Message for the Mess Age

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Message for the Mess Age
Studio album by
NRBQ
Released1994
GenrePop
LabelForward[1]
ProducerTerry Adams, Joey Spampinato
NRBQ chronology
Stay with We
(1993) 		Message for the Mess Age
(1994) 		Tokyo
(1996)

Message for the Mess Age is an album by the American band NRBQ, released in 1994.[2][3] It marked the band's 25th anniversary as a recording act.[4] The album became the band's biggest seller less than six months after it was released.[5]

The first single was "A Little Bit of Bad".[6] The band supported the album with a North American tour.[7]

Production[edit]

The album was produced by Terry Adams and Joey Spampinato.[8] It was the last album to which guitar player Al Anderson contributed; he used a Fender Squier guitar and amp.[9][10] Johnny Spampinato took Anderson's position.[11] Gary Windo played saxophone on "Spampinato", a song about the correct way to spell the bass player's name.[12][13]

The band wrote six new songs for Message for the Mess Age.[14] "Don't Bite the Head" is about the banality of mainstream music.[15] "Ramona" and "A Better Word for Love" are performed as ballads.[16] The lyrics to "Over Your Head" were inspired by journalistic reporting of the Gulf War.[17]

Critical reception[edit]

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
Calgary HeraldB+[9]
Chicago Tribune[13]
The Encyclopedia of Popular Music[18]
MusicHound Rock: The Essential Album Guide[19]
Orlando Sentinel[20]
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette[21]
(The New) Rolling Stone Album Guide[22]
Spin Alternative Record Guide7/10[23]
The Tampa Tribune[16]
USA Today[24]

The Austin American-Statesman wrote that Anderson's songs "are the album's strongest, and they provide a necessary balance for Adams' incorrigible whimsy, which occasionally infects the material with an incurable case of the cutes."[25] The Los Angeles Times noted that, "if overall the album lacks the seamless wonder of its predecessor, Wild Weekend, it's only because the band's laudable willingness to experiment inevitably produces some failures."[26] The Vancouver Sun deemed NRBQ "the world's premier pop-rock-jazz-country quartet."[27]

The Orlando Sentinel determined that "the production has a lustrous sheen, but the arrangements are full of striking and unusual details."[20] The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette called the album "infectious, foot-stomping music... And the quirkiness reflected in the disc's title is found throughout."[21] The Gazette stated that "NRBQ is virtually alone in expressing the sense of wonder at the heart of great pop, a band putting effortless complexity and more chops than the lumberjack union at the service of throwaway, top-down summer-breeze toons."[28]

Track listing[edit]

No.TitleLength
1."Over Your Head" 
2."A Little Bit of Bad" 
3."Don't Bite the Head" 
4."Big Dumb Jukebox" 
5."Designated Driver" 
6."Ramona" 
7."Everybody Thinks I'm Crazy" 
8."Nothin' Wrong With Me" 
9."Spampinato" 
10."A Better Word for Love" 
11."Advice for Teenagers" 
12."Girl Scout Cookies" 
13."Everybody's Smokin'" 

References[edit]

  1. ^ Benarde, Scott (January 23, 1994). "Message for the Mess Age by NRBQ". The Palm Beach Post. p. 2J.
  2. ^ Green, Tony (17 Dec 1993). "Not Quite Gone". St. Petersburg Times. p. 6B.
  3. ^ Catlin, Roger (13 Jan 1994). "Big Al Anderson will probably preview...". Calendar. Hartford Courant. p. 3.
  4. ^ Weitz, Matt (March 27, 1994). "NRBQ Message for the Mess Age". The Dallas Morning News. p. 7C.
  5. ^ Darragh, Tim (24 July 1994). "NRBQ's Message Is Never Predictable". The Morning Call. p. F1.
  6. ^ Nager, Larry (April 10, 1994). "LPs". The Providence Journal. Scripps Howard News Service. p. E6.
  7. ^ McLennan, Scott (5 June 1994). "NRBQ gets 'more righter' as the years chug by". Datebook. Telegram & Gazette. p. 8.
  8. ^ "Message for the Mess Age by NRBQ". Billboard. 106 (10): 58. Mar 5, 1994.
  9. ^ a b Tremblay, Mark (20 Mar 1994). "Recent Releases". Calgary Herald. p. C4.
  10. ^ "Al Anderson hits his stride". Guitar Player. 28 (5): 16. May 1994.
  11. ^ George-Warren, Holly (Sep 8, 1994). "Message for the Mess Age by NRBQ". Rolling Stone (690): 81.
  12. ^ Joyce, Mike (2 Mar 1994). "NRBQ's 'Message': Serious Fun". The Washington Post. p. B7.
  13. ^ a b Kening, Dan (21 Apr 1994). "Recordings". Tempo. Chicago Tribune. p. 6.
  14. ^ Hoekstra, Dave (March 27, 1994). "NRBQ Records a 'Mess Age' to the Faithful: We're Back". Show. Chicago Sun-Times. p. 7.
  15. ^ "Message for the Mess Age by NRBQ". Stereo Review. 59 (6): 88. Jun 1994.
  16. ^ a b Booth, Philip (February 25, 1994). "NRBQ, Message for the Mess Age". Friday Extra!. The Tampa Tribune. p. 21.
  17. ^ Walsh, Jim (February 7, 1995). "Sunshine Supermen". St. Paul Pioneer Press. p. 8D.
  18. ^ Larkin, Colin (2006). The Encyclopedia of Popular Music. Vol. 6. MUZE. p. 245.
  19. ^ MusicHound Rock: The Essential Album Guide. Visible Ink Press. 1999. p. 823.
  20. ^ a b Gettelman, Parry (25 Feb 1994). "NRBQ". Calendar. Orlando Sentinel. p. 12.
  21. ^ a b Norman, Tony (4 Mar 1994). "Recordings". Arts and Entertainment. Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. p. 16.
  22. ^ (The New) Rolling Stone Album Guide. Simon & Schuster. 2004. p. 592.
  23. ^ Spin Alternative Record Guide. Vintage Books. 1995. pp. 274–275.
  24. ^ Gundersen, Edna (23 June 1994). "Old Faithful". USA Today. p. 3D.
  25. ^ McLeese, Don (22 Feb 1994). "NRBQ. Message for the Mess Age". Austin American-Statesman. p. E5.
  26. ^ Lewis, Randy (24 Feb 1994). "NRBQ, 'Message for the Mess Age'". LV Desk. Los Angeles Times. p. 5.
  27. ^ Mackie, John (28 Apr 1994). "Recordings". Vancouver Sun. p. C12.
  28. ^ Lepage, Mark (12 Mar 1994). "NRBQ Message for the Mess Age". The Gazette. p. C3.
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