''Happy Hour'' is the fourth studio album by American musician

Uncle Kracker Matthew Shafer (born June 6, 1974), also known by his stage name Uncle Kracker, is an American singer and musician. He was previously a turntablist for Kid Rock's backing group Twisted Brown Trucker and since 1999 has recorded as a solo artist. ...

. It was released on September 15, 2009 via Top Dog/

Atlantic Records Atlantic Recording Corporation (simply known as Atlantic Records) is an American record label founded in October 1947 by Ahmet Ertegun and Herb Abramson. Over its first 20 years of operation, Atlantic earned a reputation as one of the most i ...

. Production was handled by

Rob Cavallo Robert Siers Cavallo (born March 21, 1963) is an American record producer, musician, and record industry executive. He is among the biggest-selling producers in history, and has produced or had creative involvement in albums that have sold over ...

, except for " Good to Be Me", which was produced by

Kid Rock Robert James Ritchie (born January 17, 1971), known professionally as Kid Rock (also known as Bobby Shazam), is an American singer, songwriter and rapper. His style alternates between rock, hip hop, country, and metal. A self-taught musician, ...

, and "Hot Mess", which was produced by

S*A*M and Sluggo S*A*M and Sluggo was the American record production and songwriting team, composed of Sam Hollander and Dave "Sluggo" Katz. Formed in 2005, the duo first collaborated on the popular theme song "Snakes on a Plane (Bring It)" by Cobra Starship, f ...

. The album peaked at number 38 on the ''Billboard'' 200 and number 13 on the

Top Rock Albums The ''Billboard'' charts tabulate the relative weekly popularity of songs and albums in the United States and elsewhere. The results are published in ''Billboard'' magazine. ''Billboard'' biz, the online extension of the ''Billboard'' charts, pr ...

in the United States. Its lead single, "

Smile A smile is a facial expression formed primarily by flexing the muscles at the sides of the mouth. Some smiles include a contraction of the muscles at the corner of the eyes, an action known as a Duchenne smile. Among humans, a smile expresses ...

" made it to number 31 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100.

Critical reception

Stephen Thomas Erlewine Stephen Thomas Erlewine (; born June 18, 1973) is an American music critic and senior editor for the online music database AllMusic. He is the author of many artist biographies and record reviews for AllMusic, as well as a freelance writer, occ ...

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 databas ...

rated the album two-and-a-half stars out of five, saying "his attitude gets in his way, his party-hearty quips never jibing with his marshmallow music". Mikael Wood of ''

Entertainment Weekly ''Entertainment Weekly'' (sometimes abbreviated as ''EW'') is an American digital-only entertainment magazine based in New York City, published by Dotdash Meredith, that covers film, television, music, Broadway theatre, books, and popular cul ...

'' wrote: "Uncle Kracker's always believed in the power of positive thinking (or at least in the power of a case of

Coors Light Coors Light is a 4.2% (US) ABV light beer brewed in Golden, Colorado; Albany, Georgia; Elkton, Virginia; Fort Worth, Texas; Irwindale, California; and Milwaukee, Wisconsin. It was first produced in 1978 by the Coors Brewing Company. The Canadia ...

), so there's little here that hints at his recent troubles. Instead, you get smarmy frat-country jams about taking a seat at the corner bar and discovering that your girlfriend has a girlfriend now. On "Livin’ the Dream", he even comforts himself by quoting

Whitesnake Whitesnake are an English hard rock band formed in London in 1978. The group was originally put together as the backing band for singer David Coverdale, who had recently left Deep Purple. Though the band quickly developed into their own entit ...

Track listing

;Outtakes * "Vegas Baby" (featuring

Mr. Hahn Joseph Hahn (born March 15, 1977) is an American musician, DJ, director and visual artist best known as the DJ of the American rock band Linkin Park, doing the scratching, turntables, sampling, and programming for all seven of Linkin Park's ...

Linkin Park Linkin Park is an American rock band from Agoura Hills, California. The band's current lineup comprises vocalist/rhythm guitarist/keyboardist Mike Shinoda, lead guitarist Brad Delson, bassist Dave Farrell, DJ/turntablist Joe Hahn and drummer ...

