| The Pursuit of Happiness | |
| Type: | studio |
| Artist: | the Beat Farmers |
| Cover: | The Pursuit of Happiness (Beat Farmers album).jpg |
| Released: | 1987 |
| Studio: | Indigo Ranch, Malibu, CA |
| Label: | Curb/MCA[1] |
| Producer: | Dave Jerden |
| Prev Title: | Van Go |
| Prev Year: | 1986 |
| Next Title: | Poor and Famous |
| Next Year: | 1989 |
The Pursuit of Happiness is an album by the American band the Beat Farmers, released in 1987.[2] [3] The band supported the album with a North American tour that included shows with Mojo Nixon and Skid Roper.[4] [5]
The first single, "Dark Light", peaked at No. 27 on Billboards Album Rock Tracks chart.[6] [7] "Hollywood Hills", for which a video was shot, was also released as a single.[8]
Recorded at Indigo Ranch, in Malibu, the album was produced by Dave Jerden.[9] [10] [11] Founding member Buddy Blue was replaced by Joey Harris. Country Dick Montana sang on the cover of Johnny Cash's "Big River".[12] [13] "Rosie" is a cover of the Tom Waits song.[14] Steve Berlin played saxophone on the album.[15] In a dig at the PMRC, the band allegedly included a "positive" subliminal message on the album.[4]
The Vancouver Sun called the album "rocking with the familiar tough R&B favored by guitarist Jerry Raney, reeling with the hilarious depravity favored by wildman drummer Country Dick, and soaring with the touch of majesty brought into the fold by Harris."[16] The Philadelphia Inquirer wrote: "Blunt, vehement rock that regularly partakes of a country lilt, this is the West Coast quartet's best album yet."
The Houston Chronicle noted that "few if any rock bands have a better understanding of the essential difference between ego and art." The Los Angeles Daily News concluded: "Until either Rainy or Harris cuts a path as striking as Montana's, the Farmers will be just another good rockin' roots band with a joke instead of a great band with a sense of humor." The Times determined that "although the Farmers hold rank as possibly the greatest bar-band in the world, this is a patchy collection redeemed mostly by the efforts of the new guitarist, Joey Harris."[17] The Oregonian listed the album among the 10 best of 1987.[18]
AllMusic deemed "Hollywood Hills" "one of the finest tracks the group ever recorded."