''Somewhere Between Heaven and Hell'' is the fourth

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 punk rock band

Social Distortion Social Distortion is an American punk rock band formed in 1978 in Fullerton, California. The band currently consists of Mike Ness (lead vocals, lead guitar), Jonny Wickersham (rhythm guitar, backing vocals), Brent Harding (bass, backing voca ...

, released on February 11, 1992. Following up on the surprise success of their breakthrough singles "

Ball and Chain A ball and chain is a physical restraint device historically applied to prisoners, primarily in the British Empire and its former colonies, from the 17th century until as late as the mid-20th century. A type of shackle, the ball and chain is de ...

" and " Story of My Life", ''Somewhere Between Heaven and Hell'' became a popular album and received positive reviews from music critics. It also spawned their highest-charting single " Bad Luck", which peaked at number 2 on the

Modern Rock Tracks Alternative Airplay (formerly known as Modern Rock Tracks (1988–2009) and Alternative Songs (2009–2020)) is a music chart in the United States that has appeared in ''Billboard'' magazine since September 10, 1988. It ranks the 40 most-played ...

chart. ''Somewhere Between Heaven and Hell'' was the one of the best-selling albums of Social Distortion's recording career, achieving gold sales certification in the United States by 2000, and by 1996, the album had sold 296,000 copies. It peaked at number 76 on the US ''Billboard'' 200 and topped the

Heatseekers Infrared homing is a passive weapon guidance system which uses the infrared (IR) light emission from a target to track and follow it seamlessly. Missiles which use infrared seeking are often referred to as "heat-seekers" since infrared is radi ...

chart, and was also Social Distortion's last to feature drummer

Christopher Reece Christopher Reece (sometimes known as Chris Reece) (born July 28, 1959) is an American musician. He was the drummer of The Lewd (1981–1983) and Social Distortion (1984–1993). Reece was 22 years old in 1981 when he started playing drums for T ...

, who left the band in 1994. The cover art features Ness mid-jump, while playing one of his

Gibson Les Paul The Gibson Les Paul is a solid body electric guitar that was first sold by the Gibson Guitar Corporation in 1952. The guitar was designed by factory manager John Huis and his team with input from and endorsement by guitarist Les Paul. Its typi ...

s. The cover is reminiscent and possibly an hommage to

Joan Jett Joan Jett (born Joan Marie Larkin, September 22, 1958) is an American singer, guitarist, record producer, and actress. Jett is best known for her work as the frontwoman of her band Joan Jett and the Blackhearts, and for earlier founding and per ...

jumping with her Gibson MelodyMaker over a canary yellow background on her third album, ''Album''.

Music style

''Somewhere Between Heaven and Hell'' continues the melding of

country A country is a distinct part of the world, such as a state, nation, or other political entity. It may be a sovereign state or make up one part of a larger state. For example, the country of Japan is an independent, sovereign state, while the ...

and

rockabilly Rockabilly is one of the earliest styles of rock and roll music. It dates back to the early 1950s in the United States, especially the Southern United States, South. As a genre it blends the sound of Western music (North America), Western music ...

influences with punk that began with Social Distortion's 1988 album ''

Prison Bound ''Prison Bound'' is the second studio album by Social Distortion, released in 1988. It was the first album with bass guitarist John Maurer and drummer Christopher Reece. It expands the punk rock sound of the band's first album, '' Mommy's Little ...

''. Clear influences include

Hank Williams Hank Williams (born Hiram Williams; September 17, 1923 – January 1, 1953) was an American singer, songwriter, and musician. Regarded as one of the most significant and influential American singers and songwriters of the 20th century, he reco ...

(on "This Time Darlin'") and

Johnny Cash John R. Cash (born J. R. Cash; February 26, 1932 – September 12, 2003) was an American country singer-songwriter. Much of Cash's music contained themes of sorrow, moral tribulation, and redemption, especially in the later stages of his ca ...

(on "99 to Life").

Reception

Reviews for ''Somewhere Between Heaven and Hell'' have generally been favorable.

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 ...

