''Goldfinger'' is the debut studio album by punk rock band Goldfinger, released on
Mojo Records
Mojo Records was a California-based record label founded in 1995 by producer Jay Rifkin. It became a joint venture with Universal Records in 1996 and then sold to the Zomba Group in 2001, who placed it under their subsidiary Jive Records.
in February 1996 and produced by Mojo founder
Jay Rifkin
Jay Rifkin is an American record and film producer.
Rifkin co-founded the company Media Ventures with Hans Zimmer, a childhood friend. As CEO of the company from 1988,Here in Your Bedroom" was a top 5 rock hit in the U.S. in the summer of 1996, and also reached #47 on the
Billboard Hot 100 Airplay
The Radio Songs chart (previously named Hot 100 Airplay until 2014 and Top 40 Radio Monitor until 1991) is released weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine and measures the airplay of songs being played on radio stations throughout the United States acro ...
chart, making it their highest charting single ever. The album was certified Gold in Canada (50,000 copies) in 2002. It is the only album by the band not to be produced by frontman
John Feldmann
John Feldmann (born June 29, 1967) is an American singer, songwriter, guitarist, and record producer. He serves as the lead singer/guitarist of the band Goldfinger.
Early life
Feldmann grew up in Saratoga, California. He started writing song ...
in any capacity.
Horns on the album are provided by members of other Southern California
ska
Ska (; ) is a music genre that originated in Jamaica in the late 1950s and was the precursor to rocksteady and reggae. It combined elements of Caribbean mento and calypso with American jazz and rhythm and blues. Ska is characterized by a walki ...
and
ska punk
Ska punk (also spelled ska-punk) is a fusion genre that mixes ska music and punk rock music together. (sometimes spelled skacore) is a subgenre of ska punk that mixes ska with hardcore punk. Early ska punk mixed both 2 tone and ska with hard ...
bands, including trombonist Dan Regan and trumpeter
Scott Klopfenstein
Scott Allen "Scotty" Klopfenstein is an American musician and a former member of the band Reel Big Fish. He sings and plays trumpet, guitar, and keyboard.
Before joining Reel Big Fish, Klopfenstein played trumpet in Nuckle Brothers and trump ...
of
Reel Big Fish
Reel Big Fish is an American ska punk band from Orange County, California. The band gained mainstream recognition in the mid-to-late 1990s during the third wave of ska with the release of the gold-certified album ''Turn the Radio Off''. Soon af ...
and saxophonist Efren Santana of Hepcat. Paul Hampton of The Skeletones provides keyboards on the album and is featured in the video for "Here In Your Bedroom". The cover for the album was drawn by
Alan Forbes
Alan Forbes is a poster artist, painter, tequila connoisseur, and sobriety expert. who lives in San Francisco, California. He does posters and album work for The Chris Robinson Brotherhood. He has also created the iconic logo for The Black Crowes ...
. It depicts a "big sex god alien chasing this little man, '50s style".
Although ''Goldfinger'' is a well-known album among the ska punk community, Feldmann doesn't consider it a work of that genre.
Music and song information
''Goldfinger'' was recorded in
Hans Zimmer
Hans Florian Zimmer (; born 12 September 1957) is a German film score composer and music producer. He has won two Oscars and four Grammys, and has been nominated for two Emmys and a Tony. Zimmer was also named on the list of Top 100 Living G ...
studio by the time he was recording '' The Lion King II: Simba's Pride''. In the album's 20th anniversary, Feldmann commented on its music:
The opening track "Mind's Eye" was the first song Feldmann wrote for Goldfinger. Commenting on the feedback heard in the very first seconds of the song, he said: "We recorded that album on tape. It was all super experimental—'Well what if we have the feedback going, we hit record and start playing so the tape starts with nothing.'". "Anything" was written by a 17-year-old Feldmann.
Track listing
All songs written by
John Feldmann
John Feldmann (born June 29, 1967) is an American singer, songwriter, guitarist, and record producer. He serves as the lead singer/guitarist of the band Goldfinger.
Early life
Feldmann grew up in Saratoga, California. He started writing song ...
, except where noted.
Personnel
*
John Feldmann
John Feldmann (born June 29, 1967) is an American singer, songwriter, guitarist, and record producer. He serves as the lead singer/guitarist of the band Goldfinger.
Early life
Feldmann grew up in Saratoga, California. He started writing song ...
–
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 withou ...
,
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 strin ...
*Charlie Paulson –
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 strin ...
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 withou ...
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 withou ...