This Day in Music
Two of the great genre-less albums from the nineties, an eagle destroys the neighbourhood, and Elvis says, “Aloha, UK," on this day in music.
Releases
1992: Are they grunge? Rock? Punk? Country? Blues? No, they are Cracker, and today is the 34th anniversary of the release of their debut studio album, “Cracker.”
Co-founded in Richmond, VA, by David Lowery, also of eclectic rock act Camper Van Beethoven, and his childhood friend Johnny Hickman, the pair soon joined with bassist David Faragher, recording a demo and performing a short tour with hired studio and touring drummers. Never settling on a permanent drummer until Coco Owens joined in 2014, “Cracker” features studio legend Jim Keltner on drums.
Well rated by critics, the CD received a 4/4 from The Chicago Tribune and an A from Entertainment Weekly. Trouser Press wrote, “On Cracker, Lowery strips rock down to its muscular essence...this album of catchy, clever and disarmingly ironic songs.”
The album earned the band its fair share of fans (including this blogger), and was a hit on college radio, with the single, “Teen Angst (What the World Needs Now),” reaching No. 1 on the Billboard Modern Rock Tracks chart.
Other standout tracks include “Happy Birthday to Me,” “I See the Light,” “St. Cajetan,” “Mr. Wrong,” “Don’t Fuck Me Up (With Peace and Love),” and the closing number, “Dr. Bernice.” All 12 songs are fabulous, though.
1995: The Presidents of the United States of America issue their debut studio album, “The Presidents of the United States of America.”
Released during the peak popularity of grunge and pop-punk, The Presidents produced an album of simple, catchy rock tunes that hooked the listener with self-deprecating and witty humour, fitting neither sub-genre, and ushering in the “post-grunge” era, the music world needing an era name for every six months of its history.
The band's gimmick was to play songs with only three strings on the guitar, two strings on the bass, and a pared-down set of three drums. It worked! Though the album wasn't for everyone, it received its fair share of positive reviews (including from this blogger), particularly retrospectively.
Three singles were released, all of which made the Top-20 of the Billboard Modern Rock Tracks chart, with “Lump” going all the way to No. 1. The album was a commercial success, peaking at No. 6 on the Billboard 200, where it was certified 3x Platinum, and No. 5 on the Canada RPM Albums Chart, where it went 4x Platinum.
This is one of those albums with great songs from start to finish. If you’ve never heard it, of course today would be a good day to buy it on iTunes, CD, or vinyl, and enjoy its sonic pleasure.
1981: American singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, but primarily guitarist, Joe Walsh, releases his fifth studio album, “There Goes the Neighbourhood.”
It was the follow-up to his 1978 album, “But Seriously, Folks..,” though in between he made an album titled “The Long Run” with little-known act, the Eagles, but it went unnoticed having only sold ten million copies.
Critics were split in the extreme in their rating of “There Goes the Neighbourhood.” AllMusic compiled a rating of 4.5-Stars, while Rolling Stone decided it was worthy of only 2-Stars. One single from the LP charted, “Life of Illusion,” which hit No. 1 on the Billboard Mainstream Rock chart and became a Joe Walsh classic. The album itself peaked at No. 20 on the Billboard 200.
The Daily Elvis
1973: Elvis reaches No. 11 in the U.K. with the soundtrack album, “Aloha From Hawaii Via Satellite,” recorded during his concert at the Honolulu International Center on January 14, 1973, and broadcast via satellite to Asia and Oceania.
Pictured: Cracker, from L to R: Professor David Lowery, B.A., Ed. D., of the University of Georgia Music Business program, and musical collaborator, guitarist, singer, and film score composer, Johnny Hickman.
