Summerteeth
Encyclopedia
Summerteeth is the third studio album
by Chicago
alternative rock
band Wilco
. Released through Reprise Records
on March 9, 1999, the album was heavily influenced lyrically by twentieth century literature, as well as singer Jeff Tweedy
's marital problems. Unlike previous albums, Summerteeth was heavily overdubbed in the studio with ProTools. Tweedy and Jay Bennett
created most of the album in the studio, a contrast to the band's previous albums, which were rehearsed live and recorded almost at once.
Despite critical acclaim from numerous outlets, including Allmusic, The Chicago Tribune, and The Village Voice
, Summerteeth sold approximately 200,000 copies — a modest number compared to the sales of 1996's Being There
. Wilco agreed to remix "Can't Stand It" with David Kahne
to cater to radio markets, but the single failed to attain substantial airplay.
in 1996 to a higher level of commercial success than its debut album, A.M.
, selling 300,000 copies (nearly double the number of its first record). After the promotional tour to support Being There, Wilco began to record tracks for a third album. The initial Summerteeth recording sessions occurred in November 1997 at Willie Nelson
's music studio in Spicewood, Texas
. Lead singer Jeff Tweedy was particularly emotional during the sessions because he was upset that he was unable to spend time with his wife and son because of the constant touring schedule. As a result, the songs recorded reflected an introspective view that was also influenced by literature that Tweedy was reading at the time. While touring, Tweedy would read books by Henry Miller
, William H. Gass
, and John Fante
. According to Tweedy:
The sessions yielded a number of songs, including "I'm Always in Love", "She's a Jar", and the Henry Miller-inspired murder ballad
"Via Chicago". Tweedy's relationship with his wife Sue Miller became the inspiration for several of the songs, although she was portrayed mostly in a negative sense. Miller was reluctantly willing to give Tweedy the creative license to write songs, but was concerned about lyrics such as "she begs me not to hit her" from "She's a Jar". To complement the "bold, but depressing" lyrics of Summerteeth, Tweedy relied more heavily on the production skills of multi-instrumentalist
Jay Bennett
. However, before the album was completed, Wilco decided to collaborate with Billy Bragg
on the album that would become Mermaid Avenue
.
Once the Mermaid Avenue sessions were completed, Wilco entered Chicago's Kingsize Soundlabs with engineers Dave Trumfio
and Mike Hagler to finish Summerteeth. Tweedy and Bennett wanted to start the recording sessions over by experimenting with a new approach to mixing the songs. Unlike previous material, which was performed live in the studio, the pair heavily overdubbed many of the songs with ProTools. As a result, the contributions of other members were diminished. To complement the "bold, but depressing" lyrics, Tweedy relied more heavily on the production skills of multi-instrumentalist
Jay Bennett
, who played a variety of instruments besides his usual lead guitar and keyboard work, including Mellotron
, tambourine
, synthesizer
s. Bennett even played the bass guitar
and drum
s when bassist John Stirratt
and drummer Ken Coomer
were not in the studio. Coomer was not pleased about a reduced role in the band:
After a series of personnel changes, Reprise Records
sought to release a hit single from the album to increase album sales. Wilco agreed to do this "once and once only" on the basis that they wanted to cooperate with the label that allowed them such freedom. The band and Reprise executives agreed to re-mix "Can't Stand It" to make it more radio-friendly. Within one day, the song was remixed into the version that appeared on Summerteeth, cutting out portions of the bridge
and adding bells. "Can't Stand It" failed to cross over from Triple-A
to modern rock radio stations.
, failing to exceed the chart success of Being There. However, it was their first album to chart in the top forty in the United Kingdom. As of 2003, it had sold only 200,000 copies. The album placed eighth on the Pazz & Jop
critics' poll for 1999, and Pitchfork gave it position thirty-one in its list of the best albums of the 1990s.
Jason Ankeny of Allmusic gave the album five stars, lauding its "lush string arrangements and gorgeous harmonies." Ankeny also compared the music on the album to The Band
in their prime. Pitchfork Media
writer Neil Lieberman praised how Wilco "craft[ed] an album as wonderfully ambiguous and beautifully uncertain as life itself," and how Bennett "paint[ed] the album in Technicolor
." Robert Christgau
gave the album a two star honorable mention, calling it "old-fashioned tunecraft lacking not pedal steel, who cares, but the concreteness modern popcraft eschews." Chicago Tribune
critic Greg Kot
championed the album on his review of the album and ranked it the year's best album, calling it "pop so gorgeous it belies the intricate studio experimentation that brought it to life."
