Alcatraz (album) explained
Alcatraz is an album by the Berkeley punk rock band the Mr. T Experience, released in 1999 by Lookout! Records.[1] [2] It was the band's last album to include bassist Joel Reader, who left the group after its release.[3]
Production
The album was produced by Kevin Army.[4] It was recorded at multiple studios around the Bay Area, to ensure that the songs were sonically distinct.[4] The album's sound differed from the band's previous two efforts, incorporating organ, keyboards, and acoustic instrumentation.[5] [6]
Critical reception
The Dallas Observer deemed Alcatraz "a good, old-fashioned rock album."[7] SF Weekly wrote: "Deliberately seeking out the sonically claustrophobic atmosphere of such '80s favorites as Elvis Costello's Armed Forces and Joe Jackson's I'm the Man, the album achieves a level of nearly paranoid musicianship, rife with extemporaneous fills and exceedingly tight instrumental interplay."[4]
Personnel
- Dr. Frank – vocals, guitar
- Joel Reader – bass
- Jim "Jym" Pittman – drums
- Eric Noyes – hammond organ on tracks 1, 3, 8, & 10, piano on tracks 1 & 4
- Gabe Meline – hammond organ on track 13, piano on track 10, ARP on track 5
- Kevin Army – piano solo on track 4
- Paige O'Donoghue – backwards laughing on track 9
- Todd Grady – trumpet on track 2
Album information
- Produced, engineered, and mixed by Kevin Army in March and April 1999
- Recorded at Foxhound Sound Studios, Roof Brothers Studios, Sharkbite Studios, and Studio 880 in Oakland, California, and at Laughing Tiger Studios in Marin County, California
- Tracks 1-12 mixed at Foxhound Sound, track 13 mixed at Roof Brothers
- Assistant engineers: Matthew Farina, Dave Simon-Baker
- Mastered by John Golden
- Photography by Jennifer Juniper Stratford
- Art by Chris Appelgren
References
- Web site: Mr. T Experience . Trouser Press . 1 July 2021.
- Web site: Sixpence None the Richer, Mr. T Experience .... https://web.archive.org/web/20210709183628/http://www.mtv.com/news/517861/sixpence-none-the-richer-mr-t-experience/. dead. July 9, 2021. MTV News.
- Web site: The Mr. T Experience | Biography & History. AllMusic.
- Web site: Growing Pains. September 1, 1999. SF Weekly. July 1, 2021. July 9, 2021. https://web.archive.org/web/20210709181856/https://www.sfweekly.com/music/growing-pains/. dead.
- News: Masley . Ed . ARE YOU MR. T EXPERIENCED? . Pittsburgh Post-Gazette . 15 Oct 1999 . ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT . 32.
- Web site: Show Business Is My Life . East Bay Express . 1 July 2021.
- Web site: The Mr. T Experience. Zac. Crain. March 9, 2000. Dallas Observer.
