''P'' is the debut and only album by American

alternative rock Alternative rock, or alt-rock, is a category of rock music that emerged from the independent music underground of the 1970s and became widely popular in the 1990s. "Alternative" refers to the genre's distinction from mainstream or commerci ...

band P, featuring Bill Carter, Johnny Depp,

Gibby Haynes Gibson Jerome Haynes (born September 30, 1957) is an American musician, radio personality, painter, author and the lead singer of the band Butthole Surfers. Early life and career Born and raised in Dallas, Texas, Gibby Haynes is the son of actor ...

and Sal Jenco.Strong, Martin C. (2003) ''The Great Indie Discography'', Canongate, , p. 248 It was released on November 21, 1995, through Capitol Records and was reissued on May 8, 2007, under the Caroline Records label. Produced by bassist Andrew Weiss, the album also featured contributions from

Red Hot Chili Peppers Red Hot Chili Peppers are an American rock band formed in Los Angeles in 1983, comprising vocalist Anthony Kiedis, bassist Flea, drummer Chad Smith, and guitarist John Frusciante. Their music incorporates elements of alternative rock, funk ...

bassist

Flea Flea, the common name for the order Siphonaptera, includes 2,500 species of small flightless insects that live as external parasites of mammals and birds. Fleas live by ingesting the blood of their hosts. Adult fleas grow to about long, a ...

, Sex Pistols guitarist Steve Jones, and pianist and Los Angeles scene fixture Chuck E. Weiss. The album features a diverse "array of

, touching on

funk metal Funk metal (also known as thrash-funk or punk-funk) is a subgenre of funk rock and alternative metal that infuses heavy metal music (often thrash metal) with elements of funk and punk rock. Funk metal was part of the alternative metal movement, ...

R.E.M. R.E.M. was an American rock band from Athens, Georgia, formed in 1980 by drummer Bill Berry, guitarist Peter Buck, bassist Mike Mills, and lead vocalist Michael Stipe, who were students at the University of Georgia. One of the first alternati ...

-style folk-rock, and grunge." The album also features cover versions of

Daniel Johnston Daniel Dale Johnston (January 22, 1961 – September 11, 2019) was an American singer, musician and artist regarded as a significant figure in outsider, lo-fi, and alternative music scenes. Most of his work consisted of cassettes recorded a ...

's "I Save Cigarette Butts" and

ABBA ABBA ( , , formerly named Björn & Benny, Agnetha & Anni-Frid or Björn & Benny, Agnetha & Frida) are a Swedish supergroup formed in Stockholm in 1972 by Agnetha Fältskog, Björn Ulvaeus, Benny Andersson, and Anni-Frid Lyngstad. The group ...

's " Dancing Queen". The track "Michael Stipe", named after the R.E.M. frontman, was released as a single in 1995 and received airplay on alternative radio.

Critical reception

''CD Review'' magazine panned the album, stating, "Though the group aims to be something other than a

Gen X Generation X (or Gen X for short) is the Western demographic cohort following the baby boomers and preceding the millennials. Researchers and popular media use the mid-to-late 1960s as starting birth years and the late 1970s to early 1980s as ...

conversation piece, much of this debut is pointless dross." In '' Q'', David Quantick awarded the album one out of five stars. He wrote, "Records made by actors are dreadful (there are no exceptions)... The result makes the phrase 'self-indulgence' seem puny and not up to the job." Sandy Masuo of the

Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the U ...

gave the album three out of four stars, describing it as "a surreal blend of rough-hewn rock, Gothic Western twang and psychedelic dub." In a retrospective review,

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 databa ...

senior editor Stephen Thomas Erlewine noted the band's

eclectic Eclectic may refer to: Music * ''Eclectic'' (Eric Johnson and Mike Stern album), 2014 * ''Eclectic'' (Big Country album), 1996 * Eclectic Method, name of an audio-visual remix act * Eclecticism in music, the conscious use of styles alien to th ...

musical style. He stated: "While they are musically proficient, some of their songs aren't quite up to par. Nevertheless, their debut album is a surprisingly enjoyable effort."

Track listing

Personnel

;P * Bill Carter – guitar, bass * Johnny Depp – guitar, bass *

– vocals, artwork * Sal Jenco – drums, percussion ;Additional musicians * Ruth Ellsworth-Carter – keyboards *

– bass * Steve Jones – guitar * Chuck E. Weiss – washboard ;Technical personnel * Andrew Weiss – production, bass, mellotron, Moog, guitar *

Tim Devine Tim Devine is an American music executive and entrepreneur. The founder of Webcastr, Devine is best known for his work as an a&r executive. Early life and education Devine spent his childhood in Chicago, Kansas City, New York and New Jersey a ...

– A&R * Tommy Steele – art direction * Wendy Dougan – art direction, design * Christina Bookman – artwork (print production) * Richard Huredia – additional engineering * Tom Bunch – management

References

External links

* {{Authority control 1995 debut albums P (band) albums Capitol Records albums Caroline Records albums