Smash Mouth (album)

Smash Mouth is the third studio album by American rock band of the same name. It was released on November 27, 2001 by Interscope Records. It is notable in that it was their first album with new drummer Michael Urbano and its release was delayed a few months due to the death of Steve Harwell's infant son and the September 11 attacks. The album was eventually certified Gold by the RIAA for sales in excess of 500,000 in the U.S.

Smash Mouth
Studio album by Smash Mouth
Released	November 27, 2001
Recorded	1999–2001
Genre	Pop rock
Length	42:11
Label	Interscope Records
Producer	Eric Valentine
Smash Mouth chronology
Astro Lounge (1999) Smash Mouth (2001) Get the Picture? (2003)
Singles from Smash Mouth
"I'm a Believer" Released: August 14, 2001 "Pacific Coast Party" Released: November 27, 2001 "Holiday in My Head" Released: February 2002

Smash Mouth held a contest on their website in the fall of 2000 to name their third album. The result was a two-way tie with the winning suggestion being to self-title the album. It was released in the fall of 2001 along with the single "Pacific Coast Party".

Critical reception

Professional ratings

Aggregate scores
Source	Rating
Metacritic	67/100[1]
Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[2]
Blender	[3]
Boston Phoenix	[4]
E! Online	B−[5]
Entertainment Weekly	A−[6]
Maxim	[7]
Melodic	[8]
Rolling Stone	[9]
Spin	6/10[10]

Smash Mouth received generally favorable reviews from music critics. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album received an average score of 67, based on 7 reviews.^[1]

Entertainment Weekly writer Tom Sinclair praised the album for Steve Harwell's "real Zen wisdom" vocals and the band's "sunny, goofball approach" to creating "hooks, humor, and high jinks" throughout the track listing.^[6] J. D. Considine of Blender wrote that "even though there's nothing new, the album offers enough in the way of big-beat guitar and sing-along choruses to keep Smash Mouth on the charts (and MTV) for another two years."^[3] AllMusic's Stephen Thomas Erlewine also found "no new tricks" on the record but felt it was done "sharply, melodically, and happily", especially on the album cuts, concluding that: "If you've grooved on Smash Mouth's singles and want more of the same, this delivers reliably, which may be an unadorned pleasure for some and a guilty one for others."^[2]

Sean Richardson of the Boston Phoenix wrote that: "Underneath all the bells and whistles, Harwell shows more lyrical depth than your average family-themed rocker — Smash Mouth aren't meant to be taken too seriously, but they're not easily written off, either."^[4] A writer for E! Online critiqued that the record's "Xeroxed batch of overproduced, hyperactive pop songs" was prepared for backyard parties and mass media consumption, but highlighted "Out of Sight" and "Sister Psychic" for hinting that there's "some substance" amidst the "light-as-air pop flightiness".^[5] The A.V. Club's Stephen Thompson felt the album lacked the "overdriven polish" of Astro Lounge and noted that the addition of the Monkees' cover smacked of "chart-hungry desperation", but commended the band for being able to "offset[ting] its bald-faced mercenary intentions with a refreshing lack of pretension."^[11] David Peisner of Maxim was dumbfounded by the band's ability to make their songs sound "more disposable than the one before it", criticizing the "bouncy melodies and cheery demeanor" for overshadowing the "inconsequential" lyrics.^[7]

Track listing

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"Holiday in My Head"		2:40
2.	"Your Man"		3:36
3.	"Pacific Coast Party"	Camp Paul De Lisle	2:58
4.	"She Turns Me On"	Paul Cafaro Eric Valentine	3:12
5.	"Sister Psychic"		3:16
6.	"Out of Sight"		2:56
7.	"Force Field"		3:49
8.	"Shoes 'n' Hats"		2:48
9.	"Hold You High"		3:01
10.	"The In Set"		3:41
11.	"Disenchanted"		4:16
12.	"Keep It Down"		5:31
13.	"I'm a Believer" (the Monkees cover)	Neil Diamond	3:07
Total length:			42:11

