Pocket Full of Kryptonite explained

Pocket Full of Kryptonite
Type:	studio
Artist:	Spin Doctors
Cover:	Spindocs pocket kryptonite.JPG
Recorded:	July–December 1990
Genre:	Funk rock alternative rock
Label:	Epic
Producer:	Frank Aversa Peter Denenberg Frankie LaRocka Spin Doctors
Prev Title:	Up for Grabs...Live
Prev Year:	1991
Next Title:	Homebelly Groove...Live
Next Year:	1992

Pocket Full of Kryptonite is the debut studio album by the American rock band Spin Doctors, released in August 1991. The album initially sold a respectable 60,000 copies in late 1991 due to its growing hardcore fanbase, before several radio stations (including WEQX in Vermont) started playing the single "Little Miss Can't Be Wrong" in mid-1992.^[1] The combined strength of the single along with the follow-up "Two Princes" led to the album's peak at Nos. 1 and 3 on the Billboard Top Heatseekers and Billboard 200 albums charts, respectively. It is currently the band's best selling album, and was certified 5× Platinum by the RIAA.^[2]

It was remastered and reissued in 2011 as a 20th-anniversary edition, with a bonus track added to the original album and a second disc of demos previously released only on cassette, plus two live tracks.

The album's title is a quote from the opening track, "Jimmy Olsen's Blues", a humorous song sung from the point of view of Jimmy Olsen, a character in the Superman comic book series. In the song, Jimmy Olsen tries to woo Lois Lane away from Superman, stating "I got a pocket full of Kryptonite," referring to a fictional substance that weakens Superman. The album cover, showing a phone booth, refers to Clark Kent frequently ducking into a nearby phone booth to change into his Superman attire.

Track listing

Original album

Notes

• The live tracks on the European release also appear on the live album Homebelly Groove...Live (1992), and were recorded September 27, 1990, at Wetlands Preserve in New York.

2011 anniversary edition disc 2

Personnel

Spin Doctors

• Chris Barron – lead vocals
• Eric Schenkman – guitar, backing vocals, lead vocals on "Off My Line", piano on "Forty or Fifty"
• Mark White – bass
• Aaron Comess – drums, organ, backing vocals on "Little Miss Can't Be Wrong", congas on "Forty or Fifty"

Additional musicians

• John Popper – harmonica on "More Than She Knows" and "Off My Line", backing vocals on "Two Princes"
• John Bush – tambourine on "Off My Line", congas on "How Could You Want Him (When You Know You Could Have Me)?"

Production

• Producers: Frank Aversa, Peter Denenberg, Frankie LaRocka, Spin Doctors
• Engineers: Frank Aversa, Peter Denenberg, Marc Schwartz, Spin Doctors
• Assistant engineers: Jeff Lippay, Motley
• Mixing: Peter Denenberg, Frankie La Rocka, Spin Doctors
• Mastering: Ted Jensen at Sterling Sound, NYC
• Production coordination: Jason J. Richardson
• Guitar technician: Joseph Miselis
• Equipment manager: John Darren Greene
• Art direction: Francesca Restrepo
• Photography: Paul Aresu, Paul LaRaia
• Cover art: Darren Greene, Chris Gross, Nicky Lindeman
• Liner notes: Cree McCree

Charts

Weekly charts

Chart (1992–1993)! scope="col"

Peak position
Danish Albums (Hitlisten)^[3]	3
European Albums (European Top 100 Albums)^[4]	3
Finnish Albums (The Official Finnish Charts)^[5]	3
Irish Albums (IRMA)^[6]	9

Year-end charts

Chart (1993)! scope="col"

Position
Australian Albums (ARIA)^[7]	17
Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria)^[8]	33
Canadian Albums (RPM)^[9]	4
Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)^[10]	96
European Albums (European Top 100 Albums)^[11]	20
European Debut Albums (European Top 100 Albums)^[12]	3
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)^[13]	33
New Zealand Albums (RMNZ)^[14]	12
Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)^[15]	33
UK Albums (OCC)^[16]	11
US Billboard 200^[17]	7

Decade-end charts

Decade-end chart performance for Pocket Full of Kryptonite!Chart (1990–1999)!Position

US Billboard 200^[18]	95

Notes and References

1. Spin Doctors: Miracle Cure. Rolling Stone. January 7, 1993.
2. Web site: RIAA searchable certification database. Recording Industry Association of America. December 27, 2010.
3. Web site: Top National Sellers: Denmark. Music & Media. 16. July 17, 1993. September 22, 2021. March 2, 2023. https://worldradiohistory.com/UK/Music-and-Media/90s/1993/MM-1993-07-17.pdf#page=14. live.
4. European Top 100 Albums. Music & Media. July 17, 1993. 14. April 19, 2022.
5. Book: Pennanen, Timo. Sisältää hitin – levyt ja esittäjät Suomen musiikkilistoilla vuodesta 1972. 1st. Kustannusosakeyhtiö Otava. Helsinki. 2006. 978-951-1-21053-5 . fi.
6. Web site: Top National Sellers: Ireland. Music & Media. 16. August 7, 1993. September 22, 2021.
7. Web site: ARIA Top 100 Albums for 1993. Australian Recording Industry Association. February 7, 2021.
8. Web site: Jahreshitparade Alben 1993. Austriancharts.at. February 7, 2021.
9. Web site: Top 100 Albums of 1993. RPM. April 19, 2022. https://web.archive.org/web/20141216173806/http://www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/rpm/028020-119.01-e.php?&file_num=nlc008388.2332&type=1&interval=50&PHPSESSID=4dp17sl7hp9qmhhj3vmcenr836. December 16, 2014. dead.
10. Web site: Jaaroverzichten – Album 1993. Dutchcharts.nl. February 7, 2021.
11. December 18, 1993 . 1993 Year-End Sales Charts - Eurochart Hot 100 Albums 1993 . . 15 . April 19, 2022 .
12. December 18, 1993 . 1993 Year-End Sales Awards . . 12 . April 19, 2022 .
13. Web site: Top 100 Album-Jahrescharts. de. GfK Entertainment. February 7, 2021.
14. Web site: Top Selling Albums of 1993 — The Official New Zealand Music Chart . . November 2, 2021 .
15. Web site: Schweizer Jahreshitparade 1993. Hitparade.ch. February 7, 2021.
16. Top 100 Albums 1993. Music Week. January 15, 1994. 25. May 21, 2022. World Radio History.
17. Top Billboard 200 Albums – Year-End 1993. Billboard. February 7, 2021.
18. Book: Geoff Mayfield . 1999 The Year in Music Totally '90s: Diary of a Decade – The listing of Top Pop Albums of the '90s & Hot 100 Singles of the '90s . . December 25, 1999 . October 15, 2010.