''Freak City Soundtrack'' is the third studio album by

Material Issue Material Issue was an American power pop trio from Chicago, Illinois. The band's trademark is pop songs with themes of love and heartbreak. A number of their song titles used girls' first names. History Material Issue was formed in 1985, led b ...

, released on

Mercury Records Mercury Records is an American record label owned by Universal Music Group. It had significant success as an independent operation in the 1940s and 1950s. Smash Records and Fontana Records were sub labels of Mercury. In the United States, it is ...

in 1994. It was the last studio album the band would record before frontman Jim Ellison committed suicide in 1996.

Production

The album was produced by

Mike Chapman Michael Donald Chapman (born 13 April 1947) is an Australian-American record producer and songwriter who was a major force in the British pop music industry in the 1970s. He created a string of hit singles for artists including The Sweet, Suzi ...

, who also produced breakthrough albums for Blondie and

The Knack The Knack was an American rock band based in Los Angeles that rose to fame with its first single, "My Sharona", an international number-one hit in 1979. History Founding (1977–1978) Singer Doug Fieger was a native of Oak Park, Michigan, a no ...

Rick Nielsen Richard Alan Nielsen (born December 22, 1948) is an American musician best known as the lead guitarist, primary songwriter, and leader of the rock band Cheap Trick. He is well-known for his numerous custom-made guitars from Hamer Guitars, incl ...

appears on the album.

Critical reception

Trouser Press ''Trouser Press'' was a rock and roll magazine started in New York in 1974 as a mimeographed fanzine by editor/publisher Ira Robbins, fellow fan of the Who Dave Schulps and Karen Rose under the name "Trans-Oceanic Trouser Press" (a reference to ...

'' called the album "an unqualified triumph," and praised "Help Me Land" as "two minutes of slashing power chords, a frenzied vocal and Zelenko’s totally out-of-control drumming." The ''

Hartford Courant The ''Hartford Courant'' is the largest daily newspaper in the U.S. state of Connecticut, and is considered to be the oldest continuously published newspaper in the United States. A morning newspaper serving most of the state north of New Haven ...

'' called it "40 minutes of high-energy, minimal-angst-factor fun." The ''

Chicago Tribune The ''Chicago Tribune'' is a daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, United States, owned by Tribune Publishing. Founded in 1847, and formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper" (a slogan for which WGN radio and television ar ...

'' called ''Freak City Soundtrack'' "a return to form ... It comes as close as any disc to capturing the band's live energy."

Track listing

All songs written by Jim Ellison except when noted. #"Goin' Through Your Purse" - 3:23 #"Kim the Waitress" (Jeff Kelly, Jim Kelly) - 4:57 #"Funny Feeling" - 3:25 #"The Fan" - 3:05 #"One Simple Word" - 2:44 #"A Very Good Thing" - 2:42 #"I Could Use You" - 4:10 #"Ordinary Girl" - 3:11 #"Eko Beach" - 2:35 #"She's Going Through My Head" - 3:11 #"Help Me Land" - 1:53

References

{{Authority control 1994 albums Mercury Records albums Material Issue albums