| A Worm's Life | ||||
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| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | October 2, 1996 | |||
| Recorded | Compass Point Studios, The Bahamas | |||
| Genre | Alternative rock | |||
| Length | 41:44 | |||
| Label | ||||
| Producer | ||||
| Crash Test Dummies chronology | ||||
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| Singles from A Worm's Life | ||||
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A Worm's Life is the third album by Canadian band Crash Test Dummies, released in 1996. It was the follow-up to the band's triple-platinum God Shuffled His Feet . By February 1999, A Worm's Life had sold more than 1 million copies worldwide. [1]
After the band finished touring their hit album God Shuffled His Feet , frontman Brad Roberts spent considerable time traveling abroad, relocating to London, England at the time to escape the pressures of fame and celebrity where, because they didn't get MTV Europe, no one recognized him there "except German and Italian tourists." [2]
During his travels, Roberts began penning new material. Though he briefly visited New York City, most of the material he had written was outside North America, including one notable stay in Prague, Czech Republic. [3] Finally, after having compiled much written material, Roberts reconvened with the rest of the band at Compass Point Studios in The Bahamas in the winter of 1995 to begin recording the follow-up to God Shuffled His Feet.
As a departure from the recording sessions of their first two records, the band decided to self-produce A Worm's Life. Pursuing a more guitar-heavy sound, the band drafted acclaimed music producer and recording engineer Terry Manning to engineer the record. The band's producer, Jeff Rogers, noted: "Terry has got a guitar collection to rival Randy Bachman's. And Brad got to play every one of them on the record."
Roberts had claimed on record that A Worm's Life "does go a little further than the other ones in terms of odd melodies, wacky key signatures, and chord changes." while continuing to adopt a lyrical approach that looks "at simple things in unusual ways rather than the other way around." [4]
The album was originally planned for release on August 28, 1996. However, the release date would later be moved back to October 2, 1996, with BMG Canada citing the need for "more set-up time".
Originally "Overachievers" was planned as the album's lead single (then titled "The Over-Achievers"), with the band's producer Jeff Rogers even noting at the time that the band had contacted three different directors for music video concepts to complement that track's release. However, "He Liked to Feel It" would later replace "Overachievers" as the lead single as the album's release date drew closer.
"He Liked to Feel It" proved to be a hit in the band's native Canada, becoming their highest-peaking career single at #2 on the Canadian singles chart. Despite the single's success domestically, "He Liked to Feel It" made minimal chart impact abroad, perhaps due to controversy surrounding the track's music video hindering its promotional efforts. A second single, "My Own Sunrise", would follow in January 1997, becoming a minor hit for the band, with "My Enemies" following as the album's third and final single later that year, also making limited impact.
A Worm's Life enjoyed strong initial sales in Canada; achieving a platinum certification less than one month after its release date. However, the album sold disappointingly elsewhere, and would have a considerably shorter chart life compared to its predecessor God Shuffled His Feet in Canada. [5]
All tracks are written by Brad Roberts
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Overachievers" | 3:44 |
| 2. | "He Liked to Feel It" | 3:55 |
| 3. | "A Worm's Life" | 2:56 |
| 4. | "Our Driver Gestures" | 3:36 |
| 5. | "My Enemies" | 3:14 |
| 6. | "There Are Many Dangers" | 3:44 |
| 7. | "I'm Outlived by That Thing?" | 3:15 |
| 8. | "All of This Ugly" | 3:19 |
| 9. | "An Old Scab" | 3:50 |
| 10. | "My Own Sunrise" | 3:35 |
| 11. | "I'm a Dog" | 3:47 |
| 12. | "Swatting Flies" | 2:51 |
with:
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| Allmusic |   [6] |
| Entertainment Weekly | C− [7] |
The album generally received mixed to poor reviews. Allmusic writer Darryl Cater gave the album 2 out of 5 stars and states that the album "finds singer-songwriter Brad Roberts rummaging through his repetroire in a futile search for a new idea. His glossy pop hooks seem to run over and over again into tunes he's already written. When Roberts isn't doing that routine, he's trying in vain to fit wordy lyrics into memorable melodies. The uninspired guitar-driven production (which has now left the band's folk roots behind altogether) doesn't help matters." [6]
Crash Test Dummies are a Canadian rock band from Winnipeg, Manitoba.
Manitoba has produced much Canadian music, especially since the early 1960s.
Bradley Kenneth Roberts is the lead singer and guitarist for the Canadian folk-rock band Crash Test Dummies, of which he has also been the only constant member since its inception. He sings in the bass-baritone range. The band is best known internationally for their 1993 album God Shuffled His Feet and single "Mmm Mmm Mmm Mmm" and best known in Canada for the 1991 single "Superman's Song".
God Shuffled His Feet is the second album by Canadian band Crash Test Dummies, released in 1993. It features their most popular single, "Mmm Mmm Mmm Mmm". The cover art superimposes the band members' faces over the figures of Titian's painting Bacchus and Ariadne. It was their most successful album commercially, as it sold over eight million copies worldwide.
