There is no rating system designed to deal with this gem, and in fact, any one that did would still have to try to take into account the IMPACT ASPECT of it, and that is way, way off the scale.  I mean, just crank up the woofies and the super-tweets on this and sit back and see if it doesn't make you feel something from something much bigger than Van or sound or anything visible...and so We Sail Into The Mystic...

As a drummer myself I have to disagree, but I can see where the impression might be coming from - there is indeed Bonham's influence in this drummer's playing, although he doesn't get the unmistakable feel that Bonham had.

They put on a HELL of a show here New Year's Eve...and when they rocked this song it was phenomenal...had us all singing and dancing and going crazy...LIKE SOME JUNKIE COSMONAUT...and guitar-god Johnny Hickman on Lucky No. 7 — well, there is no better!

The opening chords remind me of Wilco's "Muzzle of Bees." So much so, in fact, that I did a double-take on the track title.

This comment is laughable.

Hm, don't hear it.  And I banged my head to Squire through high school. (which could explain some of the brain damage...)

I love My Morning Jacket!... Wait...

sounds like every other Beatles song....

I thought this was Carly Simon until I looked.

Not bad, but I just have a hard time accepting it as The Smashing Pumpkins without James Iha.  

Bad memories of Paolo Nutini whining.

This is HILARIOUSLY bad. It's practically a Spinal Tap-worthy parody of really bad, overblown 70s rock, but is even more funny because it's real.

Starts to grown on you. Initially a 6. Now a 7. Might be an 8 before the end. 

Love Cracker. What happened to them?

 cathenley wrote:
Because Lowey was in Camper Van Beethoven? Is that why we want to say it?
Listening to this right now I couldn't help but think "what a great  version"—-the voice has the insouciance (an I don't give a damn quality) that i associate in my imagination with the that whole gambler/drifter life. Very cool. I don't understand why others can't hear it. Whatever.

Love this album, but Ping One Down is not one of the better songs on the album.

Sounds like you don't like the natural sound of a woman's voice.

Stop wasting my time
You know what I want
You know what I need
Or maybe you don't

Do I have to come right flat out and tell you everything?
Gimme some money, gimme some money

Everybody in my motel room be dancing...  love it
 

So I know pretty much every Beatles song on this site gets a 1-to-2 point ratings bump just by virtue of being by the Beatles, but I can't rate this any higher than a 2. It's just not fun or pleasing to listen to. To me at least.

Yeah, it has always been a circus at a Jane's show. My first was 1987, the Nothing's Shocking tour at a little bar in Champaign, IL called Mabel's. They were all zoned out; the show started with Up the Beach and Perry chugged a bottle of red wine. Then, during Ted Just Admit It, Perry and Dave Navarro started to make out. Blew this simple midwesterner right out of the cornfield!

Suzie Sioux or Chrissie H?
 Jelani wrote: 

Her voice makes me melt

I think many people take Cracker way too seriously. They are sarcastic and sardonic, making their points with catchy tunes but great lyrics. Too bad they're mostly associated with "Low" for most people. Some great songs out there, even if "Forever" didn't really have many. Still...
...More Cracker, please!

Am I the only one who thought he was hearing The Who at first?

At first I thought it was the opening riff from Iron Man from Black Sabbath, then I realized RP only allows one Sabbath song and this is not that one.

This song, like The Clash is pretty good. It is a pretty good plain ol little rock and roll song. The Clash was a pretty good basic rock and roll group with a handful of good tunes and a bunch of bland ones. All in all, they were a pretty good band, nothing more, nothing less. Never understood the hub bub, never will. Having said that, Joe Strummer emerged as a genius once he grew up and started to realize his full potential with The Mescaleros and will be sadly missed.

The tribe has spoken. You must leave the island immediately.

Obscure reference- but I know exactly what you mean!
Dusty Springfield might ask for a cut of his sales! Very derivative- but a catchy tune never the less.

  6.6?

are you kidding?

this is about as close to GOD you can get without LSD!!

—-
craig

 What planet are you from that a blues song has to be sung by a celine dion or Johnny mathis like voice?
Have you ever been downtown after a long night? ..almost everybody's gone home. You stand there looking for direction. And it's the buzz of a street light ready to burn out that makes your feet move. What's that sound like to you? What's the brightest color shining off the broken glass at your feet? Is it like any flower you've ever seen? Have you ever seen a flower on the city streets that late at night? What would you give for a cab ride with a friend or a cup of coffee right now? You and Celine and Johnny go check that out and come back with a song and we'll tell you what we think of it.

There are so many things wrong with your post, I don't know where to begin. 

