''We Care a Lot'' is the debut studio album by 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

Faith No More Faith No More is an American rock band from San Francisco, California, formed in 1979. Before settling on the current name in July 1983, the band performed under the names Sharp Young Men and later Faith No Man. Bassist Billy Gould, keyboardist/r ...

, originally released in 1985 and distributed through

Mordam Records Mordam Records ("More Damn Records") was a California record distribution company for independent record labels. It was founded in San Francisco in 1983 as an independent punk distribution company by Ruth Schwartz (one of the original co-editors of ...

. On the original vinyl release, the band is credited as Faith. No More. on the album's liner notes, back cover, and on the record itself.

Album information

The title track "

We Care a Lot ''We Care a Lot'' is the debut studio album by American rock band Faith No More, originally released in 1985 and distributed through Mordam Records. On the original vinyl release, the band is credited as Faith. No More. on the album's liner no ...

" was rerecorded for their follow-up album ''

Introduce Yourself ''Introduce Yourself'' is Faith No More's second studio album, released in 1987. Due to the limited availability of the first album, ''We Care a Lot'' (until it was re-released on CD years later), many, including the band, once considered this ...

'' and released as their first single. This later version of the song was incorrectly listed as the original and the album ''Introduce Yourself'' was listed as the début in the sleeve notes for some subsequent releases, such as the 1998 compilation ''

Who Cares a Lot? ''Who Cares a Lot? - The Greatest Hits'' is the first compilation album by American rock band Faith No More, released on November 24, 1998. The album is a greatest hits retrospective that spans most of the band's career, including songs from all ...

''. The band is known to have re-recorded only one song from ''We Care a Lot'' in the studio with current singer Mike Patton on vocals. "As the Worm Turns" was recorded during the '' Angel Dust'' sessions. However, a number of live recordings of songs from this album with Patton on vocals have been released over the years. # "We Care a Lot" #* various "Falling to Pieces" singles #* ''Live at the Brixton Academy'' #* "We Care a Lot" (contains Patton's live version from ''Live At The Brixton Academy'' and Mosley's studio version from ''Introduce Yourself'') #* "I'm Easy/Be Aggressive" CD2 single #* "We Care a Lot/I Started a Joke" (contains Patton's live version from ''Live At The Brixton Academy'' and Mosley's studio version from ''Introduce Yourself'') #* various "I Started a Joke" singles # "Mark Bowen" #* "I'm Easy/Be Aggressive" CD1 single # "As the Worm Turns" #* various "Epic" CD singles #* ''Live at the Brixton Academy'' #* ''Angel Dust'' (Japanese edition) A later recording of "We Care a Lot" (from the album ''Introduce Yourself'') is used as the theme song for the show ''

Dirty Jobs ''Dirty Jobs'' is an American television series that originally aired on the Discovery Channel in which host Mike Rowe is shown performing difficult, strange, disgusting, or messy occupational duties alongside the job's current employees. The sh ...

''.

Production

The band initially started recording the album without backing from a record label and, after pooling their money, recorded five songs. This gained the attention of Ruth Schwartz (who was then forming the independent label

) under which the band (after receiving the finances to do so) finished and released the album. It was the first official release for both the band and the label. The album was recorded in a short space of time on a low budget. In a 2015 interview, bassist Billy Gould reflected, "There are probably things we could have done better, but at the same time I think that the performances were pretty damned good. And that had to do with us keeping focused and needing to work within those budget restrictions. We rehearsed quite a lot before we went in to record, so we were ready."

Release history

While released on

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 ...

and

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 ...

in 1985, this album would not be released to buy as a CD until 1995 in Australia (on

Mushroom Records Mushroom Records was an Australian flagship record label, founded in 1972 in Melbourne. It published and distributed many successful Australian artists and expanded internationally, until it was merged with Festival Records in 1998. Festival Mu ...