"Mmm Mmm Mmm Mmm" is a song by Canadian rock band Crash Test Dummies, and written by its singer Brad Roberts. It was released in October 1993 by Arista and BMG as the band's lead single from their second album, God Shuffled His Feet (1993). The song received positive critical reviews upon its release, though retrospective reviews have been more negative. The song reached number four on the US Billboard Hot 100 and topped the national charts of Australia, Belgium, Denmark, Germany, Iceland, Lithuania, Norway, Sweden. In the band's native Canada, it stalled at number 14 on the RPM 100 Hit Tracks chart. The accompanying music video was directed by Dale Heslip.
"Headline News" is a parody song by "Weird Al" Yankovic. It is a parody of the Crash Test Dummies' 1993 hit "Mmm Mmm Mmm Mmm". It was released as the lead-off single for the compilation box set Permanent Record: Al in the Box on September 27, 1994. The song was written after Yankovic's label insisted he craft a new song to promote the album; Yankovic in turn combined the music of the Crash Test Dummies' song with three news stories that were popular in late 1993 and early 1994.
"Afternoons & Coffeespoons" is a song by Canadian rock band Crash Test Dummies, released by Arista in June 1994 as the third single from the band's 1993 album God Shuffled His Feet. "Afternoons & Coffeespoons" has been called the band's most popular song amongst fans. It is also one of their most successful songs commercially, peaking at number two in Iceland, number seven in Canada, number 16 in Finland, and number 66 in the United States.
I Don't Care That You Don't Mind is the fifth studio album by Crash Test Dummies. The album began as a solo album for Brad Roberts, while he was recuperating in the town of Argyle, Nova Scotia after suffering a near-fatal car accident in September 2000. Crash Test Dummies' name was put on the album after the band agreed to tour the album.
Songs of the Unforgiven is the eighth studio album recorded by Crash Test Dummies, released in 2004.
Give Yourself a Hand is the fourth album by Crash Test Dummies, released in 1999 through ViK. Recordings. It is their final album for BMG. The album spawned a quirky hit "Keep a Lid on Things". The Times review of the album described it as "the best music of their career...an album of rare wit and vitality."
Puss 'N' Boots is the seventh studio album by Crash Test Dummies, released in 2003. The album began life as a Brad Roberts solo project. While the lyrics were written by Brad Roberts, most of the music was written by Stuart Cameron. Ellen Reid sang backing vocals and Dan Roberts played bass, though much of the music was performed by other musicians.
Ellen Lorraine Reid is a Canadian musician. She provides backing vocals, piano, keyboards and accordion for the Canadian rock band Crash Test Dummies.
Michel "Mitch" Dorge is a Canadian drummer, multi-instrumentalist, composer and record producer. He has been the drummer with Crash Test Dummies since 1991, and has produced albums with the band, in addition to his solo work.
Benjamin Darvill, known by his stage name Son of Dave, is a Canadian musician and singer–songwriter, based in the United Kingdom. He was a member of Grammy award-nominated, Juno award-winning folk rock band Crash Test Dummies in which he played harmonica, mandolin, guitar and percussion before returning to his blues, Beat-Box and harmonica driven solo work in 2000.
"God Shuffled His Feet" is a song by Canadian folk rock group Crash Test Dummies and was the fourth and final single from their 1993 album of the same name. The synthesized guitar solo is performed by guest artist Adrian Belew. Released in October 1994, the song reached number 14 on Canada's RPM Top Singles chart, topping the Adult Contemporary chart in the process, and peaked at number three in Iceland.
"He Liked to Feel It" is a song by Canadian rock band Crash Test Dummies, released as the second track on their third studio album, A Worm's Life (1996). The song was written by the band's lead singer, Brad Roberts, and was produced by Brad alongside his brother and bassist Dan Roberts alongside drummer Michel "Mitch" Dorge. Arista Records released it as the lead single from A Worm's Life on September 9, 1996. The lyrics of the song originated from Brad Roberts' personal reflections about teeth, telling a story in which a boy likes the removal of his baby teeth via bizarre methods.
Oooh La La! is the ninth and most recent studio album by Crash Test Dummies, released 11 May 2010 on Deep Fried Records, distributed by MRI Records. The songs on the album are inspired by the Optigan and Omnichord toy instruments.
Crash Test Dude: Brad Roberts Live Singing Your Favorite Hits is a live album performed by Crash Test Dummies lead singer Brad Roberts during his solo acoustic tour following the Give Yourself a Hand tour. The album was released, along with an accompanying rockumentary film, exclusively through the MapleMusic.com e-commerce portal.
The discography of Canadian folk rock/alternative rock band Crash Test Dummies consists of eight primary studio albums, 23 singles, one live album, a greatest hits compilation, and two video releases. This list does not include material recorded by band members individually or with other side projects.
Demo-litions: Cast-off Recordings 1996–97 is a 2011 compilation album by the Crash Test Dummies. It consists of unreleased demos made during the songwriting process that eventually resulted in the album Give Yourself a Hand. The album was self-released via the band's website on April 19, 2011 as both a limited edition CD and MP3 download.
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