Hidden tracks:
Studio album
A studio album is an album made up of tracks recorded in the controlled environment of a recording studio. A studio album contains newly written and recorded or previously unreleased or remixed material, distinguishing itself from a compilation or reissue album of previously recorded material, or...
by Chicago
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
alternative rock
Alternative rock
Alternative rock is a genre of rock music and a term used to describe a diverse musical movement that emerged from the independent music underground of the 1980s and became widely popular by the 1990s...
band Wilco
Wilco
Wilco is an American alternative rock band based in Chicago, Illinois. The band was formed in 1994 by the remaining members of alternative country group Uncle Tupelo following singer Jay Farrar's departure. Wilco's lineup has changed frequently, with only singer Jeff Tweedy and bassist John...
. Released through Reprise Records
Reprise Records
Reprise Records is an American record label, founded in 1960 by Frank Sinatra. It is owned by Warner Music Group, and operated through Warner Bros. Records.-Beginnings:...
on March 9, 1999, the album was heavily influenced lyrically by twentieth century literature, as well as singer Jeff Tweedy
Jeff Tweedy
Jeffrey Scot "Jeff" Tweedy is an American songwriter, musician and leader of the band Wilco. Tweedy joined rockabilly band The Plebes with high school friend Jay Farrar in the early 1980s, but Tweedy's musical interests caused one of Farrar's brothers to quit...
's marital problems. Unlike previous albums, Summerteeth was heavily overdubbed in the studio with ProTools. Tweedy and Jay Bennett
Jay Bennett
Jay Walter Bennett was an American guitarist, multi-instrumentalist, engineer, producer, and singer-songwriter, best known for his work with the band Wilco.-Early life and work with Wilco:...
created most of the album in the studio, a contrast to the band's previous albums, which were rehearsed live and recorded almost at once.
Despite critical acclaim from numerous outlets, including Allmusic, The Chicago Tribune, and The Village Voice
The Village Voice
The Village Voice is a free weekly newspaper and news and features website in New York City that features investigative articles, analysis of current affairs and culture, arts and music coverage, and events listings for New York City...
, Summerteeth sold approximately 200,000 copies — a modest number compared to the sales of 1996's Being There
Being There (album)
Being There is the second album by Chicago-based rock band Wilco. Despite its release as a nineteen-song double album, Being There was sold at a single album price due to a deal between lead singer Jeff Tweedy and Reprise Records...
. Wilco agreed to remix "Can't Stand It" with David Kahne
David Kahne
David Kahne is an American record producer. Kahne started his musical career as a working musician and then became notable for his role as in-house producer and engineer at 415 Records, the first American new wave music label, and for his subsequent roles as Vice President of A&R at Columbia...
to cater to radio markets, but the single failed to attain substantial airplay.
Production
Wilco released Being ThereBeing There (album)
Being There is the second album by Chicago-based rock band Wilco. Despite its release as a nineteen-song double album, Being There was sold at a single album price due to a deal between lead singer Jeff Tweedy and Reprise Records...
in 1996 to a higher level of commercial success than its debut album, A.M.
A.M. (album)
A.M. is the debut album of Chicago-based alternative rock band Wilco, released on March 28, 1995. The album was released only months after the breakup of Uncle Tupelo, an alternative country band that was the predecessor of Wilco...
, selling 300,000 copies (nearly double the number of its first record). After the promotional tour to support Being There, Wilco began to record tracks for a third album. The initial Summerteeth recording sessions occurred in November 1997 at Willie Nelson
Willie Nelson
Willie Hugh Nelson is an American country music singer-songwriter, as well as an author, poet, actor, and activist. The critical success of the album Shotgun Willie , combined with the critical and commercial success of Red Headed Stranger and Stardust , made Nelson one of the most recognized...
's music studio in Spicewood, Texas
Texas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
. Lead singer Jeff Tweedy was particularly emotional during the sessions because he was upset that he was unable to spend time with his wife and son because of the constant touring schedule. As a result, the songs recorded reflected an introspective view that was also influenced by literature that Tweedy was reading at the time. While touring, Tweedy would read books by Henry Miller
Henry Miller
Henry Valentine Miller was an American novelist and painter. He was known for breaking with existing literary forms and developing a new sort of 'novel' that is a mixture of novel, autobiography, social criticism, philosophical reflection, surrealist free association, and mysticism, one that is...
