From the Vaults Friday: Dinosaur Jr, You're Living All Over Me (1987)

The Year: 1987
The Album: Dinosaur Jr, You're Living All Over Me
Who It Influenced: Built to Spill, My Bloody Valentine, Nirvana, Pearl Jam, ...And You Will Know Us By the Trail of Dead, Modest Mouse

When You're Living All Over Me arrived on the desk of SST Records —the erstwhile punk-rock powerhouse that originally released the LP in 1987— the production manager, famously, thought that something was wrong with the master tapes. J Mascis's electric guitar playing was recorded so loud, and pushed up so high in the mix, that it started distorting, 'clipping' into fuzz when it got literally too loud for the tape to handle. Yet, Mascis explained, this was how he wanted it to sound; his vision.

Mascis formed Dinosaur (as they were originally called, only adding the Jr later for legal reasons) in 1984 with the idea of making 'ear-bleeding country.' Having grown up playing hardcore but loving Neil Young and Led Zeppelin, Mascis played tuneful, twangy, heartfelt songs that blasted out at crazy volumes; his virtuoso guitar-playing spilling out in layers upon layers of noisy, squalling lead-breaks and overdriven solos.

22 years later, the recently-reunited original band are back in fine form with this week's release of the really great Farm. But You're Living All Over Me is their definitive work; the album on which Mascis founded the sound for which he'd grow to be famous. Even when placed against their shiny new disc, it still sounds wholly unhinged; still crazy after all these years.

• Full review: Dinosaur Jr, You're Living All Over Me