''Guide to Better Living'' is the debut studio album by Australian

rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wales ...

band

Grinspoon Grinspoon are an Australian Rock music, rock band from Lismore, New South Wales, formed in 1995 and fronted by Phil Jamieson on vocals and guitar with Pat Davern on guitar, Joe Hansen on bass guitar and Kristian Hopes on drums. Also in 1995, G ...

. It was released on 16 September 1997 on the

Grudge Records Grudge Records was the Australian record label for Universal Music Australia that mostly promoted Australian rock artists, such as Grinspoon, Skunkhour, and Powderfinger. Other artists include H-Block 101 and Sean Ikin. Grudgefest Grudgefes ...

label (an imprint of

Universal Music Australia Universal Music Australia Pty Ltd. (UMA) is the largest Australian music corporation. It is a division of the Universal Music Group. Universal Music Australia's corporate headquarters are located in Sydney, Australia. Labels Universal Musi ...

) and was produced by

Phil McKellar Phillip Jeffrey McKellar is an Australian record producer and audio engineer. At the ARIA Music Awards McKellar has received nine nominations in the categories of either Producer of the Year or Engineer of the Year. These include You Am I's "Goo ...

. The album reached number 11 on the

ARIA Albums Chart The ARIA Charts are the main Australian music sales charts, issued weekly by the Australian Recording Industry Association. The charts are a record of the highest selling songs and albums in various genres in Australia. ARIA became the offici ...

and spent 36 weeks on the national charts. The album peaked at number 8 when rereleased in 2017. At the 1998 ARIA Music Awards, Grinspoon received a nomination in the category 'Breakthrough Artist – Album' for ''Guide to Better Living''. The album achieved a

platinum Platinum is a chemical element with the symbol Pt and atomic number 78. It is a dense, malleable, ductile, highly unreactive, precious, silverish-white transition metal. Its name originates from Spanish , a diminutive of "silver". Platinu ...

certification from ARIA. It generated five singles, "Pedestrian", " DC×3", "Repeat", "

Just Ace "Just Ace" is the fourth single released by Australian rock band Grinspoon, from their debut album, ''Guide to Better Living''. It peaked at No. 25 on the ARIA Singles Chart, remaining in the charts for fifteen weeks. It also reached No.&n ...

" and "Don't Go Away"; with "Just Ace" and "DC×3" both reaching the top 50 on the ARIA Singles Chart. On 9 March 1999 a trimmed and reordered version of the album was issued for the North American market.

Background

''Guide to Better Living'' is the debut studio album by Australian alternative metal and post-grunge band

. In 1995 the group formed in Lismore, New South Wales and are fronted by

Phil Jamieson Philip Jamieson (born 18 April 1977) is an Australian musician from Hornsby, New South Wales. He is a founding member and singer-guitarist for the rock band Grinspoon. Early life and education Philip William H. Jamieson was born on 18 April 19 ...

vocals Singing is the act of creating musical sounds with the voice. A person who sings is called a singer, artist or vocalist (in jazz and/or popular music). Singers perform music (arias, recitatives, songs, etc.) that can be sung with or without ...

and

guitar The guitar is a fretted musical instrument that typically has six strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming or plucking the strings with the dominant hand, while simultaneously pressing selected stri ...

with

Pat Davern Pat Davern is an Australian musician and the guitarist for Grinspoon. His solo album ''Alexander the Elephant in Zanzibar'' was nominated for the 2016 ARIA Award for Best Children's Album. During a hiatus for Grinspoon Davern wrote a book "Alex ...

on guitar, Joe Hansen on

bass guitar The bass guitar, electric bass or simply bass (), is the lowest-pitched member of the string family. It is a plucked string instrument similar in appearance and construction to an electric or an acoustic guitar, but with a longer neck and ...

and Kristian Hopes on

drums A drum kit (also called a drum set, trap set, or simply drums) is a collection of drums, cymbals, and other Percussion instrument, auxiliary percussion instruments set up to be played by one person. The player (drummer) typically holds a pair o ...

. The group's second extended play, ''

Licker Bottle Cozy ''Licker Bottle Cozy'', was the second EP by the Australian rock band Grinspoon. The EP was initially released by Grudge Records Australia (a sub-label of MCA Australia) on 16 December 1996. It was recorded by Phil McKellar in July of that yea ...

