''Happy Hour'' is the fifth
studio album by
experimental music band
King Missile
King Missile is an American avant-garde art rock band best known for its 1992 single "Detachable Penis". Vocalist John S. Hall has fronted several disparate incarnations of the group since founding it in 1986.
History
King Missile (Dog Fly Rel ...
, and released on December 15, 1992, by
Atlantic Records.
The album is exactly one hour long, hence its title.
Reception
Ned Raggett of
AllMusic
AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databa ...
wrote that "due in part to the return of Kramer to production – or in this case co-production – duties, along with a slew of more immediately memorable songs, ''Happy Hour'' trumps ''
The Way to Salvation'' as the peak of the band's high-profile days, an inspired collection of tunes ranging from deranged pop to full-on epic metal stomp." The critic also said "thanks to a catchy arrangement via Rick's clipped, stuttered guitar riff and the sweetly sung title phrase in the background, the result is giddy left-field nonsense." and "it's the blessed liveliness of the whole album – at a premium in the days of full-on grunge when it came out, still rare enough years later – that makes it stand up so well."
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 ...
said "
Hall's surreal accounts have the vivid sense of purpose previously absent; he’s not aiming at eliciting wan smiles, he’s trying to provoke intelligent thought" and "meanwhile, the band (drummer
Roger Murdock is that new face in the booklet photo) locks into diverse rock grooves that would be worth hearing even without the vocals."
chose the band's hit
single "Detachable Penis" as the album's "choice cut".
Track listing
Personnel
Adapted from the ''Happy Hour'' liner notes.
King Missile
*
John S. Hall – lead vocals,
production
Production may refer to:
Economics and business
* Production (economics)
* Production, the act of manufacturing goods
* Production, in the outline of industrial organization, the act of making products (goods and services)
* Production as a stati ...
*
Dave Rick – guitar, production
*
Roger Murdock – drums, percussion, keyboards,
Emulator
In computing, an emulator is hardware or software that enables one computer system (called the ''host'') to behave like another computer system (called the ''guest''). An emulator typically enables the host system to run software or use pe ...
, production, guitar
(17)
*
Chris Xefos – bass guitar, keyboards, percussion, backing vocals, production
Additional performers
*Mal Rick –
clarinet (17)
Production and design
* Annalisa – photography
* Tom Bouman – design
* Jola Hesselberth – cover art
* Ron Jaramillo – design
*
Mark Kramer
Mark may refer to:
Currency
* Bosnia and Herzegovina convertible mark, the currency of Bosnia and Herzegovina
* East German mark, the currency of the German Democratic Republic
* Estonian mark, the currency of Estonia between 1918 and 1927
* Fin ...
– production,
Mellotron (9), bass guitar
(17)
* Inge Schaap – art direction
* Steve Watson –
production
Production may refer to:
Economics and business
* Production (economics)
* Production, the act of manufacturing goods
* Production, in the outline of industrial organization, the act of making products (goods and services)
* Production as a stati ...
,
assistant engineering
Charts
Release history
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Happy Hour (King Missile album)
King Missile albums
Atlantic Records albums
1992 albums
Albums produced by Kramer (musician)