Too Much Fun!

Too Much Fun!
Studio album by the Holy Modal Rounders
Released	July 13, 1999
Recorded	Studio at Puck's Farm, Ontario, Canada
Genre	Freak folk
Length	43:00
Label	Rounder
Producer	Frazier Mohawk, Peter Stampfel
The Holy Modal Rounders chronology
Going Nowhere Fast (1981) Too Much Fun! (1999) I Make a Wish for a Potato (2001)

Too Much Fun! is a studio album by the psychedelic folk band the Holy Modal Rounders. ^[1] It was released in 1999 through Rounder Records. ^{[2] [3]} It was the band's first album in more than two decades. ^[4]

Critical reception

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[5]
Christgau's Consumer Guide	A [6]
The Encyclopedia of Popular Music	[7]
Rolling Stone	[8]
(The New) Rolling Stone Album Guide	[9]
Spin	8/10 [10]

Salon wrote that "essential to the fun of Too Much Fun! are the lack of second takes and the healthy helping of tomfoolery that disguises—or supplants—lyrics forgotten or never learned in the first place." ^[11]

Track listing

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"Happy Rolling Cowboy"	Bob Nolan	2:02
2.	"Antoinette"	Steve Weber	2:33
3.	"Bad Boy"	M. Myrie, Peter Stampfel	3:41
4.	"Violets So Blue"	Traditional arr.	2:55
5.	"Euphoria"	Robin Remaily	2:54
6.	"Sail Away Ladies"	Traditional arr.	1:44
7.	"Penny's Farm"	Traditional arr.	2:49
8.	"Bonaparte's Retreat"	Pee Wee King, Redd Stewart	2:05
9.	"Tea Song"	Michael Hurley	2:38
10.	"Precious Jewel"	Roy Acuff	3:32
11.	"A Blues Serenade"	Vincent Grande, Jimmy Lytell, Mitchell Parish, Frank Signorelli	2:17
12.	"Skin Game"	Traditional arr.	2:25
13.	"Long Journey"	Traditional arr., Michael Hurley	1:57
14.	"Crowley Waltz"	Hackberry Ramblers	1:43
15.	"Little Girl and the Dreadful Snake"	Bill Monroe	3:05
16.	"Year of Jubilo"	Henry Clay Work	2:15
17.	"New John the Revelator"	Blind Willie Johnson	2:41

Personnel

The Holy Modal Rounders Dave Reisch – bass guitar, vocals Don Rooke – slide guitar Peter Stampfel  – fiddle, banjo, guitar, mandolin, vocals, production Steve Weber  – guitar, vocals

Additional musicians and production David B. Greenberger – design Frazier Mohawk  – production Dr. Toby Mountain – mastering Phil Sheridan – engineering, mastering Betsy Wollheim – photography Jeff Wolpert – engineering

References

1. "Holy Modal Rounders Hit The Road". MTV News. Archived from the original on September 29, 2021.
2. Swartley, Ariel (July 18, 1999). "MUSIC; Round They Go Again, as Full of Fun as Ever" – via NYTimes.com.
3. "Grin 'n' Spin". LA Weekly. August 25, 1999.
4. "Reviews". CMJ New Music Report. CMJ Network, Inc. July 26, 1999 – via Google Books.
5. Morgenstein, Mark. "Too Much Fun". AllMusic . Retrieved August 13, 2012.
6. Christgau, Robert (October 15, 2000). "The Holy Modal Rounders". Christgau's Consumer Guide: Albums of the '90s . Macmillan Publishing. ISBN   9780312245603.
7. Larkin, Colin (2011). The Encyclopedia of Popular Music. Omnibus Press. ISBN   9780857125958.
8. Berger, Arion (September 16, 1999). "Too Much Fun!". Rolling Stone . No. 821. p. 118.
9. Brackett, Nathan; Hoard, Christian David, eds. (2004). "The Holy Modal Rounders". (The New) Rolling Stone Album Guide . Simon and Schuster. ISBN   9780743201698.
10. