Cracker (album)

Cracker is the debut studio album by American rock band Cracker.^[6][7] It was released on March 10, 1992, by Virgin Records.

Cracker
Studio album by Cracker
Released	March 10, 1992
Recorded	Summer 1991 at Hollywood Sound and Cornerstone Recorders, Chatsworth
Genre	Alternative rock, alternative country
Length	53:03
Label	Virgin
Producer	Don Smith
Cracker chronology
Cracker (1992) Kerosene Hat (1993)
Singles from Cracker
"Teen Angst (What the World Needs Now)" Released: 1992 "Happy Birthday to Me" Released: 1992

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[1]
Chicago Tribune	[2]
Christgau's Consumer Guide	[3]
Entertainment Weekly	A[4]
The New Rolling Stone Album Guide	[5]

The album had sold more than 200,000 copies by April 1994.^[8] "Teen Angst (What the World Needs Now)" was released as a single and charted at number 1 on the U.S. Modern Rock Tracks.

Critical reception

Trouser Press wrote: "On Cracker, Lowery strips rock down to its muscular essence, avoiding any of the fancy flourishes Camper Van Beethoven used that might have hurt — or strengthened — this album of catchy, clever and disarmingly ironic songs."^[9]

Track listing

1. "Teen Angst (What the World Needs Now)" (David Lowery) – 4:11
2. "Happy Birthday to Me" (Lowery)– 3:29
3. "This Is Cracker Soul" (Lowery, Johnny Hickman) – 3:38
4. "I See the Light" (Hickman, Lowery, Davey Faragher) – 5:11
5. "St. Cajetan" (Lowery, Hickman) – 5:22
6. "Mr. Wrong" (Hickman) – 4:34
7. "Someday" (Lowery, Hickman, Faragher) – 3:19
8. "Can I Take My Gun to Heaven?" (Lowery, Hickman) – 3:59
9. "Satisfy You" (Lowery, Hickman) – 3:27
10. "Another Song About the Rain" - (Hickman, Chris LeRoy) – 5:46
11. "Don't Fuck Me Up (With Peace and Love)" (Lowery, Hickman) – 3:08
12. "Dr. Bernice" (Lowery) – 6:20

Personnel

Listed as INGREDIENTS on the liner notes.^[10]

• David Lowery – vocals, acoustic guitar
• Johnny Hickman – electric guitars, backing vocals, harmonica, lead vocals (track 10)
• Davey Faragher – bass, backing vocals

with:

• Rick Jaeger – drums
• Jim Keltner – drums (tracks 2, 3 & 6)
• Benmont Tench – keyboards
• Jeanie McClain – backing vocals (tracks 4 & 5)
• Phil Jones – percussion
• Alicia Previn aka Lovely Previn – fiddle

Charts

Chart performance for Cracker

Chart (1992)	Peak position
Australian Albums (ARIA)[11]	178

References

1. https://www.allmusic.com/album/r72074
2. Caro, Mark (1992-03-12). "Cracker Cracker (Virgin)". Chicago Tribune. Archived from the original on August 6, 2017. Retrieved 2017-08-06.
3. "Robert Christgau: CG: cracker". www.robertchristgau.com.
4. Arnold, Gina (1992-06-05). "Cracker". EW.com. Retrieved 2017-07-28.
5. Brackett, Nathan; Hoard, Christian David (2004). The New Rolling Stone Album Guide. Simon and Schuster. pp. 197. ISBN 9780743201698.
6. Thompson, Dave (June 20, 2000). Alternative Rock. Hal Leonard Corporation. ISBN 9780879306076 – via Google Books.
7. "It Was Hard Being a Cult : David Lowery used to be an alternative kind of guy with Camper Van Beethoven. Now, he's a Cracker and doesn't have to apologize for liking Tom Petty and ZZ Top". Los Angeles Times. July 26, 1992.
8. Puterbaugh, Parke (April 7, 1994). "Crackers with Attitudes". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 6 August 2016.
9. "Cracker". Trouser Press.
10. "Cracker", Cracker, Virgin 86264 (1992) CS
11. "Cracker ARIA Chart History complete to 2024". ARIA. Retrieved July 26, 2024 – via Imgur.com. N.B. The High Point number in the NAT column represents the release's peak on the national chart.