All tracks are written by Greg Camp, except where noted

Japanese edition bonus tracks^[12]

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
14.	"All Star"		3:21
15.	"Walkin' on the Sun"	Camp De Lisle Steve Harwell Kevin Coleman	3:27
16.	"Pacific Coast Party" (Olav Basoski remix)	De Lisle	7:58

Australasia edition bonus tracks^[13]

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
14.	"All Star"		3:21
15.	"Can't Get Enough of You Baby"	Sandy Linzer Denny Randell	2:30

Personnel

Smash Mouth

• Steve Harwell – lead vocals
• Paul De Lisle – bass guitar, backing vocals
• Greg Camp – guitars, backing vocals
• Michael Urbano – drums, programming

Touring members

• Michael Klooster – keyboard
• Mark Cervantes – percussion
• Sam Eigen – guitar

Additional personnel

• Lewis Castle – trumpet
• Mike Busbee – trombone
• Rich Seinhauser – trombone
• Eric Valentine – producer, engineer, mixer
• David Campbell – string arrangements

Charts

Weekly charts

Weekly chart performance for Smash Mouth

Chart (2001)	Peak position
Australian Albums (ARIA)[14]	70
New Zealand Albums (RMNZ)[15]	46
US Billboard 200[16]	48

Year-end charts

Year-end chart performance for Smash Mouth

Chart (2002)	Position
Canadian Alternative Albums (Nielsen SoundScan)[17]	198

Reference

1. "Smash Mouth by Smash Mouth". Metacritic. Fandom, Inc. Archived from the original on October 18, 2022. Retrieved July 17, 2015.
2. Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "Smash Mouth - Smash Mouth". AllMusic. Archived from the original on April 5, 2023. Retrieved July 7, 2011.
3. Considine, J. D. "Smash Mouth - Smashmouth". Blender. Archived from the original on August 13, 2004. Retrieved December 7, 2021.
4. Richardson, Sean. "Off the Record | Smash Mouth". Boston Phoenix. Phoenix Media/Communications Group. Archived from the original on April 7, 2004. Retrieved June 29, 2024.
5. "Smash Mouth: "Smash Mouth"". E! Online. Archived from the original on March 3, 2003. Retrieved July 6, 2018.
6. Sinclair, Tom (December 3, 2001). "Smashmouth Review". Entertainment Weekly. Archived from the original on June 24, 2022. Retrieved June 24, 2022.
7. Peisner, David. "Smash Mouth, Smash Mouth". Maxim. Archived from the original on August 8, 2002. Retrieved June 29, 2024.
8. Wippsson, Johan (June 18, 2002). "Smash Mouth – s/t". Melodic. Archived from the original on July 6, 2018. Retrieved July 18, 2017.
9. Blashill, Pat (November 13, 2001). "Smash Mouth: Smash Mouth". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on October 1, 2007. Retrieved March 18, 2012.
10. Harris, Keith (January 2002). "Smash Mouth: Smash Mouth (Interscope)". Spin. pp. 109–110. Retrieved July 6, 2018.
11. Thompson, Stephen (November 27, 2001). "Smash Mouth: Smash Mouth". The A.V. Club. The Onion. Archived from the original on June 29, 2024. Retrieved June 29, 2024.
12. "SmashMouth Smash Mouth Japan CD 3BONUS 16Tracks OBI – eBay". Retrieved October 3, 2016.
13. "Smash Mouth – Smash Mouth". Discogs. Retrieved October 3, 2016.
14. Ryan, Gavin (2011). Australia's Music Charts 1988–2010 (PDF ed.). Mt Martha, Victoria, Australia: Moonlight Publishing. p. 257.
15. "Charts.nz – Smash Mouth – Smash Mouth". Hung Medien. Retrieved September 5, 2022.
16. "Smash Mouth Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved September 5, 2022.
17. "Canada's Top 200 Alternative albums of 2002". Jam!. January 1, 2003. Archived from the original on September 2, 2004. Retrieved March 28, 2022.

External links

• Smash Mouth at YouTube (streamed copy where licensed)
• The Official Smash Mouth site