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To the Center is the debut studio album by the stoner rock band Nebula.[3][4] It was released in 1999 on Sub Pop,[5][6] The album was later reissued in 2018 by the band's current label, Heavy Psych Sounds Records.[7]

To the Center
Studio album by Nebula
Released	August 24, 1999
Recorded	April 1998
Studio	Hanzsek Audio, Seattle
Genre	Stoner rock
Length	47:51
Label	Sub Pop
Producer	Jack Endino & Nebula
Nebula chronology
Nebula/Lowrider (1999) To the Center (1999) Charged (2001)

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[1]
Chicago Sun-Times	[2]

Production

Recorded in Seattle, the album was produced with Jack Endino.[8] Guitar player Eddie Glass employed a Gibson SG.[2]

Mark Arm sang on the band's cover of the Stooges' "I Need Somebody".[9]

Critical reception

Exclaim! wrote that Glass "transformed himself into a veritable guitar god almost overnight in an era wherein the slightest six-string noodling is waved off the road, considered indulgent."[5] The Chicago Tribune thought that "acoustic guitars, sitar, [and] synthesizer give this Hendrix-like trio added texture."[10] OC Weekly decided that "the band also gets a little groovy, pulling out the aural incense to jam on the Fugazi-like 'Freedom' and synthesizer-laced, Jefferson Airplane-ish 'Synthetic Dream'."[11]

The Province determined that "this power trio seems to have blotted up its churn and burn from ancient Frisco acid rock band, Blue Cheer."[12] Tucson Weekly deemed To the Center "an album which undeniably pushes the band to the forefront of its genre, whether or not you've got a bong in front of you."[13]

Houston Press wrote: "On a song such as 'Come Down', Nebula actually does what few '90s bands have ever done, chemically enhanced or not: It achieves true heaviness. After the song's simple three-note syncopated intro doubles back on itself, Glass scratches his guitar pick down his strings before singing the hurried lyrics. And it's during those one and a half seconds, the time it takes for Glass's pick to travel a few inches, that Nebula is the heaviest band on earth. Not since Ritchie Blackmore's days with Deep Purple has the simple gesture of pick scratching been used so perfectly."[14]

AllMusic called the album a "retro-psychedelic heavy rock platter, long on stripped-down riff muscle and surprisingly technically adept guitar jams."[1]

Track listing

All Music by Eddie Glass, Lyrics by Eddie Glass/Ruben Romano, except where noted

1. "To the Center" 6:31
2. "Come Down" 2:01
3. "Whatcha Lookin' For" 2:37
4. "Clearlight" 4:29
5. "Freedom" 7:14
6. "Antigone" 2:30
7. "I Need Somebody" 4:18 (Mark Arm on Vocals) (Written by Iggy Pop and James Williamson)
8. "So Low" 3:45
9. "Synthetic Dream" 4:28
10. "Fields of Psilocybin" 2:15
11. "Between Time" 3:22
12. "You Mean Nothing" 4:21

Personnel

• Eddie Glass – guitar, vocals, percussion
• Ruben Romano – drums, vocals, percussion, sitar
• Mark Abshire – bass, vocals, audio generator

Credits

Produced by Jack Endino & Nebula

Engineered by Jack Endino

Recorded at Hanzsek Audio, Seattle, April 1999

Except Track 6 recorded at Private Radio, Seattle, August 1998

Mastered by John Golden

All songs by Eddie Glass Volcanic Pineapple (ASCAP)

Except Track 9 by Neil Blender & Eddie Glass

Track 7 by Iggy Pop/James Williamson, Bug Music/Fleur Music Limited/James

Osterberg Music/Screen Gems Music/ Strait James Music BMI

Track 11 by Randy Holden, Guitar God Music BMI

Front, Back, & Band Photos: Alex Obleas

Live Photos: Jenny Mcgee

Extra Collage Photos: Craig McDonald, Manu & Birgit

Cover Concept: Nebula

Cover Assembly: Mark Abshire

References

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