Happy Town (album)
| Happy Town | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by Jill Sobule | ||||
| Released | March 18, 1997 | |||
| Genre | Adult alternative | |||
| Length | 46:23 | |||
| Label | Atlantic | |||
| Producer |
Robin Eaton, Mark Goldenberg, Brad Jones | |||
| Jill Sobule chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Professional ratings | |
|---|---|
| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| Allmusic |   [1] |
| Rolling Stone |  [2] |
Happy Town is the third album by the American singer-songwriter Jill Sobule, released in 1997. (see 1997 in music). The album contains the singles "Bitter" and "When My Ship Comes In" as well as the fan favorite "Half a Heart" and the satirical social commentary "Soldiers of Christ" where Sobule sings from the point of view of a Christian Conservative to illustrate the existence of homophobia in religion. "Love Is Never Equal" appeared in the 2005 Jenny McCarthy film, Dirty Love.
"Bitter" peaked at #74 on the Australian ARIA singles chart in June 1997.[3] The album peaked at #83 on the Australian ARIA albums chart during the same month.[3]
The album cover illustration, which initially featured a Prozac pill, was changed to show a pair of test tubes when Wal-Mart refused to carry the album in its stores. The company asserted that the original image promoted drug abuse The album's lead single, "Bitter", peaked at #74 on Australia's ARIA Top 100 Singles chart on its release.[4]
Track listing
- "Bitter" (Barone, Sobule) – 3:30
- "Happy Town" (Goldenberg, Sobule) – 3:46
- "Barren Egg" (Eaton, Sobule) – 3:37
- "Half a Heart" (DeMain, Sobule) – 3:47
- "When My Ship Comes In" (Eaton, Gaye, Hunter, Sobule, Stevenson) – 3:50
- "Clever" (Eaton, Sobule) – 3:18
- "I'm So Happy" (Eaton, Sobule) – 2:43
- "Little Guy" (Sobule) – 3:24
- "Underachiever" (Sobule) – 3:42
- "Love Is Never Equal" (Eaton, Sobule) – 3:15
- "Soldiers of Christ" (Eaton, Sobule) – 3:20
- "Attic" (Sobule) – 2:10
- "Sold My Soul" (Eaton, Sobule) – 3:35
- "Super 8" (Galdston, Sobule) – 2:26
Personnel
- Jill Sobule – vocals, acoustic guitar, bass guitar, guitar, percussion, drums, keyboards, ebo, vibraphone
- Sam Bacco – percussion
- George Bradfute – electric guitar
- Louis Brown – tuba, cornet
- Chris Carmichael – strings
- Steve Earle – electric guitar, vocals
- Robin Eaton – guitar
- Phil Galdston – keyboards
- Mark Goldenberg – guitar, keyboards, vocals
- Mickey Grimm – percussion, drums
- Jim Hoke – clarinet, flute, harmonica, autoharp, bass clarinet, soprano saxophone
- Byron House – upright bass
- Brad Jones – organ, bass, piano, harmonium, keyboards, Moog synthesizer, vibraphone
- Viktor Krauss – upright bass
- Roger Moutenot – Moog synthesizer
- Al Perkins – pedal steel
- Ross Rice – bass, piano, drums, harmonium, Wurlitzer
Production
- Producers: Robin Eaton, Mark Goldenberg, Brad Jones
- Engineers: Brad Jones, Dominick Maita, Elijah Shaw
- Mixing: Roger Moutenot
- Mixing assistants: Rich Cohan, Sandy Jenkins, Chris Stone
- Programming: Mark Goldenberg
- Photography: Annette Aurell
- Arranger: Phil Galdston
- Production Coordination: Barbara Moutenot
- Cover design: Brad Talbott
- Illustrations: Brad Talbott
- Background vocals: Bob, Jim, Mary Ellen and Matthew Sobule
References
- ↑ Allmusic review
- ↑ Rolling Stone review
- 1 2 Ryan, Gavin (2011). Australia's Music Charts 1988-2010. Mt. Martha, VIC, Australia: Moonlight Publishing.
- ↑ Sobule, Jill (August 25, 2010). "I'm in the Newseum as an example of dumb censorship. And a song where I play drums!". Jill's Journal. Retrieved August 26, 2010.