, William H. Gass
William H. Gass
William Howard Gass is an American novelist, short story writer, essayist, critic, and former philosophy professor. He has written two novels, three collections of short stories, a collection of novellas, and seven volumes of essays, three of which have won National Book Critics Circle Award...
, and John Fante
John Fante
John Fante was an American novelist, short story writer and screenwriter of Italian descent. He is perhaps best known for his work, Ask the Dust, a semi-autobiograpical novel about life in and around Los Angeles, California, which was the third in a series of four novels, published between 1938...
. According to Tweedy:
The sessions yielded a number of songs, including "I'm Always in Love", "She's a Jar", and the Henry Miller-inspired murder ballad
Murder ballad
Murder ballads are a sub-genre of the traditional ballad form, the lyrics of which form a narrative describing the events of a murder, often including the lead-up and/or aftermath...
"Via Chicago". Tweedy's relationship with his wife Sue Miller became the inspiration for several of the songs, although she was portrayed mostly in a negative sense. Miller was reluctantly willing to give Tweedy the creative license to write songs, but was concerned about lyrics such as "she begs me not to hit her" from "She's a Jar". To complement the "bold, but depressing" lyrics of Summerteeth, Tweedy relied more heavily on the production skills of multi-instrumentalist
Multi-instrumentalist
A multi-instrumentalist is a musician who plays a number of different instruments.The Bachelor of Music degree usually requires a second instrument to be learned , but people who double on another instrument are not usually seen as multi-instrumentalists.-Classical music:Music written for Symphony...
Jay Bennett
Jay Bennett
Jay Walter Bennett was an American guitarist, multi-instrumentalist, engineer, producer, and singer-songwriter, best known for his work with the band Wilco.-Early life and work with Wilco:...
. However, before the album was completed, Wilco decided to collaborate with Billy Bragg
Billy Bragg
Stephen William Bragg , better known as Billy Bragg, is an English alternative rock musician and left-wing activist. His music blends elements of folk music, punk rock and protest songs, and his lyrics mostly deal with political or romantic themes...
on the album that would become Mermaid Avenue
Mermaid Avenue
Mermaid Avenue is a 1998 album of previously unheard lyrics written by American folk singer Woody Guthrie, put to music written and performed by British singer Billy Bragg and the American band Wilco. The project was organized by Guthrie's daughter, Nora Guthrie. Mermaid Avenue was released on the...
.
Once the Mermaid Avenue sessions were completed, Wilco entered Chicago's Kingsize Soundlabs with engineers Dave Trumfio
Dave Trumfio
-The Pulsars:Dave Trumfio was the frontman in the 90's new-wave band .The Pulsars, made up of brothers Dave and Harry Trumfio, released EPs in the early 1990s before getting signed to Herb Alpert's Almo Records....
and Mike Hagler to finish Summerteeth. Tweedy and Bennett wanted to start the recording sessions over by experimenting with a new approach to mixing the songs. Unlike previous material, which was performed live in the studio, the pair heavily overdubbed many of the songs with ProTools. As a result, the contributions of other members were diminished. To complement the "bold, but depressing" lyrics, Tweedy relied more heavily on the production skills of multi-instrumentalist
Multi-instrumentalist
A multi-instrumentalist is a musician who plays a number of different instruments.The Bachelor of Music degree usually requires a second instrument to be learned , but people who double on another instrument are not usually seen as multi-instrumentalists.-Classical music:Music written for Symphony...
Jay Bennett
Jay Bennett
Jay Walter Bennett was an American guitarist, multi-instrumentalist, engineer, producer, and singer-songwriter, best known for his work with the band Wilco.-Early life and work with Wilco:...
, who played a variety of instruments besides his usual lead guitar and keyboard work, including Mellotron
Mellotron
The Mellotron is an electro-mechanical, polyphonic tape replay keyboard originally developed and built in Birmingham, England in the early 1960s. It superseded the Chamberlin Music Master, which was the world's first sample-playback keyboard intended for music...
