''Hello'' is the debut album by the American singer-songwriter

Poe Edgar Allan Poe (; Edgar Poe; January 19, 1809 – October 7, 1849) was an American writer, poet, editor, and literary critic. Poe is best known for his poetry and short stories, particularly his tales of mystery and the macabre. He is widel ...

. It was released in 1995 on

Modern Records Modern Records (Modern Music Records before 1947) was an American record company and label formed in 1945 in Los Angeles by the Bihari brothers. Modern's artists included Etta James, Joe Houston, Little Richard, Ike & Tina Turner and John Lee ...

Background

Aside from the Detroit studio of album producer RJ Rice, the recording of ''Hello'' took place at a variety of studios in Los Angeles. The first music video for the album was for the single "Angry Johnny"; it featured Poe on the skeletal frame of a bed looking forlorn whilst destroying a variety of effects one might associate with romance (like roses or a box of chocolates). The song's rage-filled lyrics quickly found her being lumped into the "angry female rocker" category, and the video was heavily played on MTV's ''Alternative Nation''. The second single, "Hello", did not fare as well, until a remix version was released two years after the album's initial release. At least one other track (Junkie) was remixed as well, since the 1999 CD-quality download of 'Hello' contains a version of 'Junkie' with more instrument layers (horns and warbly guitar) that is 6 seconds shorter than the 3:06 original. ''Hello'' was certified gold by the

Recording Industry Association of America The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) is a trade organization that represents the music recording industry in the United States. Its members consist of record labels and distributors that the RIAA says "create, manufacture, and/o ...

on November 20, 1996.

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 ...

'' wrote that "Poe has enough personality to keep the pleasant and occasionally intriguing album her own, but not enough to make it a strong statement." '' MusicHound Rock: The Essential Album Guide'' called the album "a mess of over-personal, overproduced folk songs," aside from "Trigger Happy Jack" and "Angry Johnny." ''

Tulsa World The ''Tulsa World'' is the daily newspaper for the city of Tulsa, Oklahoma, and primary newspaper for the northeastern and eastern portions of Oklahoma. Tulsa World Media Company is part of Lee Enterprises. The new owners announced in January 202 ...

'' wrote that Poe "rips and rocks, but she doesn't kick out the jams at the expense of the songcraft."

Track listing

All lyrics are written by Poe. ;Sample credits *"Fingertips" contains a vocal sample from "Like a Lover" as performed by

Sérgio Mendes and Brasil '66 Sergius is a male given name of Ancient Rome, Ancient Roman origin after the name of the Latins, Latin ''gens'' Gens Sergia, Sergia or Sergii of Roman Kingdom, regal and Roman Republic, republican ages. It is a common Christian name, in honor of S ...

Personnel

Credits adapted from CD liner notes. Musicians *Poe –

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 ...

(all tracks),

piano The piano is a stringed keyboard instrument in which the strings are struck by wooden hammers that are coated with a softer material (modern hammers are covered with dense wool felt; some early pianos used leather). It is played using a keyboa ...

(11), programming (8), additional programming (7) *Richard Barrow –

flute The flute is a family of classical music instrument in the woodwind group. Like all woodwinds, flutes are aerophones, meaning they make sound by vibrating a column of air. However, unlike woodwind instruments with reeds, a flute is a reedless ...

(11) * Alex Blanc –

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 ...

(9) *Jon Brooks –

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 ...

(3) *Lionel Cole – programming (2, 8) *Jeffrey Connor –

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 ...

(2, 3, 5, 9), bass programming (1), guitar (3) *Ronnie Estelle – programming (1) *

Amp Fiddler Joseph Anthony "Amp" Fiddler is an American singer, songwriter, keyboardist, and record producer from Detroit, Michigan. His musical styles include funk, soul, dance and electronica music. He is probably best known for his contributions to the ba ...

–

keyboards Keyboard may refer to: Text input * Keyboard, part of a typewriter * Computer keyboard ** Keyboard layout, the software control of computer keyboards and their mapping ** Keyboard technology, computer keyboard hardware and firmware Music * Musi ...

(8) *Eric Garcia – guitar (9), keyboards (9) *Karl Givens – trumpet (8) *Joey Grossman – guitar (5) *Sean Uberoi Kelly – bass (6), guitar (6), programming (6) *Dean Pleasants – guitar (2) * RJ Rice – keyboards (7), programming (5, 7, 10) *

Matt Sorum Matthew William Sorum (born November 19, 1960) is an American drummer. He is best known as both a former member of the hard rock band Guns N' Roses, with whom he recorded three studio albums, and as a member of the supergroup Velvet Revolver. S ...

– drums (2, 9) *Cameron Stone –

cello The cello ( ; plural ''celli'' or ''cellos'') or violoncello ( ; ) is a Bow (music), bowed (sometimes pizzicato, plucked and occasionally col legno, hit) string instrument of the violin family. Its four strings are usually intonation (music), t ...

(4) *Jeffery L. Walker, Jr. – keyboards (6), additional keyboards (8), keyboard programming (5), additional programming (10) *Tony Wilson – guitar (1, 3) *

Jay Dee A jay is a member of a number of species of medium-sized, usually colorful and noisy, passerine birds in the Crow family, Corvidae. The evolutionary relationships between the jays and the magpies are rather complex. For example, the Eurasian m ...

– programming (8) Technical *Poe –

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 ...

(3, 4, 9, 11), co-production (1, 2, 6, 7), editing, mixing (3, 4, 11) *Jeffrey Connor – production (3), co-production (2) *

Dave Jerden Dave Jerden is an American record producer, engineer, and mixer who has worked with artists in various genres including alternative rock, punk rock and metal. However, Jerden has stated that he dislikes the term "producer", preferring to refer ...

– executive production, production (2),

engineering Engineering is the use of scientific method, scientific principles to design and build machines, structures, and other items, including bridges, tunnels, roads, vehicles, and buildings. The discipline of engineering encompasses a broad rang ...

(1, 8), mixing (1, 2, 8) *RJ Rice – production (1, 5-8, 10), engineering (1, 5, 6, 8, 10), mixing (5, 6, 10) *Richard Barrow – engineering (4, 11) *James Beaty – engineering assistance (8) *Alex Blanc – editing, engineering (3) *Brian Carlstrom – engineering (1) *Annette Cisceros – engineering assistance (1, 8) *Amanda Cruz – engineering assistance (5, 6, 8, 10, production coordination *Eric Garcia – editing, engineering (3), mixing (9) *Steve Klein – engineering (2, 8), mixing (2, 8) *Eddy Schreyer – mastering *Slam – engineering assistance (5, 6, 8, 10) Design *Beau Barton – art direction, design, cover photography *Thomas Bricker – art direction, design, additional photography *Amanda Cruz – photography *Marty Levin – back cover photography *Poe – lyric collages

Chart positions

Album – ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...

'' (US) Singles – ''Billboard'' (US)

References

{{Authority control 1995 debut albums Poe (singer) albums Albums produced by Dave Jerden Contemporary R&B albums by American artists