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Happy Town (album)

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Happy Town
Studio album by
Jill Sobule
ReleasedMarch 18, 1997
GenreExperimental pop[1]
Length46:23
LabelAtlantic[2]
ProducerRobin Eaton,
Brad Jones[3]
Jill Sobule chronology
Jill Sobule
(1995) 		Happy Town
(1997) 		Pink Pearl
(2000)
Singles from Happy Town
  1. "When My Ship Comes In"
    Released: 1997
  2. "Bitter"
    Released: June 1997

Happy Town is the third album by the American singer-songwriter Jill Sobule, released in 1997.[4][5] The album contains the singles "Bitter" and "When My Ship Comes In".

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.[6]

Music and lyrics

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In 1997, The Washington Times labelled the album as having "smart, funny, quirky pop songs", and considered it to be building on the sound of her 1995 self-titled album. They believed that album to be a noticeable departure from her 1990 debut Things Here Are Different, which they said had more of a typical, serious female singer-songwriter sound.[7] In 1998, The New York Daily Times considered her lighthearted female singer-songwriter sound to be similar to newer artists such as Amy Rigby and Kim Fox, who released their debuts in the wake of Sobule's self-titled album.[8]

The album incorporates a variety of instruments, including cornets, flutes, hurdy-gurdys, organs, harmoniums, saxophones, steel pedal guitars, synthesizers, tubas, vibraphones and wurlitzers.[9] The track "Soldiers of Christ" is a satirical social commentary, where Sobule sings from the point of view of a Christian Conservative to illustrate the existence of homophobia in religion. The music on the track itself is earnest, contrasting the satirical lyrics. "Underachiever" is one of the album's more melancholic tracks, and lyrically is a character sketch about a social outcast high school girl.[10] AllMusic described the song as being a "poignant tale of an oversensitive high school history student who loves to gaze the hour away at her teacher without thought to her declining grades".[11] An outtake called "Loveless Motel" was included as a B-side for the "Bitter" single. It was later included on Sobule's 2000 album Pink Pearl.[12]

Commercial performance and promotion

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The album only sold 24,000 copies in the US within the first year of its release, which was then a low number for an artist on a major record label.[13] It did not manage to chart in the United States, and Sobule was dropped by Atlantic after the release of Happy Town.[14] Sobule said she was "proud" of the record and its honesty and experimentation, even though it got her dropped from Atlantic. She said that it went in even more of a strange direction than her previous record, which the label didn't think was a good idea.[15]

"Bitter" was released as a single a few months after the album came out, and had a music video. The song was relatively successful in Australia, peaking at No. 74 on the Australian ARIA singles chart in June 1997,[16] and the album itself peaked at No. 83 on the Australian ARIA albums chart during the same month.[16] The song's video would be featured on Australian music video program Rage.[17] "Bitter" also received some radio airplay in Germany and Switzerland during June 1997.[18][19][20]

Critical reception

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Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[11]
Deseret News[1]
The Encyclopedia of Popular Music[21]
MusicHound Rock: The Essential Album Guide[3]
Rolling Stone[22]

The Spokesman-Review called the album "a bold step forward for a creatively expansive artist."[2] Trouser Press called it "a record to respect rather than appreciate," writing that "many of the songs are fine, and she’s one of contemporary pop’s better observational songwriters, but the tone is unremittingly hostile."[23] The Deseret News gave it three out of four stars, deeming it "fun, liberal, spunky and sarcastic."[1] The Baltimore Sun wrote that "the title tune's shift from cheesy, low-key organ to bright, power-pop guitar make it easy to understand the difference between the dull old world and life in that new, prozac-ed 'Happy Town'."[24]

Track listing

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  1. "Bitter" (Richard Barone, Sobule) – 3:30
  2. "Happy Town" (Goldenberg, Sobule) – 3:46
  3. "Barren Egg" (Eaton, Sobule) – 3:37
  4. "Half a Heart" (DeMain, Sobule) – 3:47
  5. "When My Ship Comes In" (Eaton, Marvin Gaye, Ivy Jo Hunter, Sobule, William Stevenson) – 3:50
  6. "Clever" (Eaton, Sobule) – 3:18
  7. "I'm So Happy" (Eaton, Sobule) – 2:43
  8. "Little Guy" (Sobule) – 3:24
  9. "Underachiever" (Sobule) – 3:42
  10. "Love Is Never Equal" (Eaton, Sobule) – 3:15
  11. "Soldiers of Christ" (Eaton, Sobule) – 3:20
  12. "Attic" (Sobule) – 2:10
  13. "Sold My Soul" (Eaton, Sobule) – 3:35
  14. "Super 8" (Galdston, Sobule) – 2:26

Personnel

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Musicians

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Production

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  • 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

Charts

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Chart performance for Happy Town
Chart (1997) Peak
position
Australian Albums (ARIA)[16] 83

References

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  1. ^ a b c "Jackson, Miramax, Sobule hit targets with albums". Deseret News. July 12, 1997.
  2. ^ a b "Jill Sobule Takes Bold Step With 'Happy Town' | The Spokesman-Review". www.spokesman.com.
  3. ^ a b MusicHound Rock: The Essential Album Guide. Visible Ink Press. 1999. p. 1045.
  4. ^ "Jill Sobule | Biography & History". AllMusic.
  5. ^ Buckley, Peter (January 17, 2003). The Rough Guide to Rock. Rough Guides. ISBN 9781843531050 – via Google Books.
  6. ^ 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. Archived from the original on September 3, 2010. Retrieved August 26, 2010.
  7. ^ https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/lifestyle/1997/03/14/smart-funny-sobule/30ce176b-115e-4f64-9dfb-37e5446d073d/
  8. ^ "CHAFING AMY RIGBY'S FED UP (AND FUNNY) IN 'MIDDLESCENCE'". September 20, 1998.
  9. ^ Liner notes for Happy Town, 1997.
  10. ^ "Jill Sobule". www.warr.org.
  11. ^ a b AllMusic review
  12. ^ "PinkPearl". jillsobule.
  13. ^ Topcik, Joel (September 25, 2004). "Always Up and Coming, a Singer Arrives (Published 2004)". The New York Times – via NYTimes.com.
  14. ^ "Jill Sobule Returns With Playful, Eclectic Pink Pearl". MTV News. Archived from the original on January 22, 2021.
  15. ^ "HappyTown". jillsobule.
  16. ^ a b c Ryan, Gavin (2011). Australia's Music Charts 1988–2010 (PDF ed.). Mt Martha, Victoria, Australia: Moonlight Publishing. p. 259.
  17. ^ "Jill Sobule - Bitter". April 10, 2018 – via YouTube.
  18. ^ https://www.worldradiohistory.com/UK/Music-and-Media/90s/1997/MM-1997-06-07.pdf
  19. ^ https://www.worldradiohistory.com/UK/Music-and-Media/90s/1997/MM-1997-06-28.pdf
  20. ^ https://www.worldradiohistory.com/UK/Music-and-Media/90s/1997/MM-1997-06-14.pdf
  21. ^ Larkin, Colin (2006). The Encyclopedia of Popular Music. Vol. 7. MUZE. p. 587.
  22. ^ "Rolling Stone review". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on May 18, 2007.
  23. ^ "Jill Sobule". Trouser Press. Retrieved January 17, 2021.
  24. ^ Considine, J. D. (April 17, 1997). "The Chemical BrothersDig Your Own Hole (Astralwerks..." baltimoresun.com.
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