Editing Yo La Tengo (section)

===Early releases, 1986–1989===
In 1986, Yo La Tengo released their first LP, ''[[Ride the Tiger (album)|Ride the Tiger]]'' on Coyote Records. Produced by former [[Mission of Burma]] bassist [[Clint Conley]] who also took over bass duties on three songs, the album "marked Yo La Tengo as a band with real potential" according to reviewer Mark Deming.<ref>{{AllMusic |class=album |tab=review |id=r22470 |label=''Ride the Tiger'' Yo La Tengo > Review |first=Mark |last=Deming |access-date=11 August 2009 }}</ref> Kaplan was credited as "naive guitar" on the sleeve, and in the liner notes for the 1993 reissue of the album on [[City Slang Records]], went so far as to say "Dave's guitar playing is inarguably the best thing about the record."

Schramm and Lewis left the band after the album's release, with Kaplan subsequently taking on the role of lead guitar and Stephan Wichnewski joining to play bass. The group's next album ''[[New Wave Hot Dogs]]'' (1987) sold poorly, but, per Deming, "was a quantum leap over the sound of their debut."<ref name=AllMusic />

The release of ''[[President Yo La Tengo]]'' in 1989 did much to establish the band's reputation among rock critics; [[Robert Christgau]] praised the "mysterioso guitar hook" of the first song, "Barnaby, Hardly Working".<ref name="robertchristgau.com">{{cite web |publisher=[[Robert Christgau]] |first=Robert |last=Christgau |title=Yo La Tengo > Consumer Guide Reviews |url=http://www.robertchristgau.com/get_artist.php?name=Yo+La+Tengo |access-date=11 August 2009 }}</ref> Produced by Gene Holder of [[The dB's]], the album was the band's last release on Coyote. Despite the album's positive reception, sales were still poor and Wichnewski left the band not long after. Hubley and Kaplan carried on as a duo and began playing two-electric-guitar shows.