II (The Presidents of the United States of America album)
II is the second studio album by the American alternative rock band The Presidents of the United States of America. It was released via Columbia Records on November 5, 1996, coinciding with the United States presidential election.
II | ||||
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Studio album by | ||||
Released | November 5, 1996 | |||
Recorded | Studio Litho, Seattle, Washington, August 1996 | |||
Genre | ||||
Length | 39:47 | |||
Label | Columbia | |||
Producer | Chris Ballew, Dave Dederer, Jason Finn, Craig Montgomery | |||
The Presidents of the United States of America chronology | ||||
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Singles from II | ||||
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Review scores | |
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Source | Rating |
AllMusic | [1] |
The A.V. Club | (Unfavorable)[2] |
Chicago Tribune | [3] |
Entertainment Weekly | A−[4] |
Los Angeles Times | [5] |
Rolling Stone | [6] |
Background
The album included a few songs that originally appeared on Froggystyle, a self-released cassette that was recorded before their debut album, The Presidents of the United States of America. These songs, which were re-recorded for this album, were "L.I.P", then known as "Little Indian Princess", "Lunatic to Love" and "Puffy Little Shoes". Also, "Twig" was re-recorded, as it was previously recorded as a b-side to a "Lump" single, where it was known as "Twig in the Wind". That version was later released on Rarities as "Twig (Semi Acoustic Version)".
Track listing
All songs by The Presidents of the United States of America.
- "Ladies and Gentlemen, Part 1" – 1:39
- "Lunatic to Love" – 2:57
- "Volcano" – 2:58
- "Mach 5" – 3:15
- "Twig" – 2:37
- "Bug City" – 3:05
- "Bath of Fire" – 2:57
- "Tiki God" – 2:58
- "L.I.P." – 3:20
- "Froggie" – 3:10
- "Toob Amplifier" – 1:22
- "Supermodel" – 2:49
- "Puffy Little Shoes" – 4:59
- "Ladies and Gentlemen, Part 2" – 3:03
- "Basketball Dream" – 0:55 (hidden track)
"Basketball Dream" features a boy, Tony Ballew (a relative of Chris Ballew), describing a dream he had about Magic Johnson - for this reason, the track is often mislabeled "Magic Johnson Dream". Chris Ballew can be heard faintly whispering the lyrics underneath the boy. The recording of Tony's voice, with a different musical backing, previously appeared on Feel Good, an album by Ballew's pre-PUSA band Egg, in 1987.
Personnel
- The Presidents of the United States of America
- Chris Ballew – basitar, bass, lead vocals, keyboards
- Dave Dederer – guitbass, guitar, background vocals
- Jason Finn – drums, percussion, background vocals
- Additional personnel
- Dave Thiele
- Tony Ballew – baby voice on "Basketball Dream"
- Mark Sandman – tritar on "Froggie"
- S. Craig Montgomery – co-producing, engineering
- Wally Traugott – mastering
- Lance Mercer – photography
- Jerry Finn – mixing
- Doug Erb – art directing
- Tom Smurdon – assistant engineering
Charts
Album - Billboard (North America)
Year | Chart | Position |
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1996 | The Billboard 200 | 31 |
Singles - Billboard (North America)
Year | Single | Chart | Position |
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1996 | "Mach 5" | Modern Rock Tracks | 11 |
References
- Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "II - The Presidents of the United States of America". Allmusic. Macrovision Corporation. Retrieved 4 February 2010.
- Thompson, Stephen (March 29, 2002). "The Presidents Of The United States Of America: II". The A.V. Club. Onion, Inc. Retrieved 4 February 2010.
- Kot, Greg (November 8, 1996). "Presidents of the United States of America II (Columbia)". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved 25 February 2013.
- Browne, David (November 8, 1996). "No. 1 with a Ballot (Page 2)". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved 25 February 2013.
- Scribner, Sara (December 8, 1996). "Presidents of the United States of America, 'II'". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 25 February 2013.
- Cohen, Jason (November 28, 1996). "Presidents of the United States of America: II : Music Reviews". Rolling Stone. Jann Wenner. Archived from the original on November 13, 2007. Retrieved 4 February 2010.