''Sundown'' is the debut album by

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

cowpunk Cowpunk (or country punk) is a subgenre of punk rock that began in the United Kingdom and Southern California in the late 1970s and early 1980s. It combines punk rock or new wave with country, folk, and blues in its sound, lyrical subject mat ...

band

Rank and File Rank and file may refer to: *A military term relating to the horizontal " ranks" (rows) and vertical " files" (columns) of individual foot-soldiers, exclusive of the officers *A term derived from the above used to refer to enlisted troops, as oppo ...

, released in 1982 on

Slash Records Slash Records was an American record label originally specializing in local punk rock bands, active from 1978 to 2000. It was notable as one of the first and most successful independent record labels in alternative music, before its eventual acq ...

Critical reception

Critic

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 ...

gave it an "A−" in his Consumer Guide, while

Trouser Press ''Trouser Press'' was a rock and roll magazine started in New York in 1974 as a mimeographed fanzine by editor/publisher Ira Robbins, fellow fan of the Who, Dave Schulps, and Karen Rose under the name "Trans-Oceanic Trouser Press" (a reference ...

called the album "effortlessly enjoyable," citing its "tuneful and tasty pop numbers, which also benefit from pretty harmonies and confident playing." It was voted one of the best albums of the year in the ''

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s influential

Pazz & Jop Pazz & Jop was an annual poll of top musical releases, compiled by American newspaper ''The Village Voice'' and created by music critic Robert Christgau. It published lists of the year's top releases for 1971 and, after Christgau's two-year abse ...

critics poll.

Reissues

In 2003, Rhino Handmade, an imprint of

Rhino Entertainment Rhino Entertainment Company (formerly Rhino Records Inc.) is an American specialty record label and production company founded in 1978. It is currently the catalog division for Warner Music Group. Its current CEO is Mark Pinkus. History Founded ...

, compiled ''Sundown'', the band's second album, '' Long Gone Dead'', and bonus tracks on a CD entitled ''The Slash Years''. On its own, ''Sundown'' was reissued on CD in 2005 by

Collectors' Choice Music Collectors' Choice Music (CCM) is an Itasca, Illinois-based record label and retailer of music on CD. Originally the company was primarily in two businesses, but since 2010 only in the second. CCM was best known for reissuing albums originally re ...

. Again on its own, ''Sundown'' was reissued on vinyl by Drastic Plastic Records in 2020.Drastic Plastic Records
/ref>

Track listing

All songs by Chip Kinman and Tony Kinman except as indicated.

Side one

#Amanda Ruth (3:10) #(Glad I'm) Not In Love (2:29) #Rank and File (

Alejandro Escovedo Pedro Alejandro Escovedo (born January 10, 1951) is an American rock musician, songwriter, and singer, who has been recording and touring since the late 1970s. His primary instrument is the guitar. He has played in various rock genres, includin ...

, Kinman, Session, Miller) (4:52) #The Conductor Wore Black (3:33)

Side two

#Sundown (3:04) #I Went Walking (2:57) #Lucky Day (3:42) #I Don't Go Out Much Anymore (2:17) #Coyote (5:05)

Personnel

*Chip Kinman - guitar, vocals, harmonica *Tony Kinman - bass, vocals *Slim Evans - drums *

- guitar, vocals

References

{{Authority control 1982 debut albums Rank and File (band) albums Albums produced by David Kahne Slash Records albums