24 Hours a Day (album)

24 Hours a Day is the third album by the American band the Bottle Rockets, released in 1997.[1][2] The band supported the album by touring with John Fogerty and then Todd Snider.[3][4] Bass player Tom V. Ray left the band around the time of the album's release.[5]

24 Hours a Day
Studio album by
the Bottle Rockets
Released1997
GenreRock, country rock
LabelAtlantic
ProducerEric "Roscoe" Ambel
The Bottle Rockets chronology
The Brooklyn Side
(1994)		 24 Hours a Day
(1997)		 Leftovers
(1998)

It was the band's only album for Atlantic Records, and was underpromoted, according to the Bottle Rockets.[6][7] Frontman Brian Henneman also blamed the "alternative country" label that sometimes stuck to the band for the lack of rock radio airplay.[8][9]

Production

Recorded in Bloomington, Indiana, the album was produced by Eric "Roscoe" Ambel.[10][11] Its release was delayed almost a year due to label reorganization.[12] The passage of time is a recurring motif of the album; inspired by '70s albums, the band tried to give their songs thematic links.[12][7] Henneman's songwriting was also influenced by the "rednecks" he grew up with.[9] "Slo Toms" is about a bar in Missouri.[10] "Perfect Far Away" is about attending a Dolly Parton concert.[13] "Indianapolis" is about the band being stuck in the capital city due to a broken fuel pump.[14] "Waitin' On a Train" is narrated by a man reflecting on his first marriage and family.[15] Additional songs from the recordings sessions were released on 1998's Leftovers.[16]

Critical reception
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[17]
Chicago Tribune[18]
Robert ChristgauA−[19]
Lincoln Journal Star[20]
Orlando Sentinel[14]
(The New) Rolling Stone Album Guide[2]

The St. Louis Post Dispatch wrote that "unless you've got a high tolerance for pseudo-redneck hokum, the stuff's bound to leave you cold."[21] The San Diego Union-Tribune noted that, "by making great, straightforward rock 'n' roll, the Bottle Rockets have created some of the best crying-in-your-beer music of the year."[22] Robert Christgau determined that, "like Wilco, only not so generically or formalistically, this is a rock band... They love Lynyrd Skynyrd; they love the Ramones."[19] The New York Times stated that "rock songwriters don't get any more plainspoken than Brian Henneman."[23]

The Lincoln Journal Star concluded that the band "gets slapped with the country tag because Brian Henneman is the '90s musical poet of the common man, turning songs about the kitchen clock into meditations on time and using details to spin funny insightful songs about real people."[20] The Rocky Mountain News advised to consider the music "working-class, Midwestern rock that taps into the same vein that John Mellencamp once did when he went by John Cougar."[24] The Chicago Tribune praised the "greasy-gas-station firepower."[18] The Dallas Morning News labeled 24 Hours a Day "a bona fide masterpiece."[25]

AllMusic wrote that "much of it is simply solid, craftsmanlike country-rock that sounds like it could have been done by any alt-country band."[17]

Track listing
No.TitleLength
1."Kit Kat Clock" 
2."When I Was Dumb" 
3."24 Hours a Day" 
4."Smokin' 100's Alone" 
5."Slo Toms" 
6."Indianapolis" 
7."Things You Didn't Know" 
8."One of You" 
9."Perfect Far Away" 
10."Waitin' On a Train" 
11."Dohack Joe" 
12."Rich Man" 
13."Turn for the Worse" 

References
  1. DeLuca, Dan (20 Apr 1997). "Country Changes Course". The Philadelphia Inquirer. p. F1.
  2. (The New) Rolling Stone Album Guide. Simon & Schuster. 2004. p. 96.
  3. Hampel, Paul (14 Aug 1997). "Ex-Rocket Man". Get Out. St. Louis Post-Dispatch. p. 8.
  4. Thompson, Stephen (9 Apr 1998). "The latter group, from Festus, Mo...". Rhythm. Wisconsin State Journal. p. 10.
  5. Menconi, David (30 Jan 1998). "A Sunday morning debut". What's Up. The News & Observer. p. 14.
  6. "The Bottle Rockets Biography by Jason Ankeny". AllMusic. Retrieved 13 October 2023.
  7. Johnson, Kevin C. (23 Apr 1998). "Ups and Downs of Rock 'N' Roll". St. Louis Post-Dispatch. p. G1.
  8. Wolgamott, L. Kent (8 May 1998). "No Depression: Music genre has been around for a long time — the record labels just don't know how to promote it". Ground Zero. Lincoln Journal Star. p. 12.
  9. Brummer, David (26 June 1998). "Bottle Rockets happy with their independence". The Pantagraph. p. B2.
  10. "Bottle Rockets". Trouser Press. Retrieved 13 October 2023.
  11. "Albums". Billboard. Vol. 109, no. 40. Oct 4, 1997. p. 89.
  12. Smith, RJ (23 Sep 1997). "Unfortunate Sons". The Village Voice. Vol. 42, no. 38. p. 75.
  13. Aydlette, Larry (5 Sep 1997). "Critic's Choice". TGIF. The Palm Beach Post. p. 3.
  14. Gettelman, Parry (17 Oct 1997). "Roots-Rock". Calendar. Orlando Sentinel. p. 8.
  15. Terrell, Steve (17 Oct 1997). "Terrell's Tune-Up". Pasatiempo. The Santa Fe New Mexican. p. 40.
  16. Newcomb, Brian Q. (18 Dec 1998). "Recordings". St. Louis Post-Dispatch. p. E5.
  17. "24 Hours a Day Review by Stephen Thomas Erlewine". AllMusic. Retrieved 13 October 2023.
  18. Knopper, Steve (5 Sep 1997). "Bottle Rockets 24 Hours a Day". Friday. Chicago Tribune. p. 7.
  19. "The Bottle Rockets". Robert Christgau. Retrieved 13 October 2023.
  20. Wolgamott, L. Kent (10 Aug 1997). "Make no mistake: These bands are all rock 'n' roll". Lincoln Journal Star. p. H4.
  21. Hampel, Paul (31 July 1997). "The Bottle Rockets". Get Out. St. Louis Post-Dispatch. p. 9.
  22. Rapozo, Tami (7 Aug 1997). "Rock". Entertainment. The San Diego Union-Tribune. p. 23.
  23. Pareles, Jon (16 Sep 1997). "Getting More Bang for the Twang". The New York Times. p. E3.
  24. Mehle, Michael (15 Aug 1997). "Bottle Rockets a Blast". Rocky Mountain News. p. 17D.
  25. Christensen, Thor (3 May 1998). "Sparklers". The Dallas Morning News. p. 43A.
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