Pocket Full of Kryptonite
1991 studio album by Spin Doctors
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Pocket Full of Kryptonite is the debut studio album by the American rock band Spin Doctors, released in August 1991. The album initially sold 60,000 copies in late 1991 due to its growing hardcore fanbase, before several radio stations (including WEQX in Vermont) started playing the single "Little Miss Can't Be Wrong" in mid-1992.[11] The combined strength of the single along with the follow-up "Two Princes" led to the album's peak at Nos. 1 and 3 on the Billboard Top Heatseekers and Billboard 200 albums charts, respectively. It is currently the band's best selling album, and was certified 5× Platinum by the RIAA.[12]
ReleasedAugust 20, 1991
RecordedJuly–December 1990
Studios
- Power Station, New York City, New York
- RPM, New York City, New York
- ACME Recording, Mamaroneck, New York
Genres
| Pocket Full of Kryptonite | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | August 20, 1991 | |||
| Recorded | July–December 1990 | |||
| Studios |
| |||
| Genres | ||||
| Length | 50:30 | |||
| Label | Epic | |||
| Producers |
| |||
| Spin Doctors chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Singles from Pocket Full of Kryptonite | ||||
| ||||
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [3] |
| Calgary Herald | B[4] |
| Chicago Tribune |  [5] |
| Christgau's Consumer Guide |  [6] |
| Music Week | [7] |
| Q | [8] |
| The Rolling Stone Album Guide | [9] |
| Select |   [10] |
It was remastered and reissued in 2011 as a 20th-anniversary edition, with a bonus track added to the original album and a second disc of demos previously released only on cassette, plus two live tracks.
The album's title is a quote from the opening track, "Jimmy Olsen's Blues".
Track listing
Original album
All tracks are written by Spin Doctors except as noted.
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Jimmy Olsen's Blues" | 4:38 | |
| 2. | "What Time Is It?" | 4:50 | |
| 3. | "Little Miss Can't Be Wrong" | 3:54 | |
| 4. | "Forty or Fifty" | 4:23 | |
| 5. | "Refrigerator Car" | 4:46 | |
| 6. | "More Than She Knows" | Eric Schenkman, Simon Lambert, Graham Clark, J.P. Fitting | 2:12 |
| 7. | "Two Princes" | 4:18 | |
| 8. | "Off My Line" | John David Bell, Spin Doctors | 3:58 |
| 9. | "How Could You Want Him (When You Know You Could Have Me?)" | 4:59 | |
| 10. | "Shinbone Alley/Hard to Exist" | Spin Doctors, John Popper | 12:42 |
| Total length: | 50:30 | ||
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 11. | "Yo Mamas a Pajama" (live, 1990-09-27 @ Wetlands Preserve, NY) | 4:03 |
| 12. | "Sweet Widow" (live, 1990-09-27 @ Wetlands Preserve, NY) | 11:38 |
| 13. | "Stepped on a Crack" (live, 1990-09-27 @ Wetlands Preserve, NY) | 4:02 |
| Total length: | 70:13 | |
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 11. | "Hard to Exist" (B-side of "How Could You Want Him" single) | Barron, Schenkman, Popper, Comess | 4:29 |
| Total length: | 54:59 | ||
Notes
- The live tracks on the European release also appear on the live album Homebelly Groove...Live (1992), and were recorded September 27, 1990, at Wetlands Preserve in New York.
2011 anniversary edition disc 2
All tracks are written by Spin Doctors except as noted.
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Jimmy Olsen's Blues" | 5:13 | |
| 2. | "Can't Say No" | Schenkman | 2:20 |
| 3. | "Hard to Exist" | Barron, Schenkman, Popper, Comess | 4:30 |
| 4. | "At This Hour" | 5:37 | |
| 5. | "40 or 50" | 4:39 | |
| 6. | "Big Fat Funky Booty" | 4:00 |
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 7. | "What Time Is It?" | 4:08 | |
| 8. | "How Could You Want Him (When You Know You Could Have Me?)" | 5:44 | |
| 9. | "Hungry Hamed's" | 4:39 | |
| 10. | "House" | 4:19 | |
| 11. | "Two Princes" | 4:41 | |
| 12. | "Refrigerator Car" | 4:05 | |
| 13. | "Rosetta Stone" | 6:10 | |
| 14. | "Freeway of the Plains" | Gregg Buscaglia, Barron, Schenkman, Popper, Fogel | 5:48 |
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 15. | "Turn it Upside Down" (Live July 19, 1993, Kingswood Music Theater, Toronto, Canada) | 4:41 |
| 16. | "Little Miss Can't Be Wrong" (Live September 25, 1990, Continental Divide, New York City) | 4:05 |
| Total length: | 75:15 | |
Personnel
Spin Doctors
- Chris Barron – lead vocals
- Eric Schenkman – guitar, backing vocals, lead vocals on "Off My Line", piano on "40 or 50"
- Mark White – bass
- Aaron Comess – drums, organ, backing vocals on "Little Miss Can't Be Wrong", congas on "40 or 50"
Additional musicians
- John Popper – harmonica on "More Than She Knows" and "Off My Line", backing vocals on "Two Princes"
- John Bush – tambourine on "Off My Line", congas on "How Could You Want Him (When You Know You Could Have Me)?"
Production
- Producers: Frank Aversa, Peter Denenberg, Frankie LaRocka, Spin Doctors
- Engineers: Frank Aversa, Peter Denenberg, Marc Schwartz, Spin Doctors
- Assistant engineers: Jeff Lippay, Motley
- Mixing: Peter Denenberg, Frankie La Rocka, Spin Doctors
- Mastering: Ted Jensen at Sterling Sound, NYC
- Production coordination: Jason J. Richardson
- Guitar technician: Joseph Miselis
- Equipment manager: John Darren Greene
- Art direction: Francesca Restrepo
- Photography: Paul Aresu, Paul LaRaia
- Cover art: Darren Greene, Chris Gross, Nicky Lindeman
- Liner notes: Cree McCree
Charts
Weekly charts
|
Year-end charts
Decade-end charts
|
Certifications
| Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
|---|---|---|
| Australia (ARIA)[43] | Platinum | 70,000^ |
| Austria (IFPI Austria)[44] | Gold | 25,000* |
| Canada (Music Canada)[45] | 4× Platinum | 400,000^ |
| France (SNEP)[46] | Gold | 100,000* |
| Germany (BVMI)[47] | Gold | 250,000^ |
| New Zealand (RMNZ)[48] | Gold | 7,500^ |
| Sweden (GLF)[49] | Gold | 50,000^ |
| Switzerland (IFPI Switzerland)[50] | Gold | 25,000^ |
| United Kingdom (BPI)[51] | Platinum | 300,000^ |
| United States (RIAA)[52] | 5× Platinum | 5,000,000^ |
| Summaries | ||
| Europe (IFPI)[53] | Platinum | 1,000,000* |
|
* Sales figures based on certification alone. | ||