As Ugly as They Wanna Be
| As Ugly as They Wanna Be | ||||
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| Extended play by Ugly Kid Joe | ||||
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Publication |
1991 |
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| Label (s) | Stardog Records | |||
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Format (s) |
LP, CD, MC |
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Title (number) |
6 (or 7 on the Japanese version) |
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running time |
25:23 |
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| occupation |
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Ryan Dorn & Ugly Kid Joe |
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Studio (s) |
NRG Studios, North Hollywood , California |
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As Ugly as They Wanna Be is the debut - EP of the Californian band Ugly Kid Joe . It was published in June 1991 and was the first of its kind to be honored by the RIAA on May 18, 1992 with the then new multi- platinum award. To this day it represents the band's greatest commercial success. Despite the comparatively few tracks, this mini-album is one of the most popular releases by Ugly Kid Joe to this day.
Cover
The cover shows an unkempt cartoon child drawn by Moish Brenman , showing the finger to a third person while hiding a bottle of beer behind his back. On the back of the booklet you can see the same child chasing a cat with a burning lighter and a fireworks stuck in its bottom. Both drawings must have caused quite a stir and outrage.
title
- Madman (Eichstadt) - 3:38
- Whiplash Liquor (Eichstadt / Lahr / Crane) - 3:40
- Too Bad (Crane / Phillips) - 5:54
- Everything About You (Eichstadt / Crane) - 4:14
- Sweet Leaf / Funky Fresh Country Club (Iommi / Butler / Ward / Osbourne - Crane / Phillips) - 7:32
- Heavy Metal (Ugly Kid Joe) - 0:25
- Sin City (live) (Young / Young / Scott) - 5:05
The seventh song was only available on the Japanese version of the EP . This is a common practice, as records are usually sold much more expensive in Japan than in the US or Germany . This live version of the AC / DC classic Sin City was available in Germany as a B-side of the single Everything About You .
More information about the songs
Madman
The text of Madman is about a (child) murderer who is up to mischief in Disneyland . The lyrical trademark of Ugly Kid Joe becomes clear in the first song: 'unspoiled' locations or themes are consciously chosen and confronted with their complete opposite. This is about the fear of all parents that their child could be brought into their power by strangers through drugs and ultimately killed.
Musically, this song is a prime example of the early songwriting of the band are: the mixture of hard rock - riffs (guitar), by radio is supported -Bassläufen.
Whiplash Liquor
The song deals with the subject of "(unauthorized) alcohol consumption by young people ". It is written from the first-person perspective of a teenager who is warned of the dangers of alcohol from all sides , but ignores all warnings and uses every opportunity that presents itself to unauthorized (alcohol) parties.
Again, this song is a mixture of hard rock and funk.
Too bad
Too Bad is about manic depression . This time it is not written from the point of view of the person concerned, but from their friends. John Spaulding, the drummer of UKJ's predecessor band Overdrive , who suffered from mental health problems, served as a template . In terms of songwriting, the song marks one of three contributions by the band's former guitarist, Eric Phillips.
The song is one of the more hard rock-heavy pieces. The funk elements, which otherwise have equal rights, were cut back in favor of a unison riff of guitar and bass .
Everything About You
This song is a purely satirical piece. It's about a person who has something to complain about in everything and everyone and who can never be right. Again it is written from the first person perspective. However, towards the end of the bridge it becomes clear that this person looks at himself and his attitude with a twinkle in his eye (“ and if you think this might be bringing me down, look again 'cause I ain't wearing no frown ”). The track has a real role model: Farrell T. Smith , a friend of the band (thanked for in the album's liner notes) who never wanted to ski or go to the beach because it was either too cold or too sunny and never felt too good to rail against anything. It was through him that Klaus Eichstadt came up with the line of text: “ I hate the rain and sunny weather ”.
Contrary to the superficial pessimism of the first-person narrator, the song was orchestrated in a relaxed and cheerful manner from beginning to end and tends to evoke a good mood in the listener.
It became known to a wide audience through its use in the movie Wayne's World . It is also the band's first commercial single .
Sweet Leaf / Funky Fresh Country Club
The first part of the song is an (incomplete) cover version of the Black Sabbath classic of the same name . The band played the riff of the song from memory during a rehearsal. If you compare it with the original, the listener actually notices a slight difference between the original text and the one sung here ( straight people vs. great people ). However, they didn't want to learn the song completely ( Klaus Eichstadt had no recording of the song), so after a good two minutes they stopped and instead began to write their own sequel.
The second, self-written part is about a criminal who ends up in prison. This represented a dark side of life again. The title Funky Fresh Country Club is an allusion to the Santa Barbara prison in California . Once again, the former guitarist Eric Phillips was heavily involved in the songwriting .
It is probably one of the UKJ pieces with the greatest funk influence , as you can even hear the typical undistorted funk guitars here.
Also live they played both songs ever in this composite.
Heavy metal
This short instrumental at the end of the album is a nicely meant parody of typical heavy metal . Cliché-like different stylistic elements were used to which this style of music is sometimes reduced in general: high tempo, simple musical structure, a demon-tinged singer and finally the final banshee scream. The latter in particular is a clear reminiscence of Rob Halford from Judas Priest , a great role model for the singer Whitfield Crane . Here it becomes clear that the band takes neither their music nor themselves too seriously and looks at most of it with a certain wink.
Other contributors
Musically
- Carrie Hamilton - piano
Technically
- Ryan Dorn - sound engineer and mixer
- Kyle Bess - Mixing Assistant
- Jay Baumgardner - recording assistant
- Phil Reynolds - recording assistant
- Eddy Schreyer - Mastering
useful information
The entire recordings for this EP took only six days, the vocal recordings only a single day. Consequently, on this version of the song Madman , which was sung last, you can clearly hear that Whitfield Crane's voice was already noticeably marked by the exertion.
All of the drawings showing the Ugly Kid are by Moish Brenman, a high school friend of Whitfield Crane , and the band photo in the booklet by rock photographer Richard Aaron.
Chart placements
album
| year | Charts | position |
|---|---|---|
| 1992 | The Billboard 200 | 4th place |
Singles
| year | title | Charts | position |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1991 | Everything About You | The Billboard Hot 100 | 9th place |
| Everything About You | Mainstream rock tracks | Rank 6 |
Madman , Too Bad and Funky Fresh Country Club were only promotion - Singles released.