, tambourine
Tambourine
The tambourine or marine is a musical instrument of the percussion family consisting of a frame, often of wood or plastic, with pairs of small metal jingles, called "zils". Classically the term tambourine denotes an instrument with a drumhead, though some variants may not have a head at all....
, synthesizer
Synthesizer
A synthesizer is an electronic instrument capable of producing sounds by generating electrical signals of different frequencies. These electrical signals are played through a loudspeaker or set of headphones...
s. Bennett even played the bass guitar
Bass guitar
The bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
and drum
Drum
The drum is a member of the percussion group of musical instruments, which is technically classified as the membranophones. Drums consist of at least one membrane, called a drumhead or drum skin, that is stretched over a shell and struck, either directly with the player's hands, or with a...
s when bassist John Stirratt
John Stirratt
John Stirratt is the bassist and multi-instrumentalist for Wilco, and The Autumn Defense.Stirratt was born in New Orleans, Louisiana on November 26, 1967 and grew up in nearby Mandeville. He attended Mandeville High School and the University of Mississippi...
and drummer Ken Coomer
Ken Coomer
Ken Coomer was the last drummer for the band Uncle Tupelo as well as the drummer for Chicago based-band Wilco until Yankee Hotel Foxtrot...
were not in the studio. Coomer was not pleased about a reduced role in the band:
After a series of personnel changes, Reprise Records
Reprise Records
Reprise Records is an American record label, founded in 1960 by Frank Sinatra. It is owned by Warner Music Group, and operated through Warner Bros. Records.-Beginnings:...
sought to release a hit single from the album to increase album sales. Wilco agreed to do this "once and once only" on the basis that they wanted to cooperate with the label that allowed them such freedom. The band and Reprise executives agreed to re-mix "Can't Stand It" to make it more radio-friendly. Within one day, the song was remixed into the version that appeared on Summerteeth, cutting out portions of the bridge
Bridge (music)
In music, especially western popular music, a bridge is a contrasting section which also prepares for the return of the original material section...
and adding bells. "Can't Stand It" failed to cross over from Triple-A
Adult album alternative
Adult album alternative is a radio format. A spinoff from the album-oriented rock format, its roots trace to the 1960s and 1970s from the earlier freeform and progressive formats....
to modern rock radio stations.
Reception
Summerteeth peaked at number seventy-eight on the Billboard 200Billboard 200
The Billboard 200 is a ranking of the 200 highest-selling music albums and EPs in the United States, published weekly by Billboard magazine. It is frequently used to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of artists...
, failing to exceed the chart success of Being There. However, it was their first album to chart in the top forty in the United Kingdom. As of 2003, it had sold only 200,000 copies. The album placed eighth on the Pazz & Jop
Pazz & Jop
The Pazz & Jop critics' poll is a poll of music critics run by The Village Voice newspaper. It is compiled every year from the top ten lists of hundreds of music critics...
critics' poll for 1999, and Pitchfork gave it position thirty-one in its list of the best albums of the 1990s.
Jason Ankeny of Allmusic gave the album five stars, lauding its "lush string arrangements and gorgeous harmonies." Ankeny also compared the music on the album to The Band
The Band
The Band was an acclaimed and influential roots rock group. The original group consisted of Rick Danko , Garth Hudson , Richard Manuel , and Robbie Robertson , and Levon Helm...
in their prime. Pitchfork Media
Pitchfork Media
Pitchfork Media, usually known simply as Pitchfork or P4k, is a Chicago-based daily Internet publication established in 1995 that is devoted to music criticism and commentary, music news, and artist interviews. Its focus is on underground and independent music, especially indie rock...
writer Neil Lieberman praised how Wilco "craft[ed] an album as wonderfully ambiguous and beautifully uncertain as life itself," and how Bennett "paint[ed] the album in Technicolor
Technicolor
Technicolor is a color motion picture process invented in 1916 and improved over several decades.It was the second major process, after Britain's Kinemacolor, and the most widely used color process in Hollywood from 1922 to 1952...
