The Pursuit of Happiness (Beat Farmers album)

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The Pursuit of Happiness
The Pursuit of Happiness (Beat Farmers album).jpg
Studio album by
the Beat Farmers
Released1987
StudioIndigo Ranch, Malibu, CA
Label Curb/MCA [1]
Producer Dave Jerden
The Beat Farmers chronology
Van Go
(1986)		The Pursuit of Happiness
(1987)		 Poor & Famous
(1989)

The Pursuit of Happiness is an album by the American band the Beat Farmers, released in 1987. [2] [3] The band supported the album with a North American tour that included shows with Mojo Nixon and Skid Roper. [4] [5]

Contents

The first single, "Dark Light", peaked at No. 27 on Billboard's Album Rock Tracks chart. [6] [7] "Hollywood Hills", for which a video was shot, was also released as a single. [8]

Production

Recorded at Indigo Ranch, in Malibu, the album was produced by Dave Jerden. [9] [10] [11] Founding member Buddy Blue was replaced by Joey Harris. [12] Country Dick Montana sang on the cover of Johnny Cash's "Big River". [12] [13] "Rosie" is a cover of the Tom Waits song. [14] Steve Berlin played saxophone on the album. [15] In a dig at the PMRC, the band allegedly included a "positive" subliminal message on the album. [4]

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svg [16]
The Encyclopedia of Popular Music Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svg [17]
Houston Chronicle Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svg [18]
Los Angeles Daily News B [19]
MusicHound Rock: The Essential Album Guide Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svg [20]
The Philadelphia Inquirer Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svg [21]

The Vancouver Sun called the album "rocking with the familiar tough R&B favored by guitarist Jerry Raney, reeling with the hilarious depravity favored by wildman drummer Country Dick, and soaring with the touch of majesty brought into the fold by Harris." [22] The Philadelphia Inquirer wrote: "Blunt, vehement rock that regularly partakes of a country lilt, this is the West Coast quartet's best album yet." [21]

The Houston Chronicle noted that "few if any rock bands have a better understanding of the essential difference between ego and art." [18] The Los Angeles Daily News concluded: "Until either Rainy or Harris cuts a path as striking as Montana's, the Farmers will be just another good rockin' roots band with a joke instead of a great band with a sense of humor." [19] The Times determined that "although the Farmers hold rank as possibly the greatest bar-band in the world, this is a patchy collection redeemed mostly by the efforts of the new guitarist, Joey Harris." [23] The Oregonian listed the album among the 10 best of 1987. [24]

AllMusic deemed "Hollywood Hills" "one of the finest tracks the group ever recorded." [16]

Track listing

No.TitleLength
1."Hollywood Hills"4:17
2."Ridin'"4:08
3."Dark Light"4:06
4."Make It Last"3:59
5."Key to the World"3:22
6."God Is Here Tonight"3:38
7."Big Big Man"3:53
8."Elephant Day Parade"2:42
9."Rosie"2:22
10."Texas"3:24
11."Big River"2:38

References

  1. ↑ Popoff, Martin (September 8, 2009). Goldmine Record Album Price Guide. Penguin.
  2. ↑ "Beat Farmers Biography, Songs, & Albums". AllMusic.
  3. ↑ Arnold, Thomas K. (May 23, 1987). "Montana's Music Takes 'Lot of Guts'". Calendar. Los Angeles Times. p. 1.
  4. 1 2 MacInnis, Craig (September 25, 1987). "'Howdy!' says Country Dick Montana of the Beat Farmers". Toronto Star. p. E18.
  5. ↑ Gleason, Holly (January 1, 1988). "Farmers Dish Out Country-Flavored, Home-Grown Fun". Calendar. Los Angeles Times. p. 27.
  6. ↑ Infusino, Divina (July 25, 1987). "New LP is boom or bust for Beat Farmers". The San Diego Union-Tribune. p. C1.
  7. ↑ Whitburn, Joel (2008). Joel Whitburn Presents Rock Tracks 1981-2008. Record Research Inc. p. 28.
  8. ↑ Faris, Mark (September 25, 1987). "Earthy Name Hasn't Hurt Farmer's Beat". Akron Beacon Journal. p. C1.
  9. ↑ Kim, Jae-Ha (September 18, 1987). "Beat Farmers cultivate their music". Weekend Plus. Chicago Sun-Times. p. 11.
  10. ↑ Thompson, Dave (September 14, 2000). Alternative Rock. Hal Leonard Corporation.
  11. ↑ Infusino, Divina (February 4, 1987). "Local news". The San Diego Union-Tribune. p. D7.
  12. 1 2 "Beat Farmers". Trouser Press. Retrieved September 14, 2022.
  13. ↑ Trager, Oliver (December 4, 1997). The American Book of the Dead. Simon and Schuster.
  14. ↑ Hiltbrand, David (October 5, 1987). "Farmers Rock at Cabaret". The Philadelphia Inquirer. p. E4.
  15. ↑ Healy, James (August 9, 1987). "Beat Farmers Get Down to Business in Wake of Buddy Blue's Departure". Entertainment. Omaha World-Herald.
  16. 1 2 "Beat Farmers Pursuit of Happiness". AllMusic.
  17. ↑ Larkin, Colin (2006). The Encyclopedia of Popular Music. Vol. 1. MUZE. p. 485.
  18. 1 2 Racine, Marty (August 16, 1987). "Records". Zest. Houston Chronicle. p. 11.
  19. 1 2 Rosen, Craig (August 21, 1987). "Beat Farmers still pursue the joke". Los Angeles Daily News. p. L40.
  20. ↑ MusicHound Rock: The Essential Album Guide. Visible Ink Press. 1999. pp. 85–86.
  21. 1 2 Tucker, Ken (August 23, 1987). "The Beat Farmers The Pursuit of Happiness". The Philadelphia Inquirer. p. G9.
  22. ↑ Mackie, John (August 8, 1987). "Beat Farmers harvest even better crop". Vancouver Sun. p. D9.
  23. ↑ Sinclair, David (May 28, 1988). "Back to the hot Rod – Rock Records". The Times.
  24. ↑ Tomlinson, Stuart (December 13, 1987). "Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree: 10 Albums to Get You Started". The Oregonian. p. B17.
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