Death Cab and BRMC are not Emo.  Decades?  Death Cab formed in 1997, 13 years ago and they're still going strong.  BMRC formed in 1998, 12 years ago, likewise. 

WRT U2 and PJ, IMHO: the alternative pantheon can manage these gracefully aging pioneers along side relative newcomers DCFC and BRMC.  They're not "business competitors," they're artists. 

Enjoy the art. . .

The more I think about it, the more I believe the early '90s brought us some of the best bands and best music in the history of rock-n-roll. Great time to be a twenty-something.

Is it just me or has RP gotten back on track with stellar play lists again? was a little thin there for a few months... Welcome Back Bil... quality has returned

His music very much reminds me of old "Miami Vice" soundtracks so you comment about mid-80's is on but the rest of it is totally off.  So much of what today is disdained was new and fresh back then and made many careers such as Phil Collins who had soundtracks on Miami Vice.

I'll take Rush over Dream Theater any day.

That said they should have stopped after Moving Pictures.  The stuff since then has been derivative crap.

You forgot Screaming Trees!

The Beatles are way over played. Loved them in the 70's but it is time to give air time to up and coming bands. FM has plenty of Golden oldies.

"...(S)He's so HEAVY!"

This kicks buches of ass.

I feel like I'm watching a crappy teen movie from the 90's.

That voice is really something, isn't it?

Me too.  Very George Harrison sounding.

I counted 20 Cracker cuts on RP's playlist, but not a single one of their debut?!?!?  I just don't get it.  I remember playing this thing non-stop as I drove around the Northeast in the fall of '92, and there's at least 4 or 5 (near) classics on it.

1. "Teen Angst (What the World Needs Now)" - 4:31
2. "Happy Birthday to Me" - 3:29
3. "This is Cracker Soul" - 3:38
4. "I See the Light" - 5:11
5. "St. Cajetan" - 5:22
6. "Mr. Wrong" - 4:34
7. "Someday" - 3:19
8. "Can I Take My Gun to Heaven?" - 3:59
9. "Satisfy You" - 3:27
10. "Another Song About the Rain" - 5:46
11. "Don't Fuck Me Up (With Peace and Love)" - 3:08
12. "Dr. Bernice" - 6:20
    

Once again, a fellow RP listener takes the words right out of my mouth.

I've recently concluded that this album sounds like The Hives. A good thing.

Guster and Gomez B2B—two of the better bands to emerge in the last decade, neither of which I was aware before RP.

Welcome to the " I love Cracker Internet Radio Station".  More great hits to come!

Seems as if they've been influenced by Cake on this album. Really different sound than what I'm accustomed to from the 97s.

This is a straight up abortion

So, what does it prove that you apparently don't know the difference between "it's" and "its"?

And what is an "entire"?

Sounds like Counting Crows

unfortunately

You know, they're just not very good.

Love this band, love their new album (Sunrise In The Land Of Milk And Honey), which has some of their best stuff in years.  Lots of high-energy tunes with great Lowery lyrics, often delivered in near-punk style, with a bit of twang.  Check it out.

On this song my daughter gets 96% on expert on the Rockband drums. Me? Don't ask.

He voice reminds me of Robbie Robertson in his later career.

Yes, my rating for the CD as a whole would be a solid '10'.

I likes that Johnny Hickman geetar. 

I've heard some good tunes from these guys on RP.  Need to purchase some CDs perhaps.

I saw the same tour here in NJ-been a Cracker fan ever since, seen them 5 or 6 more times after that.  Always a great live show.

I saw Cracker in concert way back in lie 94-it might have been the first one I went to...they opened for Gin Blossoms, who then opened for Spin Doctors. Cracker was better than both IMO!

"Kudos" and Ted Nugent mentioned on the message board for an AC/DC song.

That's what we really need: more bone-head classic rock and "Ditto, Rush!" zombies on RP.

I am seriously reconsidering my monthly contribution. I can hear this shit anywhere.

I prefer Cracker's version. The vocals definitely fit the song.

this song has it all -
great lyrics, great guitar, great humor, great honky-tonk groove!!
If you like this song, check out the whole album.....Cracker's first album is excellent....

I know some here think this is divine but this may be the most boring music I have ever heard. ... just my two cents.

If you look up 'mediocre' in the dictionary, Cracker's discography is listed there.

Edit: Ok, the chorus just kicked in and now it's downright vomit-inducing.

Unfortunately, "Low" was their high point.

This song is AWESOME! It's got to be one of the most accessible songs the Stripes have done, and it could be a huge single if marketed right and accompanied by a strong video.

