| Thank the Holder Uppers | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | 1995 | |||
| Label | Interscope | |||
| Producer | Brett Gurewitz | |||
| Claw Hammer chronology | ||||
| ||||
Thank the Holder Uppers is an album by the American band Claw Hammer. [1] [2] The band's first major label album, it was released in 1995 via Interscope Records. [3] [4] Claw Hammer supported the album with a North American tour. [5]
The album was produced by Brett Gurewitz, the head of the band's former label. [6] The band often added harmonica, saxophone, and piano to the album's longer tracks. [7]
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [8] |
| Calgary Herald | B [9] |
| The Encyclopedia of Popular Music | [10] |
| Los Angeles Times | [7] |
| The San Diego Union-Tribune |  [11] |
The Washington Post wrote that singer John Wahl's "high (and erratically) pitched vocals and Christopher Bagarozzi's guitar-hero fretwork may recall Led Zep, but the band's rhythms and sense of structure owe more to Captain Beefheart." [12] Trouser Press thought that "the foursome caper rowdily like (dead end) kids set loose in a candy store." [13]
Westword opined that the songs "may sometimes seem quizzical—'Blind Pig' is the weirdest imaginable ZZ Top imitation, while 'Olfactory Blues/Nosehair' resembles a bizarre marriage of Frank Zappa and, well, Foghat—but they're never, never boring." [14] CMJ New Music Monthly declared that, "problem is, these guys seem a little too proficient on their instruments, enamored of severe (and frequent) tempo changes for the sake of keeping themselves interested." [15] LA Weekly praised the "exceptional guitarists and crackerjack drummer, Bob Lee." [16]
AllMusic wrote: "In sum, think of Funhouse-era Stooges with a few more instruments and slightly quiet moments, almost as good a vocalist and crisp production, and there's Holder Uppers in a nutshell." [8] In another retrospective review, Spin deemed the album "a totally unmarketable combo of cartoonishly venomous wails, chainsaw riffs, and harmonica solos." [17]
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Super Things" | |
| 2. | "When Dan's in Town" | |
| 3. | "Sweaty Palms" | |
| 4. | "Five Fifths Dead" | |
| 5. | "The Bums on the Flow" | |
| 6. | "Hollow Legs" | |
| 7. | "Bedside Coffee Table Roses" | |
| 8. | "Blind Pig" | |
| 9. | "Each Hit" | |
| 10. | "Lazy Brains" | |
| 11. | "Olfactory Blues/Nose Hair" |
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