." Robert Christgau
Robert Christgau
Robert Christgau is an American essayist, music journalist, and self-proclaimed "Dean of American Rock Critics".One of the earliest professional rock critics, Christgau is known for his terse capsule reviews, published since 1969 in his Consumer Guide columns...
gave the album a two star honorable mention, calling it "old-fashioned tunecraft lacking not pedal steel, who cares, but the concreteness modern popcraft eschews." Chicago Tribune
Chicago Tribune
The Chicago Tribune is a major daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, and the flagship publication of the Tribune Company. Formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper" , it remains the most read daily newspaper of the Chicago metropolitan area and the Great Lakes region and is...
critic Greg Kot
Greg Kot
Greg Kot is an American writer and journalist. Since 1990, Kot has been the music critic at the Chicago Tribune, where he has covered popular music and reported on music-related social, political and business issues...
championed the album on his review of the album and ranked it the year's best album, calling it "pop so gorgeous it belies the intricate studio experimentation that brought it to life."
Track listing
- "Can't Stand ItCan't Stand It"Can't Stand It" is a 1999 single by American band Wilco from their album Summerteeth. It peaked at #67 on the UK Singles Chart, which remains their highest charting single on that chart.-Track listing:Version one#"Can't Stand It" – 3:47...
" (Tweedy, Bennett) – 3:46 - "She's a Jar" (Tweedy, Bennett) – 4:43
- "A Shot in the ArmA Shot in the Arm"A Shot in the Arm" is a 1999 single by American band Wilco from their album Summerteeth. The phrase 'a shot in the arm' means 'a stimulus'; originally this meant a stimulus from the injection of narcotic or medicinal drugs .-Version one:#A Shot in the Arm #Via Chicago #She's a Jar -Version...
" (Tweedy, Bennett, Stirratt) – 4:19 - "We're Just Friends" (Tweedy, Bennett, Stirratt) – 2:44
- "I'm Always in Love" (Tweedy, Bennett) – 3:41
- "Nothing'severgonnastandinmyway(again)" (Tweedy, Bennett, Stirratt) – 3:20
- "Pieholden Suite" (Tweedy, Bennett) – 3:26
- "How to Fight Loneliness" (Tweedy, Bennett) – 3:53
- "Via Chicago" (Tweedy) – 5:33
- "ELT" (Tweedy, Bennett) – 3:46
- "My Darling" (Tweedy, Bennett) – 3:38
- "When You Wake Up Feeling Old" (Tweedy) – 3:56
- "Summer Teeth" (Tweedy, Bennett) – 3:21
- "In a Future Age" (Tweedy, Bennett) – 2:57
Hidden tracks:
- Untitled (silence, hidden track) – 0:23
- "Candyfloss" (hidden track) (Tweedy, Bennett) – 2:57
- "A Shot in the Arm" (alternate version, hidden track) (Tweedy, Bennett, Stirratt) – 3:54
Bonus disc ("And Sum Aren't") Track listing
- "I Must Be High"
- "Pick Up the Change"
- "Passenger Side"
- "Monday (Demo Version)"
- "I Got You (At the End of the Century)"
- "Hotel Arizona"
- "Outtasite (Outta Mind) - Live"
- "Someone Else's Song"
- "Red Eyed and Blue - Live"
- "Box Full of Letters - Live"
- "Why Would You Wanna - Live"
- "Forget The Flowers - Live"
- "The Lonely 1"
- "Sunken Treasure - Live"
- "At My Window Sad and Lonely"
- "Blasting Fonda - non album track"
Personnel
- Jeff TweedyJeff TweedyJeffrey Scot "Jeff" Tweedy is an American songwriter, musician and leader of the band Wilco. Tweedy joined rockabilly band The Plebes with high school friend Jay Farrar in the early 1980s, but Tweedy's musical interests caused one of Farrar's brothers to quit...
– vocals, guitarGuitarThe guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
, synthesizerSynthesizerA synthesizer is an electronic instrument capable of producing sounds by generating electrical signals of different frequencies. These electrical signals are played through a loudspeaker or set of headphones...
, bass guitarBass guitarThe bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
, harmonicaHarmonicaThe harmonica, also called harp, French harp, blues harp, and mouth organ, is a free reed wind instrument used primarily in blues and American folk music, jazz, country, and rock and roll. It is played by blowing air into it or drawing air out by placing lips over individual holes or multiple holes...
, tambourineTambourineThe tambourine or marine is a musical instrument of the percussion family consisting of a frame, often of wood or plastic, with pairs of small metal jingles, called "zils". Classically the term tambourine denotes an instrument with a drumhead, though some variants may not have a head at all....
