So Tonight That I Might See Explained

So Tonight That I Might See is the second studio album by American alternative rock band Mazzy Star, released by Capitol Records on September 27, 1993 in the United Kingdom,^[2] and on October 5, 1993 in the United States.^[3]

The album's first track, "Fade into You", became the band's first and only single to make the Billboard Hot 100 chart, peaking at number 44, and also charted at number 48 on the UK Singles Chart.

Critical reception

Los Angeles Times critic Steve Hochman raved that So Tonight That I Might See "may be the culmination" of the Paisley Underground scene from which Mazzy Star originated, deeming the album "far more narcotic and hypnotic than anything the whole techno-trance universe has digitally blipped up to date." In NME, Keith Cameron called it "an even more lustrous, becalmed work" than Mazzy Star's 1990 debut She Hangs Brightly, and the magazine later ranked it as the 44th-best album of 1993.^[4] Lorraine Ali was more critical in Rolling Stone, writing that the album's initially intriguing qualities grow "increasingly monotonous", while Robert Christgau of The Village Voice dismissed it as a "dud".^[5]

In a retrospective review for AllMusic, Ned Raggett said that "So Tonight That I Might See remains the group's undisputed high point, mixing in plenty of variety among its tracks without losing sight of what made the group so special to begin with." In 2010, Pitchfork listed "Fade into You" as the 19th-best track of the 1990s,^[6] while So Tonight That I Might See was ranked second on the website's 2018 list of the best dream pop albums,^[7] and 116th on its 2022 list of the best albums of the 1990s.^[8]

Personnel

Credits are adapted from the album's liner notes.^[9]

Mazzy Star

• Hope Sandoval – vocals, harmonica, guitar, tambourine, album design
• David Roback – guitar, piano, keyboard, production, album design

Additional personnel

• Jason Yates – bass
• Keith Mitchell – drums
• William Cooper – strings
• Dale Everingham – technical assistance

Notes and References

1. Web site: Five Easy Masterpieces: an introduction to neo-psychedelia . . April 23, 2024 . July 3, 2024 . Potter . Jordan.
2. Mazzy Star: So Tonight That I Might See . . October 2, 1993 . Capitol Records . Capitol Records . 30.
3. Mazzy Star Guides 'Tonight' Out of Underground . . 105 . 42 . October 16, 1993 . Rosen . Craig . 16.
4. Nothing Compares to Debut . . December 25, 1993 – January 1, 1994 . 66–67.
5. News: Consumer Guide . . September 13, 1994 . August 13, 2017 . Christgau . Robert . Robert Christgau.
6. Web site: The Top 200 Tracks of the 1990s: 20–01 . . September 2, 2010 . April 24, 2018.
7. Web site: The 30 Best Dream Pop Albums . . April 16, 2018 . April 24, 2018.
8. Web site: The 150 Best Albums of the 1990s . . September 28, 2022 . April 26, 2023.
9. So Tonight That I Might See . . . 1993 . CDP 0777 7 98253 2 5 . liner notes.