''If'n'' is the second album by the American

alternative rock Alternative rock (also known as alternative music, alt-rock or simply alternative) is a category of rock music that evolved from the independent music underground of the 1970s. Alternative rock acts achieved mainstream success in the 1990s w ...

band fIREHOSE, released in 1987. The album name is a reference to the

Bob Dylan Bob Dylan (legally Robert Dylan; born Robert Allen Zimmerman, May 24, 1941) is an American singer-songwriter. Described as one of the greatest songwriters of all time, Dylan has been a major figure in popular culture over his nearly 70-year ...

song " Don't Think Twice, It's All Right" from '' The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan''. The left side of the album cover has a picture of Hüsker Dü, friends of the band and labelmates at

SST Records SST Records is an American independent record label formed in 1978 in Long Beach, California by musician Greg Ginn. The company was first founded in 1966 by Ginn at age 12 as Solid State Transmitters, a small business through which he sold elec ...

. "For the Singer of R.E.M." was a tribute to the alternative rock band R.E.M., who had invited Firehose's predecessor

Minutemen Minutemen were members of the organized New England colonial militia companies trained in weaponry, tactics, and military strategies during the American Revolutionary War. They were known for being ready at a minute's notice, hence the name. Min ...

to join them on the tour to support the 1985 album ''

Fables of the Reconstruction ''Fables of the Reconstruction'' (or ''Reconstruction of the Fables'') is the third studio album by American alternative rock band R.E.M. It was released on June 10, 1985, through I.R.S. Records. It was the band's first album recorded outside ...

''. When Minutemen singer D Boon died in a car crash shortly after the tour, R.E.M. organized a benefit concert for Boon's family and remained friendly with Minutemen Mike Watt and George Hurley, who would go on to form Firehose with singer/guitarist Ed Crawford.

Reception

Critical reviews of ''If'n'' were mostly positive, describing the album as more focused than Firehose's debut.

Robert Christgau Robert Thomas Christgau ( ; born April 18, 1942) is an American music journalist and essayist. Among the most influential music critics, he began his career in the late 1960s as one of the earliest professional rock critics and later became a ...

said the band "sound more like a regular rock band" on this album. A review in '' Spin'' said "''If'n'' realizes the promise of their auspicious debut, '' Ragin', Full On'', and ups the ante, proving once and for all that these dudes live in the shadow of no one."

Track listing

#"Sometimes" #"Hear Me" #"Honey, Please" #"Backroads" #"From One Cums One" #"Making the Freeway" #"Anger" #"For the Singer of R.E.M." #"Operation Solitare" #"Windmilling" #"Me & You, Remembering" #"In Memory of Elizabeth Cotten" #"Soon" #"Thunder Child"

Personnel

* Ed Crawford –

vocals Singing is the art of creating music with the voice. It is the oldest form of musical expression, and the human voice can be considered the first musical instrument. The definition of singing varies across sources. Some sources define sing ...

guitar The guitar is a stringed musical instrument that is usually fretted (with Fretless guitar, some exceptions) and typically has six or Twelve-string guitar, twelve strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming ...

* George Hurley –

drums The drum is a member of the percussion instrument, percussion group of musical instruments. In the Hornbostel–Sachs classification system, it is a membranophones, membranophone. Drums consist of at least one Acoustic membrane, membrane, c ...

* Mike Watt – vocals,

bass Bass or Basses may refer to: Fish * Bass (fish), various saltwater and freshwater species Wood * Bass or basswood, the wood of the tilia americana tree Music * Bass (sound), describing low-frequency sound or one of several instruments in th ...

References

{{Authority control Firehose (band) albums 1987 albums Albums produced by Spot (producer) SST Records albums