Wax Ecstatic

Wax Ecstatic is the second studio album by American rock band Sponge. It was released on July 2, 1996 through Columbia Records.[1][2] The album features a more '70s hard rock-influenced sound compared with the band's previous release. It is the band's first album with drummer Charlie Grover, and includes the hit singles "Wax Ecstatic (To Sell Angelina)" and "Have You Seen Mary".

Wax Ecstatic
Studio album by
Sponge
ReleasedJuly 2, 1996
GenreAlternative rock, grunge, post-grunge, hard rock
Length38:33
49:40 (Japan Bonus Tracks)
18:03 (5 Track Sampler Album)
16:05 (4 Track Promo)
LabelColumbia
ProducerTim Patalan and Sponge
Sponge chronology
Rotting Piñata
(1994)		 Wax Ecstatic
(1996)		 New Pop Sunday
(1999)
Singles from Wax Ecstatic
  1. "Wax Ecstatic (To Sell Angelina)"
    Released: 1996
  2. "Have You Seen Mary"
    Released: 1996
5 Track Sampler Album
4 Track Promo

Production

Wax Ectastic was originally intended to be a concept album revolving around the death of a drag queen; instead, only two songs on the album address the subject.[3][4]

Critical reception
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[1]
The Encyclopedia of Popular Music[5]
MusicHound Rock: The Essential Album Guide[6]

Wax Ecstatic received mostly positive reviews. AllMusic staff writer Stephen Thomas Erlewine said "In order to grow, the group went back to their beginnings, touching on glam-rock, arena rock, blues-rock, and jangle-pop. Although it reveals Rotting Piñata to be somewhat calculating in its approach, Wax Ecstatic, ironically, is a far superior album."[1] Trouser Press wrote that the album "is markedly stripped down from the dense fury of Rotting Piñata, incorporating new instrumentation (piano, saxophone, cello) and working its way through such rootsy numbers as 'The Drag Queens of Memphis' and the album-closing 'Velveteen'."[7]

Track listing

All songs produced by Tim Patalan and Sponge.

No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."My Purity"Vinnie Dombroski, Mike Cross3:32
2."Got to Be a Bore"Vinnie Dombroski3:24
3."Wax Ecstatic (To Sell Angelina)"Vinnie Dombroski4:08
4."The Drag Queens of Memphis"Vinnie Dombroski4:54
5."I Am Anastasia"Vinnie Dombroski, Mike Cross, Joey Mazzola3:58
6."Silence Is Their Drug"Vinnie Dombroski3:11
7."Have You Seen Mary"Vinnie Dombroski, Mike Cross3:49
8."My Baby Said"Vinnie Dombroski, Joey Mazzola3:05
9."The Death of a Drag Queen"Vinnie Dombroski, Mike Cross, Joey Mazzola5:20
10."Velveteen" (Contains the hidden track "Imagine You")Vinnie Dombroski7:32
Japan Bonus Tracks
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
11."Imagine You" (Separate track)Vinnie Dombroski3:45
12."Mekron Bomb"Vinnie Dombroski, Joey Mazzola4:04
13."Imaginary Marriage"Vinnie Dombroski3:18
  • European Version contains "Slower Suicide"

Samplers and promos

All songs produced Tim Patalan and Sponge.

5 Track Sampler Album
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Got to Be a Bore"Vinnie Dombroski3:24
2."Wax Ecstatic (To Sell Angelina)" (Radio Edit)Vinnie Dombroski3:47
3."I Am Anastasia"Vinnie Dombroski, Mike Cross, Joey Mazzola3:58
4."My Baby Said"Vinnie Dombroski, Joey Mazzola3:05
5."Have You Seen Mary"Vinnie Dombroski, Mike Cross3:49

All songs produced by Tim Patalan and Sponge except where noted.

4 Track Promo
No.TitleWriter(s)Producer(s)Length
1."Wax Ecstatic (To Sell Angelina)"Vinnie Dombroski 4:08
2."No Fun" (Live at CBGB's December 4, 1995)Iggy Pop 3:45
3."Imaginary Marriage"Vinnie Dombroski 3:16
4."Wax Ecstatic (Critter Full On Remix)"Vinnie DombroskiTim Palmer, Critter4:56

Personnel
  • Vinnie Dombroski – vocals, drums, guitar
  • Mike Cross – guitar, bass
  • Tim Cross – bass
  • Joey Mazzola – guitar, backing vocals
  • Charlie Grover – drums

Additional personnel
  • Tim Patalan – recording
  • Andy Patalan & Matt Hanson – recording assistants
  • Tim Palmer – mixing, additional production on "Silence Is Their Drug"
  • Mark O'Donoughue – mix engineer
  • Jamie Seyberth – additional engineering
  • Lamont Hyde – engineering assistant
  • Steve King – engineer
  • Mike Corbett – post production edit
  • Howie Weinberg – mastering
  • Pablo Mathiason – A&R
  • Susan Silver – management
  • Stacy Fass – legal
  • Gudvi, Chapnick & Oppenheim – business management
  • John Jackson – international booking
  • Mary Maurer – art direction
  • SITE – design
  • Melanie Nissen – photography

Additional musicians
  • Richard Butler – additional vocals on "I Am Anastasia"
  • Johnny Evans – tenor, alto and baritone sax
  • Chris Codish – acoustic piano
  • Mando Dorame – sax solo on "My Baby Said"
  • Steve Baxter – trombone on "My Baby Said"
  • Donald Hayes – saxophone on "My Baby Said"
  • Anne King – trumpet on "My Baby Said"
  • Tim Patalan – cello

Equipment

Charts

Album
Chart (1996) Peak
position
US Billboard 200 60

Singles
Year Title US Hot 100 US Modern Rock US Mainstream Rock
1996 Wax Ecstatic (To Sell Angelina) 64 15[8] 11[8]
Have You Seen Mary - - 7

References
  1. "Wax Ecstatic - Sponge | Songs, Reviews, Credits | AllMusic" – via www.allmusic.com.
  2. "Remember Sponge? Oh, they remember us, alright". Tulsa World.
  3. "Sponge seems to have it all _ if only its new album would sell". Tampa Bay Times.
  4. Eddy, Chuck (August 25, 2016). "Terminated for Reasons of Taste: Other Ways to Hear Essential and Inessential Music". Duke University Press – via Google Books.
  5. Larkin, Colin (2006). The Encyclopedia of Popular Music. Volume 7: MUZE. p. 673.CS1 maint: location (link)
  6. MusicHound Rock: The Essential Album Guide. Visible Ink Press. 1999. p. 1072.
  7. "Sponge". Trouser Press. Retrieved January 19, 2021.
  8. "For Week Ending August 3, 1996". Billboard. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. August 3, 1996 – via Google Books.
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