Alive & Amplified is The Mooney Suzuki

The Mooney Suzuki

The Mooney Suzuki is an American garage rock band that formed in New York City in 1996. Originally comprising vocalist and guitarist Sammy James, Jr., guitarist Graham Tyler, bassist John Paul Ribas and drummer Will Rockwell-Scott, the band has released four studio albums – People Get Ready ,...

's third studio album, and their second under Columbia Records

Columbia Records

Columbia Records is an American record label, owned by Japan's Sony Music Entertainment, operating under the Columbia Music Group with Aware Records. It was founded in 1888, evolving from an earlier enterprise, the American Graphophone Company — successor to the Volta Graphophone Company...

. Released on August 24, 2004, it came two years after their third album, Electric Sweat

Electric Sweat

Electric Sweat is the second studio album of The Mooney Suzuki, following on from People Get Ready in 2000. The album was released in April 2002...

. It was recorded in various locations, including Paramount Studios

Paramount Pictures

Paramount Pictures Corporation is an American film production and distribution company, located at 5555 Melrose Avenue in Hollywood. Founded in 1912 and currently owned by media conglomerate Viacom, it is America's oldest existing film studio; it is also the last major film studio still...

, Ameraycan Studios, and Decoy Studios, all located in Los Angeles

Los Ángeles

Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...

, California

California

California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...

. Of its content, the band said it is "dense, kaleidoscopic, and that you could spend hours uncovering little nuggets of goodness." Many of the songs assume sexual innuendos, such as "Primitive Condition", "Alive & Amplified", "Shake That Bush Again", "Loose 'n' Juicy", "Messin' in the Dressin' Room", and "Naked Lady". Of the song "New York Girls", Sammy James, Jr. said "I love the song California Girls

California Girls

"California Girls" is a song by American rock band The Beach Boys, featured on their ninth studio album Summer Days . Written by band-members Brian Wilson and Mike Love, the song features contrasting verse-chorus form...

, and the women of New York

New York City

New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...

 didn't get a fair shake in California Girls, and he thought the New York Girls needed their fair shake, so we gave that to them."

The title song, "Alive & Amplified", became popular after it was featured in a commercial for the Suzuki Grand Vitara, then later in the 2005 film Fun with Dick and Jane

Fun with Dick and Jane (2005 film)

Fun with Dick and Jane is a 2005 remake of the 1977 American comedy film of the same name, directed by Dean Parisot and written by Judd Apatow and Nicholas Stoller. It stars Jim Carrey and Téa Leoni as Dick and Jane Harper, an upper-middle-class couple who resort to robbery after the company for...

. "Shake That Bush Again" was featured in Burnout 3: Takedown

Burnout 3: Takedown

Burnout 3: Takedown is the third game in the Burnout series of video games. Released on September 7, 2004, developed by Criterion Games and published by Electronic Arts , the game drew critical acclaim and a large fanbase.A GameCube version was planned but was scrapped during development...

.

Track listing

All songs written by Sammy James Jr. and Graham Tyler except where noted

1. "Primitive Condition" – 4:18
2. "Alive & Amplified" (James Jr., Tyler, Graham Edwards, Scott Spock, and Lauren Christy) – 3:04
3. "Legal High" (James Jr., Tyler, Edwards, Spock, and Christy) – 2:50
4. "New York Girls" (James Jr., Tyler, Edwards, Spock, and Christy) – 3:55
5. "Shake That Bush Again" – 3:38
6. "Sometimes Somethin'" – 4:39
7. "Loose 'n' Juicy" – 3:11
8. "Hot Sugar" – 3:22
9. "Messin' in the Dressin' Room" – 3:47
10. "Naked Lady" – 8:05

Hidden Track

Find "Love Bus" by fast forwarding after "Naked Lady". Song starts at 5:13 (approx.) "Love Bus" uses a similar riff to "Legal High."

Artwork

The CD liner notes

Liner notes

Liner notes are the writings found in booklets which come inserted into the compact disc jewel case or the equivalent packaging for vinyl records and cassettes.-Origin:...

 when opened, reveal a full print of the painting Nativity by Mati Klarwein

Mati Klarwein

Abdul Mati Klarwein was a painter best known for his works used on the covers of music albums.-Biography:...

, which depicts a naked woman sitting in a field of psychedelia. On the reverse side, the lyrics and song-specific artwork as well as album credits are present.

The album has an alternative cover, which features the band standing on a beach looking toward the camera as well as using a different design for the album title.

Personnel

• Sammy James Jr. – Lead Vocals, Rhythm Guitar
  Rhythm guitar
  Rhythm guitar is a technique and rôle that performs a combination of two functions: to provide all or part of the rhythmic pulse in conjunction with singers or other instruments; and to provide all or part of the harmony, ie. the chords, where a chord is a group of notes played together...
  
  , Percussion
• Graham Tyler – Lead Guitar
  Lead guitar
  Lead guitar is a guitar part which plays melody lines, instrumental fill passages, guitar solos, and occasionally, some riffs within a song structure...
  
  , Vocals, Percussion
• Augie Wilson – Drum Kit
  Drum kit
  A drum kit is a collection of drums, cymbals and often other percussion instruments, such as cowbells, wood blocks, triangles, chimes, or tambourines, arranged for convenient playing by a single person ....
  
  , Percussion, Vocals
• Michael Miles – Bass Guitar
  Bass guitar
  The bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
  
  , Percussion, Vocals
• Mike Finnegan – Clavinet
  Clavinet
  A Clavinet is an electrically amplified keyboard instrument manufactured by the Hohner company. It is essentially an electronically amplified clavichord, analogous to an electric guitar. Its distinctive bright staccato sound has appeared particularly in funk, disco, rock, and reggae songs.Various...
  
   on "New York Girls", Hammond Organ
  Hammond organ
  The Hammond organ is an electric organ invented by Laurens Hammond in 1934 and manufactured by the Hammond Organ Company. While the Hammond organ was originally sold to churches as a lower-cost alternative to the wind-driven pipe organ, in the 1960s and 1970s it became a standard keyboard...
  
   on "Sometimes Somethin'" and "Naked Lady"
• Lynn Davis
  Lynn Davis (singer)
  Lynn Davis, is an American singer/vocalist who has toured and/or recorded with many artists such as George Duke, Marvin Gaye, Emerson, Lake & Palmer, Tracie Spencer, Mooney Suzuki, Mariah Carey, Marilyn Manson, Whitney Houston, Thomas Anders, Meat Loaf, and Yanni for whom she appears on the live...
  
   – Vocals on "Alive & Amplified", "Loose 'n' Juicy", and "Naked Lady"
• The Matrix – Additional Vocals on "Alive & Amplified"
• Victor Indrizzo – Additional Percussion

External links

• The Mooney Suzuki Official Website http://www.themooneysuzuki.com
• The Mooney Suzuki's Myspace http://www.myspace.com/themooneysuzuki