Salem 66 Announce New Compilation, Full Catalog Hits Streaming For the First Time

In 1980s Boston, Judy Grunwald, Beth Kaplan and Susan Merriam formed Salem 66, joining a music scene that included the likes of Mission of Burma and Dinosaur Jr. (whose first NYC show was an opening set for Salem 66). Notably, Salem 66 was one of the only women-led bands in their community, and they released one EP, two singles and four LPs between 1984 and 1990. Their 1990 album, Down the Primrose Path, was produced by Sean Slade and Paul Q. Kolderie, who would later produce Radiohead’s Pablo Honey and Hole’s Live Through This.

While still active, Salem 66 toured with the Replacements and Raincoats and their jangle-pop sound was critically lauded by The New York Times, CREEM and The Village Voice, but their music has never been available to stream, until now. To coincide with the band’s newfound accessibility, Don Giovanni Records are reissuing the their music via a compilation, SALT, on June 6. Kaplan says of the upcoming reissue:

“We were a long time putting together this re-release, and it has been a journey—from finding the pictures to not finding the master tapes, from writing up some thoughts to deciding which songs to include here. Judy and I picked the songs and it wasn’t easy. After exploring and rejecting more scientific methods, ultimately we decided to just highlight some of our favorites, or, the songs that felt the most like us. So what you see (or hear) here is not necessarily a representative sampling from all of the recordings but it does feel, to me, like a pretty good Salem 66 sampler. Like a cross-stitch. Or a Whitman’s Sampler.”

She continues, “I hope you enjoy this record. If you were there with us, on the scene, whether in Boston or another town, I hope this brings you back to those youthful, passionate, perfectly imperfect days. If the band or the songs are new to you, or if you were born a generation or two after the fact, I hope you enjoy a glimpse at this sliver of a sliver of history.”