Smeared is the debut studio album by Canadian rock band Sloan. It was released in Canada on October 1, 1992, and in the United States in January, 1993, on Geffen Records. The album was recorded at a low cost of $1,200.[6] The album is ranked 86th in the 2007 book The Top 100 Canadian Albums by music journalist Bob Mersereau and is widely considered a seminal album of Canada's 1990s alternative rock scene. In an interview with GuitarWorld, in December 2022, Patrick Pentland stated that a Smeared 30th Anniversary reissue is in the works, slated for 2023.[7] The deluxe edition reissue was eventually released in May 2024, which featured a 44-page book, concert poster, unreleased demos & outtakes from the Smeared sessions, as well as a previously unreleased live concert from June 1993 at McGill University, in Montreal.
Overview
Like their first release, the Peppermint EP, Smeared received comparisons to Sonic Youth and Beatles.[citation needed] Three songs from Peppermint re-appear on Smeared; one of these ("Underwhelmed") was entirely re-recorded, while the other two ("Marcus Said" and "Sugartune") are the same recordings with new mixing. The band had originally intended to name the album Gluegun.[8]
The track Median Strip, despite being principally written by Andrew Scott, was sung by Chris Murphy. An alternate version featuring Scott's vocals was included on the 2024 deluxe reissue.[9]
Music videos were produced for the tracks "Underwhelmed", "500 Up", and "Sugar Tune". The music video for "Sugar Tune" was shot in the Spring of 1993, in Iowa, while the band were on their United States tour of Smeared, and was shot by Super Friendz' Matt Murphy. This video went unreleased until December 2024.[10] Two videos were shot for "Underwhelmed". The first version of the video, shot by Colin MacKenzie, was shot in Clayton Park, in Halifax, NS, in June of 1992, at Chris' parents house.[11] This version of the video, was the winner of the Moonsnail Award, in the Music Video category, at the Atlantic Film Festival, in 1992.[12] Both "Underwhelmed" and "500 Up" received moderate rotation on MuchMusic in the early 1990s. Jennifer Pierce, of fellow Halifax band Jale, sang backing vocals on "I Am the Cancer".
Commercial performance
By September 1993, the album had sold more than 150,000 copies worldwide.[13] The album was certified Gold in Canada on July 12, 1995. By February 1997, the album had sold 60,000 units in Canada.[6]
