Are You Okay?
1990 studio album by Was (Not Was)
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Are You Okay? is the fourth album by art-funk ensemble Was (Not Was). It was released in 1990. It was their last album for 18 years until 2008's Boo!
Released1990
Studio
- The Institute of Social Disruption, Microplant and Record Plant (Los Angeles, California)
- Hollywood Sound Recorders and Studio 56 (Hollywood, California)
- Larrabee Sound Studios (North Hollywood, California)
- JHL Sound (Pacific Palisades, California)
- Smoketree Ranch (Chatsworth, California)
- Matrix Studios (London, UK)
Length49:56
| Are You Okay? | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
Original album artwork by Mark Ryden | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | 1990 | |||
| Studio |
| |||
| Genre | Funk,[1] soul, pop, rock | |||
| Length | 49:56 | |||
| Label | Fontana (UK) - Licensed from Phonogram Chrysalis (USA) | |||
| Producer | David Was, Don Was | |||
| Was (Not Was) chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Singles from Are You Okay? | ||||
| ||||
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [2] |
| Chicago Sun-Times | [3] |
| Chicago Tribune | [4] |
| Entertainment Weekly | C+[5] |
| Los Angeles Times | [6] |
| NME | 9/10[7] |
| Q | [8] |
| Rolling Stone | [9] |
| Select | 5/5[10] |
| The Village Voice | A−[11] |
In UK and Europe, the album cover is replaced with a picture of the band.[12]
Track listing
All tracks composed by David Was and Don Was; except where indicated.
- "Are You Okay?" – 4:28
- "Papa Was a Rollin' Stone" (Barrett Strong, Norman Whitfield) – 6:41
- "I Feel Better Than James Brown" – 4:45
- "How the Heart Behaves" – 5:35
- "Maria Novarro" – 3:27
- "I Blew Up the United States" – 3:51
- "In K Mart Wardrobe" – 4:16
- "Elvis' Rolls Royce" – 3:29
- "Dressed to Be Killed" (Was, Was, G Love E)– 4:13
- "Just Another Couple Broken Hearts" – 4:55
- "You! You! You!" (Was, Was, Luis Resto) – 3:28
- "Look What's Back" – 0:43
Personnel
Was (Not Was)
- David Was – keyboards, flute, vocals
- Don Was – keyboards, bass
- Sweet Pea Atkinson – vocals
- Sir Harry Bowens – vocals
- Donald Ray Mitchell – vocals
- Jamie Muhoberac – keyboards
- Randy Jacobs – guitars
- Ron Pangborn – drums
- Debra Dobkin – percussion, vocals
- Dave McMurray – saxophones
- Rayse Biggs – trumpet
Guest vocalists
- G Love E – rap (1, 2, 9)
- The Roches – vocals (5)
- Doug Fieger – backing vocals (6, 9)
- Leonard Cohen – lead vocals (8)
- Iggy Pop, Downtown Julie Brown and Ewreck Benson – backing vocals (8)
- Andy Gill – backing vocals (9)
- Syd Straw – lead vocals (11)
Guest musicians
- Jeff Lorber – keyboards, keyboard programming and keyboard arrangements (1, 3, 4, 7, 10)
- Brad Buxer – additional keyboards (4)
- Luis Resto – keyboards (11)
- Paul Riser – horn and string arrangements (4, 8, 10)
- Jon Jaz-Was – saxophonic reticulation
Production
- David Bates – executive producer
- David Was – producer
- Don Was – producer, engineer
- Keith Cohen – mixing (1, 2, 4–7, 9), additional production (4)
- Ed Cherney – engineer, mixing (3, 8, 10, 11)
- Steve Deutsch – engineer
- Kenny Jones – engineer
- Jeff Lorber – engineer
- Elaine Anderson – assistant engineer
- Andy Batwinas – assistant engineer
- Kimm James – assistant engineer
- Brian Jones – assistant engineer
- Jim Mitchell – assistant engineer
- Linda Morse – assistant engineer
- Jeff Park – assistant engineer
- Neal Pogue – assistant engineer
- Martin Schmelzle – assistant engineer
- Phonogram Art – art direction
- Green Ink – artwork
- Tim Whiteley – paintbox operator
- Kushnick Passett Management – management
Charts
| Chart (1990) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Australian Albums (ARIA)[14] | 107 |
| US Billboard 200[15] | 99 |