's Paul Tinelli awards the album four-and-a-half stars out of five and praised the music as a "share of rollicking, straight-ahead hard rock." He also claims that ''Somewhere Between Heaven and Hell'' "had all the earmarks of a major commercial success with some radio friendly tunes and strong production, but it never found the large audience Epic Records expected."

Covers

In 2008, Danish rock band

Volbeat Volbeat are a Danish rock band formed in Copenhagen in 2001. They play a fusion of rock and roll, heavy metal, and rockabilly. Their current line-up consists of vocalist and guitarist Michael Poulsen, guitarist Rob Caggiano, drummer Jon Lars ...

released a cover of “Making Believe” on their third album,

Guitar Gangsters & Cadillac Blood ''Guitar Gangsters & Cadillac Blood'' is the third studio album by Danish rock band Volbeat, released on 1 September 2008. It reached the #1 position on both the Danish and Finnish album charts, staying on the former for 35 consecutive weeks, w ...

. In 2018, the German punk rock band

Die Toten Hosen Die Toten Hosen (literally "The Dead Trousers", figuratively "The Deadbeats") is a German punk rock band from Düsseldorf. History The current members of Die Toten Hosen are Campino (Andreas Frege), Kuddel (Andreas von Holst), Vom (Stephe ...

covered the song "Cold Feelings" on their "Laune der Natur" single.

Track listing

All songs written by

Mike Ness Michael Daniel Ness (born April 3, 1962) is an American musician who is the lead guitarist, vocalist and songwriter for the punk rock band Social Distortion, which was formed in 1978. Early life Ness was born in Lynn, Massachusetts on April ...

unless otherwise noted. # "Cold Feelings" – 3:31 # " Bad Luck" – 4:26 # "

Making Believe "Making Believe" is a country music song written by Jimmy Work. Kitty Wells recorded a chart-topping version in 1955. The song is on many lists of all-time greatest country music songs and has been covered by scores of artists over the past fifty ...

" (

Jimmy Work Jimmy Work (March 29, 1924 – December 22, 2018) was an American country musician and songwriter best known for the country standard "Making Believe". Work was born in Akron, Ohio, but moved to Dukedom, Tennessee, with his family at age two. H ...

) – 4:12 # "Born to Lose" – 4:09 # "Bye Bye Baby" – 3:06 # "When She Begins" – 5:04 # "99 to Life" – 4:28 # "King of Fools" ( W.E. Bruce) – 2:50 # "Sometimes I Do" – 4:01 # "This Time Darlin' " – 4:08 # "Ghost Town Blues" – 4:38 (CD bonus track) # "Alone and Forsaken" - 3:12 (Hank Williams; Japanese bonus track) # "Mainliner 1992" - 2:59 (Japanese bonus track) Track 11, "Ghost Town Blues", is a CD bonus track and it did not appear on 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 the ...

vinyl Vinyl may refer to: Chemistry * Polyvinyl chloride (PVC), a particular vinyl polymer * Vinyl cation, a type of carbocation * Vinyl group, a broad class of organic molecules in chemistry * Vinyl polymer, a group of polymers derived from vinyl m ...

version of the album.

Personnel

– lead vocals, lead guitar *

Dennis Danell Dennis Eric Danell (June 24, 1961 – February 29, 2000) was an American musician, guitarist and co-founding member of the Southern California punk rock band Social Distortion. Biography Danell joined Social Distortion in 1979 while he and ...

– rhythm guitar *

John Maurer John Maurer may refer to: * John Maurer (Social Distortion) (born 1961), American punk musician * John Maurer (jazz musician), American instrumentalist and instructor * John J. Maurer (1922–2019), American politician See also

* John Mauer ...

– bass guitar, backing vocals *

– drums

Charts

Album

Singles

Certifications

Notes

External links

'Bye Bye Baby' song of the day on thishereboogie.com 20 November 2008
{{DEFAULTSORT:Somewhere Between Heaven And Hell Social Distortion albums 1992 albums Epic Records albums Albums produced by Dave Jerden