) - 4:07 * "The One That Got Away" - 3:34 * "That's What's Happenin" - 3:37

Personnel

*Matthew "

" Shafer – main artist, vocals *Jessica Lee " Jesse Lee" Levin – featured artist, vocals (track 6) *Alfie Silas Durio – backing vocals *Carmen Carter – backing vocals *Clydene Jackson – backing vocals *Rae Rae Jensen – backing vocals *Ty Stone – backing vocals *Herschel Boone – backing vocals (track 7) * Dave Katz – backing vocals & programming (track 9) *

Sam Hollander Sam Hollander is an American songwriter. He has collaborated with the likes of Panic! at the Disco, One Direction, Fitz and the Tantrums, Train, Weezer, Blink-182, Ringo Starr, Def Leppard, Katy Perry, Carole King, Jewel, Pentatonix, Daughtry, ...

– backing vocals & programming (track 9) *

Neal Tiemann Neal Tiemann (born December 22, 1982) is an American musician, currently the lead guitarist and songwriter of the rock band the Midwest Kings (MWK). He is a former rhythm guitarist for heavy metal band DevilDriver, and served as the lead guitar ...

– guitar *

Tim Pierce Tim Pierce (born 1959 in Albuquerque) is an American session guitarist. He has worked for artists such as Joe Cocker, Crowded House, Goo Goo Dolls, Michael Jackson, Beth Hart, Roger Waters, Alice Cooper, Johnny Hallyday, Phil Collins, and the C ...

– guitar *Marlon Young – acoustic guitar & bass (track 7) *Sean Gould – guitar & engineering (track 9) *

Jamie Muhoberac Benjamin Edward "Jamie" Muhoberac is an American session keyboardist with numerous credits. He is best known for his work with Seal and Was (Not Was). Biography Muhoberac has worked with acts including The All-American Rejects, Fleetwood Mac, Bob ...

– keyboards * James "Jimmie Bones" Trombly – B3 electric piano (track 7) *Ben Levels – organ (track 9) *Alex Al – bass *

Chris Chaney Christopher A. Chaney (born June 14, 1970) is an American musician. He is best known as the former bassist of alternative rock band Jane's Addiction, and as a member of Alanis Morissette's touring and recording band for six years. Chaney was a ...

– bass *

Michael Bradford Michael Bradford (born 1961) is an American musician. A native of Detroit, Michigan he is known mainly as a bass guitarist but also plays guitar and keyboards, and has done extensive work in music production and engineering. Among others, Brad ...

– bass *Paul Bushnell – bass *Sean Hurley – bass *

Rashawn Ross Rashawn Ross (born January 16, 1979) is an American trumpeter and arranger from St. Thomas, US Virgin Islands. His contributions in the Dave Matthews Band as a touring member have gained him visibility. Ross is an accomplished session musician. R ...

– trumpet *Dorian Crozier – percussion & programming *Steve Stetson – drums (track 7) *Dan Chase – programming *Doug McKean – programming, engineering *Mike Fasano – drum technician * David Campbell – strings arranger (track 1) *

– producer *Robert "

" Ritchie – producer & programming (track 7) *Jaime Neely – assistant producer *

Chris Lord-Alge Chris Lord-Alge is an American mix engineer. He is the brother of both Tom Lord-Alge and Jeff Lord-Alge, both of whom are also audio engineers. Chris and Tom are known for their abundant use of dynamic compression for molding mixes that play wel ...

– mixing *Al Sutton – engineering & mixing (track 7) *Lars Fox – Pro-Tools engineering *Aaron Walk – engineering assistant *Russ Waugh – engineering assistant *Steve Rea – engineering assistant *Andrew Schubert – additional mixing *Brad Townsend – additional mixing *Keith Armstrong – mixing assistant *Nik Karpen – mixing assistant *

Ted Jensen Ted Jensen (born September 19, 1954) is an American mastering engineer, known for having mastered many recordings, including the Eagles' ''Hotel California'', Green Day's '' American Idiot'' and Norah Jones' ''Come Away with Me''. Biography Ted ...

– mastering *Alex Kirzhner – art direction, design *Chris Woehrle – design *Kristie Borgmann – design *Chapman Baehler – photography *Craig Rosen – A&R *Lesley Melincoff – A&R *

Pete Ganbarg Pete Ganbarg is a 2-time Grammy Award-winning music business executive who is currently President of A&R for Atlantic Records. and President of ATCO Records. Pete began his career in A&R in 1989 at SBK Records through a mutual friendship with SBK ...

– A&R *Cheryl Jenets – product management *Lee Trink – management *Vera Salamone – management *Chris Stang – marketing *Thomas Valentino – legal *Kyle Wilensky – booking *Mitch Rose – booking *Rick Roskin – booking

Charts

References

External links

* {{Authority control 2009 albums Uncle Kracker albums Atlantic Records albums Albums produced by Kid Rock Albums produced by Rob Cavallo Albums recorded at Capitol Studios Country albums by American artists