About the album, my first thought was ho-hum, but the more I listen the more and more I like it, especially the songs '300 M.P.H. Torrential Outpour Blues' and 'Effect and Cause'. Give the album some more spins and see if your view doesn't change.

The intro made me think I was about to hear a weirded out version of U2's With or Without You.

a great new band rate 7.0

"My eyes are black 'cause I fart all night"?

I can't help but start singing "I Want You (She's So Heavy)" in the middle of this song. Beatle fans, I'm sure you can feel me on this.

I realize that. I was suggesting that David Lowery, lead singer and guitarist of Cracker and former leadman of Camper Van Beethoven, had come a long way. I should have been clearer in my comments I suppose. Thanks for keeping me honest.

This song is great. Plain and simple. The guitar line is so emotionally driven and really evokes the longing for lost love that the song's protaganist has.
Cracker has delved into new territory, it's so much more than take the skinheads bowling!

No, this album is a weak effort. So was their last album, Cracker Forever. They have definitely lost some of their power.

On the other hand, Camper Van Beethoven's last album, New Roman Times is very good. Definitely like David Lowery without Mr. John Hickman.

Blech. The last two months and hearing so
much more from this band than I ever wanted
to has really just dulled any interest in them
I ever had. I honestly thought they stopped
making music after 1995. Now I really wish
they had.

There's been a large amount of Cracker played
recently, and I'm not sure if I understand it's
sudden surge in airtime, but I think the overdose
of hearing so much has kind of dulled any of my
like of this band at all.

This came on, and my wife and stepdaughter made me change the channel and put on some Ani DiFranco instead. If you wanna play annoying 80's New Wave, there's so much more to choose from...

I think nobody's made comments yet because we're all hypnotized by this song...

This album, song, and band are way to highly overrated. I think it is a shame that Nirvana was the number one grunge band of the early 90's. There were many times many more talented musicians and bands that were overshadowed by Kurt Kobain and company.

I'll probably get ''cracked'' for this, but in my book David Lowery's voice beats Jerry Garcia's hands down on any song, any day, and Johnny Hickman can outplay any Dead guitarist dead or alive.

This song fit in well with the rest of the Kerosene Hat album, justifying the cover (as if they need justification), but there are many better songs on the album.

I enjoyed seeing The Dead live, but for me most of their studio stuff was pretty mediocre.

I actually visited Riverview several times, which shows y'all how olde I am. Yep, it's a strip mall now, cop shop, couple of big box groceries, and a muddy river backing it up. But Riverview was fun. It had a cool 'coaster called The Bobs. For a kid, it scared the hell out of me, but I still rode it. I really don't see how this somewhat interesting song translates to a bunch of folks running around with a $1.75 ticket in their hand riding rides and eating crap food all day. However, Roscoe Village, across the street, IS trendy. It was way blue collar twenty years ago, when we movd into the 'hood, but now its pretty yup. I guess any big star that mentions their hometown gets a lot of cheer. Of course, Billy isn't from Chicago. He's from some 'burb out there called Glendale or something. By the time he moved to Wicker Park, Riverview was a memory.

The worst song on the album? (Not IMO, I uploaded this one :-)) It's sometimes a challenge to predict which songs RP will accept, so I usualy choose cuts that I think have a greater chance than the more creative versions that I think many RP listeners would appreciate. I already tried uploading the two songs I think are the best on the CD ("Maggie" and "Gimme One More Chance", a truly kick-ass rocker that I wish RP had accepted) and both were declined very quickly (not sure why).

Greenland is less about the bar-room pleasing rockers of their past, and more about an introspective look at aging and better times before, so it may not have as immediate appeal as Kerosene Hat say, but I think it's rewarding after repeated listens. I saw them at the Fillmore last week in S.F., and their live show is still one of the best around, although David was a little more reserved than other shows in the past (although he still spits out his lyrics in a visible spray, and Johnny Hickman's guitar work is such a joy to watch live...)

Certainly there is something on this new album that is more aurally rewarding than this tune. I have a couple of the older Cracker CD's (Kerosene Hat & The Golden Age) and I can listen to every track on both CD's over and over. But this song, Man! You just want it to end! I hope you can dig a little deeper and find something more airworthy.

well This one is a bit.....raw. Feel like I'm in a cheap bar listening to the opening opening opening band with the four other people who are there at three in the afternoon.

Ho. Hum.

good song, good album...
suprising that RP listeners don't like it so much.

Zat sure sounds like Sheryl Crow in there, but AMG doesn't say so. Anybody have inside information?

To the naysayers in this thread: If you haven't seen David and the boys in person, you are out of line. I defy you to go to a Cracker show and not end up a convert. Happy times.

Pound for pound, the coolest band in the land, IMO.