The Verve Pipe is the self-titled album by Michigan rock band the Verve Pipe

The Verve Pipe

The Verve Pipe is an American rock band from East Lansing, Michigan. It was formed in 1992 by Brian and Brad Vander Ark, Brian Stout and Donny Brown.-History:...

, released on July 27, 1999. The band's second release for RCA Records

RCA Records

RCA Records is one of the flagship labels of Sony Music Entertainment. The RCA initials stand for Radio Corporation of America , which was the parent corporation from 1929 to 1985 and a partner from 1985 to 1986.RCA's Canadian unit is Sony's oldest label...

, the album followed the platinum-selling Villains and its mammoth single, "The Freshmen". The band worked with Soundgarden

Soundgarden

Soundgarden is an American rock band formed in Seattle, Washington in 1984 by singer Chris Cornell, lead guitarist Kim Thayil, and bassist Hiro Yamamoto...

 producer Michael Beinhorn

Michael Beinhorn

Michael Beinhorn is an American musician and record producer.Beinhorn started his professional career as a musician, playing keyboards in Bill Laswell's Material during the 1980s...

 and created a generally dark, sonically textured grunge-pop album. The lead single "Hero" received sporadic airplay on 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...

 radio and its video was in rotation on MTV2

MTV2

MTV2 is a cable network that is widely available in the United States on digital cable and satellite television, and is progressively being added to analogue cable lineups across the nation...

 in late summer 1999.

Throughout the album, primary songwriter and singer Brian Vander Ark

Brian Vander Ark

Brian Vander Ark is an American Singer-songwriter best known as lead singer for the band The Verve Pipe. Born in Holland, Michigan, Vander Ark began playing guitar at age 8. At age 18, he was married to then girlfriend Michelle Marthens and had a son named Joshua Vander Ark. Soon after he joined...

 comments on the fleeting nature of fame with tracks such as "Supergig" and "Headlines". The song "The F-Word" serves as a bittersweet response to the band's success with "The Freshmen".

The album's cover features a diagram for frog dissection

Dissection

Dissection is usually the process of disassembling and observing something to determine its internal structure and as an aid to discerning the functions and relationships of its components....

, with the song titles used as references to various body parts.

Radio and touring

The Verve Pipe mounted a major nationwide tour in support of The Verve Pipe and lead single "Hero", headlining mid-size venues and playing numerous radio festivals throughout 1999 and into 2000. With the Nu metal

Nu metal

Nu metal is a subgenre of heavy metal. It is a fusion genre which combines elements of heavy metal with other genres, including grunge and hip hop...

 stylings of Limp Bizkit

Limp Bizkit

Limp Bizkit is an American rock band from Jacksonville, Florida. Formed in 1995, the group's lineup consists of Fred Durst , Wes Borland , Sam Rivers , John Otto and DJ Lethal . The band achieved mainstream success with their second studio album Significant Other, released in 1999...

 and Korn

Korn

Korn is an American nu metal band from Bakersfield, California, formed in 1993. The current band line up includes four members: Jonathan Davis, James "Munky" Shaffer, Reginald "Fieldy" Arvizu, and Ray Luzier. The band was formed as an expansion of L.A.P.D.The band released their first demo album,...

dominating rock radio airwaves, "Hero" failed to connect with a mass audience. The band responded by releasing the album's sonically heaviest track, "Television", as a follow-up single. With no music video and little radio support, "Television" sputtered out quickly, along with record sales.

Track listing

1. "Supergig"
2. "She Loves Everybody"
3. "Hero"
4. "Television"
5. "In Between"
6. "Kiss Me Idle"
7. "Headlines"
8. "The F Word"
9. "Generations"
10. "Half a Mind"
11. "She Has Faces"
12. "La La"