Pocket Full of Kryptonite

Last updated

Pocket Full of Kryptonite
Spindocs pocket kryptonite.JPG
Studio album by
ReleasedAugust 20, 1991 (1991-08-20)
RecordedJuly–December 1990
Studio
Genre
Length50:30
Label Epic
Producer
Spin Doctors chronology
Up for Grabs...Live
(1991)
Pocket Full of Kryptonite
(1991)
Homebelly Groove...Live
(1992)
Singles from Pocket Full of Kryptonite
  1. "Little Miss Can't Be Wrong"
    Released: 1992
  2. "Two Princes"
    Released: 1992
  3. "Jimmy Olsen's Blues"
    Released: 1993
  4. "What Time Is It?"
    Released: 1993
  5. "How Could You Want Him (When You Know You Could Have Me?)"
    Released: 1993 [1] [2]
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svg [3]
Calgary Herald B [4]
Chicago Tribune Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar half.svg [5]
Christgau's Consumer Guide Five Pointed Star Solid.svg [6]
Music Week Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svg [7]
Q Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svg [8]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svg [9]

Pocket Full of Kryptonite is the debut studio album by the American rock band Spin Doctors, released in August 1991. The album initially sold a respectable 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. [10] 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. [11]

Contents

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", a humorous song sung from the point of view of Jimmy Olsen, a character in the Superman comic book series. In the song, Jimmy Olsen tries to woo Lois Lane away from Superman, stating "I got a pocket full of Kryptonite," referring to a fictional substance that weakens Superman. The album cover, showing a phone booth, refers to Clark Kent frequently ducking into a nearby phone booth to change into his Superman attire.

Track listing

Original album

All tracks are written by Spin Doctors except as noted

No.TitleWriter(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. Fitting2:12
7."Two Princes" 4:18
8."Off My Line"John David Bell, Spin Doctors3:58
9."How Could You Want Him (When You Know You Could Have Me?)" 4:59
10."Shinbone Alley/Hard to Exist"Spin Doctors, John Popper12:42
Total length:50:30
Bonus tracks for European edition (Epic 468250 9) [12]
No.TitleLength
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
2011 Anniversary edition disc 1 bonus track
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
11."Hard to Exist" (B-side of "How Could You Want Him" single)Barron, Schenkman, Popper, Comess4:29
Total length:54:59

Notes

2011 anniversary edition disc 2

All tracks are written by Spin Doctors except as noted

1989 "Can't Say No" Demo, recorded Aug 1989 Greene Street Studios, New York City
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Jimmy Olsen's Blues" 5:13
2."Can't Say No"Schenkman2:20
3."Hard to Exist"Barron, Schenkman, Popper, Comess4:30
4."At This Hour" 5:37
5."40 or 50" 4:39
6."Big Fat Funky Booty" 4:00
1990 "Piece of Glass" Demo, recorded March 1990 RPM Studios, New York City
No.TitleWriter(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, Fogel5:48
Live tracks
No.TitleLength
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

Additional musicians

Production

Charts

Certifications

Certifications and sales for Pocket Full of Kryptonite
RegionCertification Certified units/sales
Australia (ARIA) [39] Platinum70,000^
Europe (IFPI) [40] Platinum1,000,000*

* Sales figures based on certification alone.
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

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