Selling the Sizzle!
Selling the Sizzle! is an album by the Canadian punk rock band the Smugglers, released in 1996.[2][3]
Selling the Sizzle! | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Studio album by | ||||
Released | 1996 | |||
Studio | Sonic Iguana Studios | |||
Genre | Punk rock | |||
Label | Mint Records/Lookout! Records[1] | |||
Producer | Mass Giorgini | |||
The Smugglers chronology | ||||
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The band promoted the album by touring with the Mr. T Experience.[4] Selling the Sizzle! sold more than 13,000 copies in its first six months of release.[5]
Production
Recorded in Lafayette, Indiana, the album was produced by Mass Giorgini.[6][7]
Critical reception
Review scores | |
---|---|
Source | Rating |
AllMusic | [8] |
Deseret News | [9] |
Trouser Press thought that "with drum-tight playing, soaring fidelity and [Grant] Lawrence as the versatile mouthpiece, the Smugs step out of the slop-rock shadows as a rip-roaring ’60s showband with deliciously memorable party songs that serve equally well as tribute and parody."[10] The Globe and Mail determined that "garage rock soldiers on, cheap, cheerful, sloppy, unpretentious and fun."[11] The Washington Post opined that the songs "depend more on enthusiasm than originality, but there's no shortage of the former."[12]
The Province deemed the album "a platter full of greasy rock 'n' roll junk food and The Smugglers' best so far."[13] The Record concluded that "the cartoonish Nuggets-redux band is lost somewhere in the no- man's-land between camp appeal and real songwriting."[14] The Calgary Herald called Selling the Sizzle! "classic '60s one-zit wonder rock all dressed up in punk attitude."[15] The Deseret News wrote: "Rooted in garage punk-rock, the Smugglers play catchy, if somewhat nasal, two- or three-minute songs that breeze right by."[9]
AllMusic stated that the Smugglers "strike their usual midpoint between the Mr. T Experience and pure '60s beat-rock."[8]
Track listing
No. | Title | Length |
---|---|---|
1. | "To Serve, Protect and Entertain" | |
2. | "Especially You" | |
3. | "Bishy-Bishy!" | |
4. | "Big Trouble" | |
5. | "She Ain't No Egyptian" | |
6. | "Death of a Romantic" | |
7. | "The Dedication" | |
8. | "I Need a Vacation" | |
9. | "The B 'n' L" | |
10. | "Pick 'Em Up Truck" | |
11. | "Queasy" | |
12. | "Bad Guys" | |
13. | "Dusty's Lament" | |
14. | "Reno Nickel" | |
15. | "Barkerville" |
References
- "Top 75". CMJ New Music Monthly (35): 55. Jul 1996.
- "The Smugglers Biography, Songs, & Albums". AllMusic. Archived from the original on 2021-10-28. Retrieved 2021-10-12.
- Fontana, Kaitlin (October 12, 2011). "Fresh at Twenty: The Oral History of Mint Records". ECW Press. Archived from the original on November 4, 2021. Retrieved October 12, 2021 – via Google Books.
- "The Smugglers Kings of the Party | Exclaim!". exclaim.ca. Archived from the original on 2021-10-26. Retrieved 2021-10-12.
- Stoute, Lenny (August 29, 1996). "Passion for live rock, Mod suits and vinyl". Toronto Star. p. G7.
- Prested, Kevin (November 28, 2014). "Punk USA: The Rise and Fall of Lookout Records". Microcosm Publishing. Archived from the original on November 4, 2021. Retrieved October 12, 2021 – via Google Books.
- Blake, Joseph (15 Sep 1996). "B.C. groups offer youthful energy". Times Colonist. Entertainment. p. 1.
- "Selling the Sizzle! - The Smugglers | Songs, Reviews, Credits | AllMusic". Archived from the original on 2021-10-28. Retrieved 2021-10-12 – via www.allmusic.com.
- Vice, Jeff (September 21, 1996). "PUNK ROCKERS SCREAM, CROON AND SIZZLE ON 3 NEW RELEASES". Deseret News. p. E4.
- "Smugglers". Trouser Press. Archived from the original on 27 October 2021. Retrieved 12 October 2021.
- Dafoe, Chris (24 Feb 1996). "RECORDINGS POP Selling the Sizzle". The Globe and Mail. p. C9.
- Jenkins, Mark (6 September 1996). "Four Points On Rock Spectrum". The Washington Post. p. N14.
- Harrison, Tom (19 Apr 1996). "Small-town heroes: Smugglers like to play little places". The Province. p. B30.
- Weiler, Derek (4 Apr 1996). "The Smugglers Selling the Sizzle!". The Record. p. F6.
- Muretich, James (23 May 1996). "Lose the car and let your garage rock". Calgary Herald. p. F7.