''Pocket Full of Kryptonite'' is the debut
studio album
An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as Digital distribution#Music, digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early ...
by the American
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
Spin Doctors
Spin Doctors are an American alternative rock band from New York City, best known for their early 1990s hits "Two Princes" and "Little Miss Can't Be Wrong", which peaked on the Billboard Hot 100, ''Billboard'' Hot 100 chart at No. 7 and N ...
, released in August 1991. The album initially sold a respectable 60,000 copies in late 1991 due to its growing hardcore fanbase, before several radio stations (including
WEQX
WEQX is an FM radio station located at 102.7 MHz and broadcasting from Manchester, Vermont, United States with an effective radiated power of 1,250 watts at 759 meters (equivalent to 50,000 watts at 150 meters). Their tower is located on nearby ...
in Vermont) started playing the single "
Little Miss Can't Be Wrong
"Little Miss Can't Be Wrong" is a song by American rock group Spin Doctors, released in October 1992 as the lead single from their debut album, ''Pocket Full of Kryptonite'' (1991). The song reached number 17 on the US ''Billboard'' Hot 100 and ...
" in mid-1992. The combined strength of the single along with the follow-up "
Two Princes
"Two Princes" is a song by American rock group Spin Doctors, released in 1992 as the second single from their debut album, ''Pocket Full of Kryptonite'' (1991). It peaked at number seven on the US ''Billboard'' Hot 100 and number three on the ...
" led to the album's peak at Nos. 1 and 3 on the ''
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 ...
''
Top Heatseekers
Top Heatseekers are "Breaking and Entering" music charts issued weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine. The Heatseekers Albums and the Heatseekers Songs charts were introduced by ''Billboard'' in 1991 with the purpose of highlighting the sales by new an ...
and
''Billboard'' 200 albums charts, respectively. It is currently the band's best selling album, and was certified 5× Platinum by the RIAA.
It was remastered and reissued in 2011 as a 20th-anniversary edition, with a bonus track added to the original album and a second disc of demos previously released only on cassette, plus two live tracks.
The album's title is a quote from the opening track, "Jimmy Olsen's Blues", a humorous song sung from the point of view of
Jimmy Olsen
Jimmy Olsen is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. Olsen is most often portrayed as a young photojournalist working for the ''Daily Planet''. He is close friends with Lois Lane and Clark Kent, and has ...
, a character in the ''
Superman
Superman is a superhero who appears in American comic books published by DC Comics. The character was created by writer Jerry Siegel and artist Joe Shuster, and debuted in the comic book ''Action Comics'' #1 (cover-dated June 1938 and publi ...
''
comic book
A comic book, also called comicbook, comic magazine or (in the United Kingdom and Ireland) simply comic, is a publication that consists of comics art in the form of sequential juxtaposed panels that represent individual scenes. Panels are of ...
series. In the song, Jimmy Olsen tries to woo
Lois Lane
Lois Lane is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. Created by writer Jerry Siegel and artist Joe Shuster, she first appeared in ''Action Comics'' #1 (June 1938). Lois is an award-winning journalist for ...
away from Superman, stating "I've got a pocket full of Kryptonite",
Kryptonite
Kryptonite is a fictional material that appears primarily in Superman stories published by DC Comics. In its best-known form, it is a green, crystalline material originating from Superman's home world of Krypton that emits a unique, poisonous r ...
being a fictional substance that weakens Superman. The cover, showing a phone booth, refers to
Clark Kent
Superman is a superhero who appears in American comic books published by DC Comics. The character was created by writer Jerry Siegel and artist Joe Shuster, and debuted in the comic book ''Action Comics'' #1 (cover-dated June 1938 and publish ...
frequently ducking into a nearby phone booth to change into his Superman attire.
Track listing
Original album
Notes
*The track listing for the
cassette
Cassette may refer to:
Technology
* Cassette tape (or ''musicassette'', ''audio cassette'', ''cassette tape'', or ''tape''), a worldwide standard for analog audio recording and playback
** Cassette single (or "Cassingle"), a music single in th ...
release can be found inside the tape's inlay. Unlike the
CD release of ''Pocket Full of Kryptonite'', the cassettes did not feature a track listing on the back cover—only the black & white photography (as seen on the vinyl and CD releases) is depicted. The
digital cassette release of ''Pocket Full of Kryptonite'', however, featured a black & white photograph of the band instead (sans the track listing).
*The live tracks on the European release also appear on the live album ''
Homebelly Groove...Live'' (1992), and were recorded September 27, 1990, at
Wetlands Preserve in New York.
2011 anniversary edition disc 2
Personnel
Spin Doctors
*
Chris Barron
Chris Barron (born Christopher Gross; born February 5, 1968) is an American singer and songwriter, best known as the lead singer of Spin Doctors.
Biography
Christopher Gross was born February 5, 1968, in Honolulu, where his father was statio ...
– lead vocals
* Eric Schenkman – guitar, backing vocals, lead vocals on "Off My Line", piano on "Forty or Fifty"
*
Mark White –
bass
* Aaron Comess – drums,
organ, backing vocals on "Little Miss Can't Be Wrong",
conga
The conga, also known as tumbadora, is a tall, narrow, single-headed drum from Cuba. Congas are staved like barrels and classified into three types: quinto (lead drum, highest), tres dos or tres golpes (middle), and tumba or salidor (lowest). ...
s on "Forty or Fifty"
Additional musicians
*
John Popper
John Popper (born March 29, 1967) is an American musician and songwriter, known as the co-founder, lead vocalist, and frontman of the rock band Blues Traveler.
Early life
John Popper was born in Chardon, Ohio. His father was a Hungarian immig ...
– harmonica on "More Than She Knows" and "Off My Line", backing vocals on "Two Princes"
*John Bush – tambourine on "Off My Line", congas on "How Could You Want Him (When You Know You Could Have Me)?"
Production
*Producers: Frank Aversa, Peter Denenberg,
Frankie LaRocka
Frankie LaRocka (April 17, 1954 – May 12, 2005), born Frank LaRocca, was an American rock musician and producer. He was a member of Scandal, playing drums on their debut EP, and, at various stages, played the drums with Bon Jovi, David Johans ...
, Spin Doctors
*Engineers: Frank Aversa, Peter Denenberg, Marc Schwartz, Spin Doctors
*Assistant engineers: Jeff Lippay, Motley
*Mixing: Peter Denenberg, Frankie La Rocka, Spin Doctors
*Mastering:
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 ...
at Sterling Sound, NYC
*Production coordination: Jason J. Richardson
*Guitar technician: Joseph Miselis
*Equipment manager: John Darren Greene
*Art direction: Francesca Restrepo
*Photography: Paul Aresu, Paul LaRaia
*Cover art: Darren Greene, Chris Gross, Nicky Lindeman
*Liner notes: Cree McCree
Charts
Weekly charts
Year-end charts
Decade-end charts
Certifications
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Pocket Full Of Kryptonite
Spin Doctors albums
1991 debut albums
Epic Records albums
Albums produced by Frankie LaRocka