of the 1970s.

Track listing

Personnel

Pere Ubu

• David Thomas – vocals, musette, percussion, production
• Tom Herman – guitar, backing vocals, production
• Allen Ravenstine – EML 101 and 200 analog synthesizers, saxophone, tapes, production
• Tony Maimone – bass, piano, backing vocals, production
• Scott Krauss – drums, production
• Tim Wright – bass guitar on "The Modern Dance" and "Sentimental Journey", production

Technical

• S. W. Taylor – sleeve artwork
• Ken Hamann – engineering, production
• Mike Bishop – engineering assistance
• Paul Hamann – engineering assistance
• Mik Mellen – sleeve photography

Release history