''11'' is the third studio album by American rock band

The Smithereens The Smithereens are an American rock band from Carteret, New Jersey, United States. The group formed in 1980 with members Pat DiNizio (vocals & guitar), Jim Babjak (guitar & vocals), Mike Mesaros (bass guitar & vocals), and Dennis Diken (drum ...

, released on October 24, 1989 by Capitol Records.
Officialsmithereens.com. Retrieved on 25 July 2018. It includes the Billboard Hot 100, Billboard Top 40 single " A Girl Like You". The album was

certified gold Music recording certification is a system of certifying that a music recording has shipped, sold, or streamed a certain number of units. The threshold quantity varies by type (such as album, single, music video) and by nation or territory (see ...

by the Recording Industry Association of America in June 1990. The album title was inspired by the film ''

Ocean's 11 ''Ocean's 11'' is a 1960 American heist film directed and produced by Lewis Milestone from a screenplay by Harry Brown and Charles Lederer, based on a story by George Clayton Johnson and Jack Golden Russell. The film stars five of the Rat Pack ...

'', "with a little push from Spinal Tap's famous line, " This one goes to 11", according to guitarist Jim Babjak.

Background

The Smithereens switched producers for the album, going from Don Dixon, who had produced their first two albums, to

Ed Stasium Ed Stasium is an American record producer and audio engineer, who has worked on albums by the Ramones, Talking Heads, Motörhead, the Smithereens and Living Colour. History Stasium began his recording career in 1970 fronting the band Brandywine. ...

, who had produced albums by

The Ramones The Ramones were an American punk rock band that formed in the New York City neighborhood of Forest Hills, Queens, in 1974. They are often cited as the first true punk rock group. Despite achieving a limited commercial appeal in the United S ...

and

Living Colour Living Colour is an American rock band from New York City, formed in 1984. The band currently consists of guitarist Vernon Reid, lead vocalist Corey Glover, drummer Will Calhoun and bassist Doug Wimbish (who replaced Muzz Skillings in 1992). S ...

. "I'm not sure what we were looking for...maybe a heavier guitar sound, like in " A Girl Like You". We were trying to preserve our integrity, yet find a home on radio", lead singer

Pat DiNizio Patrick Michael DiNizio (October 12, 1955 – December 12, 2017) was the lead singer, songwriter, and founding member of the band The Smithereens, which he formed in 1980 with Jim Babjak, Dennis Diken, and Mike Mesaros, from Carteret, New Jerse ...

said. "A Girl Like You" was written by DiNizio on assignment for

Cameron Crowe Cameron Bruce Crowe (born July 13, 1957) is an American journalist, author, writer, producer, director, actor, lyricist, and playwright. Before moving into the film industry, Crowe was a contributing editor at '' Rolling Stone'' magazine, for w ...

's film '' Say Anything...''. DiNizio based the lyrics on bits of dialogue in the screenplay. When the film's producer asked DiNizio to change the lyrics, because it revealed too much of the plot, he refused, and the band decided to keep the song for their next album, ''11''. Madonna was originally enlisted to sing the harmony vocals, but failed to show up for the recording session. Instead, the band got

Maria Vidal Maria Elena Vidal (born August 1, 1960) is an American singer songwriter. She is known for her hit single "Body Rock", which reached No. 8 on the US Dance Charts, No. 48 on the Hot 100, No. 5 on the Springbok Charts in South Africa, and No. 11 i ...

to do the vocals. The song peaked at No. 2 on ''Billboard'''s

Mainstream Rock Mainstream rock (also known as heritage rock) is a radio format used by many commercial radio stations in the United States and Canada. Format background Mainstream rock stations represent the middle ground between classic rock and active rock ...

chart and at No. 3 on the magazine's

Modern Rock Modern rock is an umbrella term used to describe rock music that is found on college rock radio stations. Some radio stations use this term to distinguish themselves from classic rock, which is based in 1960s–1980s rock music. Radio format Mod ...

chart. It became the band's first

Top 40 In the music industry, the Top 40 is the current, 40 most-popular songs in a particular genre. It is the best-selling or most frequently broadcast popular music. Record charts have traditionally consisted of a total of 40 songs. "Top 40" or "cont ...

entry on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100, peaking at No. 38 and spending 20 weeks on the chart.

Track listing

Personnel

Credits adapted from the album's liner notes.The Smithereens - 11 (CD liner notes). Capitol Records. 1989. 7777-91194-2 ;The Smithereens *

– vocals, guitar, string arrangement on "Blue Period" * Jim Babjak – guitar * Dennis Diken – drums, percussion, cover concept *Mike Mesaros – bass ;Additional musicians *

Belinda Carlisle Belinda Jo Carlisle ( ; born August 17, 1958) is an American singer. She gained fame as the lead vocalist of the Go-Go's, the most successful all-female rock band of all time, and went on to have a prolific career as a solo artist. Raised in ...

– vocal on "Blue Period" *Michael Hamilton – guitar on "A Girl Like You", "Blues Before and After", "Room Without a View" and "Kiss Your Tears Away" *

The Honeys The Honeys (originally the Rovell Sisters) were an American girl group, formed in Los Angeles in 1958, that initially comprised sisters Marilyn, Diane, and Barbara Rovell. Barbara was later replaced by their cousin, Ginger Blake. After 1962, ...

(Ginger Blake, Diane Rovell,

Marilyn Wilson Marilyn Wilson-Rutherford (née Rovell; born February 6, 1948) is an American singer who is best known as the first wife of the Beach Boys' Brian Wilson. Raised in Los Angeles, she started her singing career in the late 1950s, initially as part ...

) – background vocals on "Baby Be Good" and "Cut Flowers" *Kenny Margolis – piano, electric piano, accordion, harpsichord, synthesizer *

– background vocals, percussion *Gerri Sutyak – cello on "Blue Period" *

– background vocals on "A Girl Like You" ;Production personnel *Jim Dineen – assistant engineer *Mick Haggerty – design *Paul Hamingson – engineer *Gina Immel – assistant engineer *Shirley Greer – assistant engineer * Dewey Nicks – photography *Ed Stasium – producer *Francine Stasium – production coordination *Tommy Steele – art direction

Charts

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:11 (The Smithereens Album) The Smithereens albums 1989 albums Capitol Records albums Albums produced by Ed Stasium Enigma Records albums