NRBQ (album)
| NRBQ | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
.jpg) | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | 1999 | |||
| Genre | Rock | |||
| Label | Rounder | |||
| Producer | Terry Adams, Joey Spampinato | |||
| NRBQ chronology | ||||
| ||||
NRBQ is an album by the American band NRBQ, released in 1999.[1][2] According to NRBQ, the album is untitled, with just the band's name on the cover.[3] It was NRBQ's final studio album for Rounder Records.[4]
The album coincided with NRBQ's 30th anniversary and a period of renewed interest in the band, during which they appeared in The Simpsons and the film 28 Days.[5][6] The band supported the album with a North American tour that included a 30th anniversary celebration with the Shaggs.[7][8]
Production
[edit]The album was recorded between January and May of 1999.[9] It was the first regular studio album with Johnny Spampinato on lead guitar; he wrote some of the album's songs with his brother.[10][11] "Housekeeping" was inspired by decades of being awakened by hotel maids while on tour.[12] "Tired of Your Permanent" was influenced by rockabilly music.[3] "Birdman" was originally intended for Space Ghost Coast to Coast.[13]
Critical reception
[edit]| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [5] |
| Orlando Sentinel | [14] |
| (The New) Rolling Stone Album Guide |  [15] |
| Winston-Salem Journal | [16] |
The Hartford Courant noted that "I Want My Mommy" "may well be the most annoying NRBQ song of all time."[17] The Orlando Sentinel determined that the "gorgeous 'Blame It on the World' ... sounds like a long-lost McCartney-Gilberto Gil collaboration."[14] The Courier News concluded that, "for the first time in many years, an NRBQ studio album fails to contain at least one truly memorable song."[18]
The Telegram & Gazette stated that the album is "rocking, jazzy, bluesy, ballady, cartoony stuff pulled together with a patented NRBQ sense of logic."[19] The New York Times wrote that NRBQ "still loves the same basic rock ingredients: the ingratiating melodies of 1960's pop, the twang and two-beat of rockabilly and the splashy, rowdy piano playing that links Jerry Lee Lewis to Sun Ra."[20] The Morning Call listed NRBQ among the worst albums of 1999.[21] The Winston-Salem Journal opined that "the aging band's air of childlike innocence, once charming, now seems creepy."[16]
Track listing
[edit]| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Ain't No Horse" | Donn Adams, Terry Adams | 3:46 |
| 2. | "Sail On Sail On" | Joey Spampinato | 3:10 |
| 3. | "Pain" | T. Adams | 2:33 |
| 4. | "Housekeeping" | Joey Spampinato, Johnny Spampinato, T. Adams | 3:26 |
| 5. | "Breakaway to My Dreams" | Joey Spampinato, Johnny Spampinato | 2:52 |
| 6. | "Puddin' Truck" | T. Adams | 3:14 |
| 7. | "CM Pups" | T. Adams | 3:09 |
| 8. | "Take Me to Your Secret" | Joey Spampinato, Johnny Spampinato, T. Adams | 2:47 |
| 9. | "Blame It on the World" | Joey Spampinato, Johnny Spampinato | 3:02 |
| 10. | "Birdman" | David Greenberger, T. Adams | 1:03 |
| 11. | "I Want My Mommy" | T. Adams | 2:01 |
| 12. | "Careful What You Ask For" | Joey Spampinato | 3:23 |
| 13. | "Tired of Your Permanent" | T. Adams | 2:05 |
| 14. | "Love Came to Me" | Joey Spampinato | 3:05 |
| 15. | "Termites" | T. Adams | 3:22 |
References
[edit]- ^ Haymes, Greg (19 Aug 1999). "Staying Power". Times Union. Albany. p. P4.
- ^ Gettelman, Parry (29 Aug 1999). "And speaking of bold veterans...". Season Preview. Orlando Sentinel. p. 4.
- ^ a b Booth, Philip (4 Feb 2000). "NRBQ: The same after all these years". Ticket. Sarasota Herald-Tribune. p. 4.
- ^ Milano, Brett (14 Oct 2000). "Music Review". Arts & Lifestyle. Boston Herald. p. 25.
- ^ a b "NRBQ [1999] Review by Stephen Thomas Erlewine". AllMusic. Retrieved 14 October 2023.
- ^ Bessman, Jim (Aug 21, 1999). "Rounder's NRBQ marks 30 years". Billboard. Vol. 111, no. 34. pp. 1, 84.
- ^ Pizek, Jeff (17 Sep 1999). "NRBQ with the Mike Plume Band". Time Out. Daily Herald. Arlington Heights. p. 4.
- ^ Schardl, Kati (28 Jan 2000). "NRBQ: Electric and Electrifying". Tallahassee Democrat. p. F14.
- ^ Aloi, Daniel (18 Aug 1999). "Me and the boys: The Q still rocking". Star-Gazette. p. D3.
- ^ Beckerman, Jim (30 Sep 1999). "NRBQ Is Worshipped by the Best of Them". The Record. Bergen County. p. Y3.
- ^ Seiler, Andy (5 May 2000). "NRBQ rocking three decades on". USA Today. p. 2E.
- ^ Himes, Geoffrey (3 Dec 1999). "NRBQ 'NRBQ' Rounder". The Washington Post. p. WW7.
- ^ Musser, Jim (16 Sep 1999). "NRBQ: 'Still crazy after all these years'". Iowa City Press-Citizen. p. 2D.
- ^ a b Gettelman, Parry (24 Sep 1999). "Sublime 'NRBQ' Head to Silly Side". Calendar. Orlando Sentinel. p. 12.
- ^ (The New) Rolling Stone Album Guide. Simon & Schuster. 2004. p. 592.
- ^ a b Bumgardner, Ed (24 Sep 1999). "Music". Winston-Salem Journal. p. E8.
- ^ Catlin, Roger (16 Sep 1999). "They're Still Here, Wherever That Is". Calendar. Hartford Courant. p. 6.
- ^ Junior, Chris M. (7 Oct 1999). "Album Reviews". Courier News. p. D8.
- ^ McLennan, Scott (7 Oct 1999). "Quirky NRBQ defies definition and thrives on eccentricities". Telegram & Gazette. p. C5.
- ^ Pareles, Jon (19 Nov 1999). "Pop and Jazz Guide". The New York Times. p. E31.
- ^ Righi, Len (8 Jan 2000). "Worst". The Morning Call. p. A33.