) as a pink disc for the first pressing, and black disc for the second, to coincide with the tour for their fifth studio album '' King for a Day... Fool for a Lifetime'', released that year. In 1996, it was reissued on CD,

and

in the UK and Japan with slightly modified artwork, one being a purple disc. The CD reissue version of the album can be seen during a scene at a record store in the 1997 film ''

Chasing Amy ''Chasing Amy'' is a 1997 American romantic comedy-drama film written and directed by Kevin Smith and starring Ben Affleck, Joey Lauren Adams, and Jason Lee. The film is about a male comic artist (Affleck) who falls in love with a lesbian woma ...

''.

2016 reissue

The album was reissued by Koolarrow Records on August 19, 2016, and includes nine additional tracks, including three remixes, four demos and two live recordings from a 1986 show at the I-Beam, San Francisco. It was remastered by Maor Appelbaum

Music and lyrics

The third track "Mark Bowen" was titled after an early Faith No More/Faith No Man guitarist of the same name.

Critical reception

'' Select'' magazine, while also mentioning the roughness of production, said that the music is inexorable and "a lustful marriage of mutoid metal and dancefloor verve that owed nothing to anybody".

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 ...

made repeated reference to the absence of future front man

Mike Patton Michael Allan Patton (born January 27, 1968) is an American singer, producer, film composer and voice actor, best known as the lead vocalist of the alternative metal band Faith No More. Noted for his vocal proficiency, diverse singing techni ...

and criticized

Chuck Mosley Charles Henry Mosley III (December 26, 1959 – November 9, 2017) was an American musician, singer and songwriter, who was the frontman for Faith No More from 1984 to 1988. During his tenure with the band, they released two albums, ''We Care a ...

's vocals, calling him "often off-key, fairly monotonous, and colorless" but credited the album for having "lots of attitude", comparing it to early

Public Image Ltd Public Image Ltd (abbreviated and stylized as PiL) are an English post-punk band (and incorporated limited company) formed by singer John Lydon (previously known as the singer of Sex Pistols), guitarist Keith Levene, bassist Jah Wobble, and dr ...

works. Mike Patton labelled the album as "bad hippie music". However, his

Mr. Bungle Mr. Bungle is an American experimental rock band formed in Eureka, California in 1985. Having gone through many incarnations throughout their career, the band is best known for music created during their most experimental era. During this time, ...

bandmate

Trey Spruance Preston Lea "Trey" Spruance III (born August 14, 1969) is an American composer, producer, and musician who co-founded the experimental rock band Mr. Bungle. He is also leader of the multi-genre outfit Secret Chiefs 3. Originally a guitarist an ...

was a fan. When Spruance joined Faith No More for their 1995 album '' King for a Day... Fool for a Lifetime'', he suggested that the band return to the sound they had on ''We Care a Lot''.

Track listing

2016 reissue bonus tracks

We Care a Lot - Deluxe Band Edition - Remastered by Maor Appelbaum

Personnel

;Faith No More *

Mike Bordin Michael Andrew Bordin (born November 27, 1962) is an American musician, best known as the drummer for the rock band Faith No More. He has amicably been known as "Puffy", "Puffster" or "The Puff", in reference to the afro hair style he wore in ...

– drums *

Roddy Bottum Roswell Christopher Bottum (born July 1, 1963) is an American musician, best known as the keyboardist for the San Francisco alternative metal band Faith No More. He is also guitarist and co-lead vocalist for the pop group Imperial Teen, best kn ...

– keyboard *

Bill Gould William David Gould (born April 24, 1963 in Los Angeles, California) is an American musician and producer. He is best known as the bassist of Faith No More. Biography Early years Billy said he is of Hungarian descent from his father's side. ...

– bass * James B. Martin – guitar *

– vocals ;Production *

Matt Wallace Matt Wallace is an American record producer. He is a graduate of the University of California at Berkeley,1985 debut albums Albums produced by Matt Wallace Alternative metal albums by American artists Faith No More albums Funk metal albums Post-punk albums by American artists