'', was recorded in June 1996 with

as producer. In February 1997 the band recorded their debut album, with McKellar again, at Rockinghorse Studios in

Byron Bay Byron Bay ( Minjungbal: ''Cavvanbah)'' is a beachside town located in the far-northeastern corner of the state of New South Wales, Australia on Bundjalung Country. It is located north of Sydney and south of Brisbane. Cape Byron, a hea ...

and mixed at

Studios 301 Studios 301 is an Australian recording studio and is both the longest-running professional recording studio in the southern hemisphere and the largest studio complex in Australia. History The studio was founded in 1926 under the Columbia Gra ...

in Sydney in April. The band considered the title, ''Sell Your Parents'', but eventually decided on ''Guide to Better Living'', after a 1960s catalogue of Sunbeam white goods. It had a slightly heavier sound than their earlier work. On 16 September 1997 they released the work on

– an imprint of

. It peaked at number 11 on the ARIA Albums Charts and by year's end it was certified

with shipment of over 70,000 units in Australia. At the

ARIA Music Awards of 1998 The 12th Australian Recording Industry Association Music Awards (generally known as the ARIA Music Awards or simply The ARIAS) was held on 20 October 1998 at the Sydney Convention & Exhibition Centre. Presenters, including Democrats deputy l ...

, Grinspoon received a nomination in the category 'Breakthrough Artist – Album' for ''Guide to Better Living''. It represents the sound and variety of their early career with heavier songs like "Pressure Tested 1984" open the album, whilst in the middle are more classic rock songs like "Repeat" and "Don't Go Away" and then towards the end the ballad "Bad Funk Stripe." In Australia a limited edition was issued with a bonus CD featuring the single version of "

", five live songs—illustrating the band's sense of humour and ability to play live—and a

hidden track In the field of recorded music, a hidden track (sometimes called a ghost track, secret track or unlisted track) is a song or a piece of audio that has been placed on a CD, audio cassette, LP record, or other recorded medium, in such a way as t ...

, the acoustic "Protest". The live tracks were recorded at Grudgefest in Sydney on Saturday 27 September 1997. The United States branch of

Universal Records Universal Music Group N.V. (often abbreviated as UMG and referred to as just Universal Music) is a Dutch–American multinational music corporation under Dutch law. UMG's corporate headquarters are located in Hilversum, Netherlands and its ...

signed the band by late 1998 and released an altered version of ''Guide to Better Living'' on 9 March 1999. The cover was also modified with the band's name and album title written in a different style. The album sold over 12,000 copies in the US on the back of extensive touring by the band in North America with bands such as

Creed A creed, also known as a confession of faith, a symbol, or a statement of faith, is a statement of the shared beliefs of a community (often a religious community) in a form which is structured by subjects which summarize its core tenets. The ea ...

, Lit,

Godsmack Godsmack is an American rock band from Lawrence, Massachusetts, formed in 1995. The band is composed of lead singer and rhythm guitarist Sully Erna, bassist Robbie Merrill, lead guitarist Tony Rombola and drummer Shannon Larkin. Since its forma ...

and

Anthrax Anthrax is an infection caused by the bacterium ''Bacillus anthracis''. It can occur in four forms: skin, lungs, intestinal, and injection. Symptom onset occurs between one day and more than two months after the infection is contracted. The sk ...

. The group's second album, '' Easy'' followed in November 1999.

Reception

According to the Worldwide Home of Australasian Music and More Online (WHAMMO), " ter being discovered by Triple J and then signed by Grudge records, this was the album that hammered it home - Grinspoon were destined to be the most rock and roll party down aviator-shades-wearing Oz rock band of the late '90s".

Track listing

Personnel

;Grinspoon members *

–

– guitar * Joe Hansen –

* Kristian Hopes –

;Additional musicians * Ted Reiger – keyboards ;Production details * Producer – Phillip McKellar, Grinspoon, Ulrich Wild * Engineer – Phillip McKellar, Ulrich Wild **Assistant engineer – Greg Courtney, Flip Osman, Chris Riband * Mastering – Ron Baker, Tom Baker * Mixing – Phillip McKellar, Ulrich Wild ** Mixing assistant – Flip Osman, Chris Riband * Studio – Rocking Horse Studios ;Art works * Photography – Paul Blackmore, Sophie Howarth, Stephen Stickler

Background

Reception

Track listing

Personnel

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

Releases

References