Same as It Ever Was

Last updated
Same as It Ever Was
Houseofpainsameasiteverwas.jpg
Studio album by
ReleasedJune 28, 1994
RecordedSeptember 1992 - August 1993
StudioImage Recording Studios
(Hollywood, California)
Genre Hardcore hip hop
Length49:22
Label
Producer
House of Pain chronology
House of Pain
(1992)
Same as It Ever Was
(1994)
Truth Crushed to Earth Shall Rise Again
(1996)
Singles from Same as It Ever Was
  1. "Who's the Man?"
    Released: 1993
  2. "On Point"
    Released: 1994

Same as It Ever Was is the second album by American hip hop group House of Pain. It was released in 1994 and peaked at number 12 on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums and Billboard 200. [1] To record the album, the group had to work around Everlast's house arrest for a gun charge. [2] The clean version of the second song from the album, "I'm a Swing It", was featured in the 2001 skateboarding video game Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3 .

Contents

Reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svg [3]
Christgau's Consumer Guide: Albums of the '90s A- [4]
Entertainment Weekly A [5]
NME 4/10 [6]
RapReviews7/10 [7]
Sputnikmusic 2.5/5 [8]
The New Rolling Stone Album Guide Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svg [9]
Tom Hull B [10]

Same as It Ever Was did not reach the same commercial heights as the group's previous album; however, Same as It Ever Was peaked at No. 12 on the Billboard 200 chart (their highest position to date) and also reached gold status by Recording Industry Association of America. [11]

AllMusic gave it four out five stars. [3] Matt Carlson of The Michigan Daily found the album quite good and noted "the music is laid back with some heavy driving forces underlying and strengthening it". [12] Andrew Love of The Ocala Star-Banner gave it four stars saying "this is a band that has definitely progressed over the course of one album". [2] J.D. Constantine of The Baltimore Sun did not like the album and found it monotonous and unimaginative. [13] Roger Catlin of the Hartford Courant said that while finding the continuity monotonous it's "hard and compelling" as well as a "strong outing". [14] Music critic Robert Christgau gave the album an A− and described it as "the hardest hip hop of the year."

Track listing

No.TitleProducer(s)Length
1."Back from the Dead"3:32
2."I'm a Swing It" DJ Lethal 3:43
3."All That"DJ Lethal1:26
4."On Point"DJ Lethal3:48
5."Runnin' up on Ya"DJ Muggs3:17
6."Over There Shit"DJ Muggs3:33
7."Word Is Bond" (featuring Diamond D) Diamond D 4:02
8."Keep It Comin'"DJ Muggs3:43
9."Interlude"DJ Lethal0:46
10."Same as It Ever Was"DJ Muggs3:27
11."It Ain't a Crime"
  • DJ Muggs
  • DJ Lethal
3:27
12."Where I'm From"DJ Lethal4:01
13."Still Got a Lotta Love" ("All My Love" Part 2)DJ Lethal2:53
14."Who's the Man?"DJ Lethal4:03
15."On Point" (Lethal Dose Remix)DJ Lethal3:33
Total length:49:24

Personnel

Charts

Chart (1994)Peak
position
Australian Albums (ARIA Charts) [15] 97
U.S. Billboard 200 [16] 12
U.S. Billboard Top Current Albums [17] 12
U.S. Billboard Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums [18] 12
U.S. Billboard Top Album Sales [19] 12
U.S. Billboard R&B/Hip-Hop Album Sales [20] 12

Certifications

RegionCertification Certified units/sales
United States (RIAA) [21] Gold500,000^

^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

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