, backing vocals - Jay BennettJay BennettJay Walter Bennett was an American guitarist, multi-instrumentalist, engineer, producer, and singer-songwriter, best known for his work with the band Wilco.-Early life and work with Wilco:...
– organOrgan (music)The organ , is a keyboard instrument of one or more divisions, each played with its own keyboard operated either with the hands or with the feet. The organ is a relatively old musical instrument in the Western musical tradition, dating from the time of Ctesibius of Alexandria who is credited with...
, synthesizer, banjoBanjoIn the 1830s Sweeney became the first white man to play the banjo on stage. His version of the instrument replaced the gourd with a drum-like sound box and included four full-length strings alongside a short fifth-string. There is no proof, however, that Sweeney invented either innovation. This new...
, percussionPercussion instrumentA percussion instrument is any object which produces a sound when hit with an implement or when it is shaken, rubbed, scraped, or otherwise acted upon in a way that sets the object into vibration...
, pianoPianoThe piano is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. It is one of the most popular instruments in the world. Widely used in classical and jazz music for solo performances, ensemble use, chamber music and accompaniment, the piano is also very popular as an aid to composing and rehearsal...
, drumDrumThe drum is a member of the percussion group of musical instruments, which is technically classified as the membranophones. Drums consist of at least one membrane, called a drumhead or drum skin, that is stretched over a shell and struck, either directly with the player's hands, or with a...
s, guitar, keyboardsKeyboard instrumentA keyboard instrument is a musical instrument which is played using a musical keyboard. The most common of these is the piano. Other widely used keyboard instruments include organs of various types as well as other mechanical, electromechanical and electronic instruments...
, tambourine, bells, lap steel guitarLap steel guitarThe lap steel guitar is a type of steel guitar, an instrument derived from and similar to the guitar. The player changes pitch by pressing a metal or glass bar against the strings instead of by pressing strings against the fingerboard....
, backing vocals - John StirrattJohn StirrattJohn Stirratt is the bassist and multi-instrumentalist for Wilco, and The Autumn Defense.Stirratt was born in New Orleans, Louisiana on November 26, 1967 and grew up in nearby Mandeville. He attended Mandeville High School and the University of Mississippi...
– bass guitar, backing vocals - Ken CoomerKen CoomerKen Coomer was the last drummer for the band Uncle Tupelo as well as the drummer for Chicago based-band Wilco until Yankee Hotel Foxtrot...
– drums, timpaniTimpaniTimpani, or kettledrums, are musical instruments in the percussion family. A type of drum, they consist of a skin called a head stretched over a large bowl traditionally made of copper. They are played by striking the head with a specialized drum stick called a timpani stick or timpani mallet... - Leroy BachLeroy BachLeRoy Bach is an American musician, composer, and music producer. Bach is perhaps best known for his work as a multi-instrumentalist in the band Wilco from 1997 through 2004. He has also worked as a touring and/or studio musician for such notable acts as Liz Phair, Beth Orton, Iron & Wine, Andrew...
– piano - Dave Crawford – trumpetTrumpetThe trumpet is the musical instrument with the highest register in the brass family. Trumpets are among the oldest musical instruments, dating back to at least 1500 BCE. They are played by blowing air through closed lips, producing a "buzzing" sound which starts a standing wave vibration in the air...
- Mark Greenberg – vibraphoneVibraphoneThe vibraphone, sometimes called the vibraharp or simply the vibes, is a musical instrument in the struck idiophone subfamily of the percussion family....
- Mitch Easter, Chris Grainger, Larry Greenhill, Mike Hagler, Russ Long, David Trumfio – engineers
- David KahneDavid KahneDavid Kahne is an American record producer. Kahne started his musical career as a working musician and then became notable for his role as in-house producer and engineer at 415 Records, the first American new wave music label, and for his subsequent roles as Vice President of A&R at Columbia...
, Jim Scott – mixingAudio mixing (recorded music)In audio recording, audio mixing is the process by which multiple recorded sounds are combined into one or more channels, most commonly two-channel stereo. In the process, the source signals' level, frequency content, dynamics, and panoramic position are manipulated and effects such as reverb may... - Mike Scotella – mixing assistant
- Steve Chadie – assistant engineer
- Lawrence Azerrad – artwork, graphic designGraphic designGraphic design is a creative process – most often involving a client and a designer and usually completed in conjunction with producers of form – undertaken in order to convey a specific message to a targeted audience...