Only Shallow

Album: Loveless (1992)
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • Written by Kevin Shields and Bilinda Butcher, both vocalists and guitarists for My Bloody Valentine, this is the album opener and second single from Loveless. The track is known for what Shields calls the "glide guitar" technique, which he explained in a 1992 Guitar World interview as "just two amps facing each other, with tremolo. And the tremolo on each amp is set to a different rate. There's a mic between the two amps. I did a couple of overdubs of that, then I reversed it and played it backwards into a sampler. I put them on top of each other so they kind of merged in."
  • Loveless was the band's second studio album and has gone down in music history as not only being their masterpiece, but also being the record that nearly bankrupted Creation Records. Over the course of three years, Shields went through dozens of engineers and set up shop in 19 different studios in an attempt to craft a perfect album. Label owner Alan McGee recalled to Spin in 1999: "I could see my label slipping away. I'd even mortgaged my own house. In the end, I had to emotionally blackmail Kevin to get him to finish."
  • Though the song opens with Colm O Ciosoig on the snare, the drummer was struggling with his physical and mental health and couldn't manage to play live on most of the album's other tracks.
  • Angus Cameron directed the music video, which incorporates performance footage along with close-ups of Butcher singing.
  • Canadian metal band Nadja included a slowed-down, digitally distorted rendition on their 2009 covers album When I See the Sun Always Shines on TV.
  • This was featured in the 1994 crime-comedy film Amateur, starring Isabelle Huppert and Martin Donovan.
  • This was the first MBV track to breakthrough in the US, where it peaked at #27 on the Modern Rock Tracks chart.

Comments

Be the first to comment...

Editor's Picks

Ian Astbury of The Cult

Ian Astbury of The CultSongwriter Interviews

The Cult frontman tells who the "Fire Woman" is, and talks about performing with the new version of The Doors.

Holly Knight ("The Best," "Love Is A Battlefield")

Holly Knight ("The Best," "Love Is A Battlefield")Songwriter Interviews

Holly Knight talks about some of the hit songs she wrote, including "The Warrior," "Never" and "The Best," and explains some songwriting philosophy, including how to think of a bridge.

80s Video Director Jay Dubin

80s Video Director Jay DubinSong Writing

Billy Joel and Hall & Oates hated making videos, so they chose a director with similar contempt for the medium. That was Jay Dubin, and he has a lot to say on the subject.

Boz Scaggs

Boz ScaggsSongwriter Interviews

The "Lowdown" and "Lido Shuffle" singer makes a habit of playing with the best in the business.

Kerry Livgren of Kansas

Kerry Livgren of KansasSongwriter Interviews

In this talk from the '80s, the Kansas frontman talks turning to God and writing "Dust In The Wind."

Band Names

Band NamesFact or Fiction

Was "Pearl" Eddie Vedder's grandmother, and did she really make a hallucinogenic jam? Did Journey have a contest to name the group? And what does KISS stand for anyway?