Tracks

1. So Much For The Afterglow

2. Everything To Everyone

3. Ataraxia (Media Intro)

4. Normal Like You

5. I Will Buy You A New Life

6. Father Of Mine

7. One Hit Wonder

8. El Disterte De Melodica

9. Amphetamine

10. White Men In Black Suits

11. Sunflowers

12. Why I Don't Believe In God

13. Like A California King

Performer Notes

Everclear: Art Alexakis (vocals, guitar, steel guitar, keyboards, banjo, mandolin, toy piano); Craig Montoya (vocals, mandolin, keyboards, bass); Greg Eklund (vocals, slide whistle, keyboards, drums, percussion).
Additional personnel: Paul Cantelon (violin); Gerri Stutyak (cello); Derron Nuhfer (saxophone); Neal Avron (trumpet); Buddy Schnaub (trombone); Rami Jaffee (organ).
Recorded at A&M Studios, Rondor Studios, Los Angeles, California; Ocean Studios, Burbank, California; Whitehorse Studios, Portland, Oregon, in November 1996, January and March 1997.
"El Distorto De Melodica" was nominated for the 1999 Grammy Award for Best Rock Instrumental Performance.
Personnel: Art Alexakis (vocals, guitar, steel guitar, banjo, mandolin, piano, toy piano, keyboards); Craig Montoya (vocals, mandolin, keyboards, bass guitar, sound effects); Greg Eklund (vocals, slide whistle, keyboards, drums, percussion); Paul Cantelon (violin); Gerri Sutyak (cello); Derron Nuhfer (saxophone); Neal Avron (trumpet); Buddy Schnaub (trombone); Lars Fox (loops, sampler).
Audio Mixers: Neal Avron; Andy Wallace.
Recording information: A & M Studios, L.A., CA (11/1996-03/1997); Brooklyn Studios, LA, CA (11/1996-03/1997); Ocean Studios, Burbank, CA (11/1996-03/1997); Rondor Studios, LA, CA (11/1996-03/1997); Whitehorse Studios, Portland, O (11/1996-03/1997).
Editor: Joe Zook.
Photographers: Frank Ockenfels; Krista Gaylor.
On their follow up to their hit album SPARKLE AND FADE, Everclear continue to ride the wave of Pacific Northwest grunge that brought them their original success. Mixing three-chord rock and straightforward lyrics about the seamier side of Generation X, Everclear achieve an earthiness that the Foo Fighters and other grunge survivors aim for but never quite seem to attain.
Leader Art Alexakis sings about people besieged by unfortunate circumstances. When he sings "They have never been poor/They have never had the joy of a welfare christmas" In "I Will Buy You A New Life", he makes his characters' plight real with the understanding and insight of someone who's been there himself. Some of the most effective moments come when he draws on his own experiences; his absentee father and his mother's nervous breakdown are each the subject of powerful songs, and when he sings "You wouldn't even know me since you went away" in "Normal Like You" it is unclear whether he is talking about his father, an old friend, or himself.

Professional Reviews

Spin - "Everclear mostly maintain their sonic momentum. They're just dealing more kinds of hooks: ringing Big Country guitars, Appalachian 'No Depression' fiddles, scads of Vox organ and 'Louie Louie' new wave garage-bounce so Art's voice can slide down into Elvis Costello nasality at the end of each verse."

Spin (11/97, p.141) - 8 (out of 10) - "...in general, these guys now seem less and less compelled to prove punk credentials by hiding their melodies under barrages of gunk. They still sound restless...and they're still obsessed with the hungry, hollow place where good things die and lovers lose the power to make each other laugh..."

Q (1/01, p.124) - 4 out of 5 stars - "...A set of angular, driving, in-your-face numbers....with 'Amphetamine' being the best surly punk song Nirvana never wrote."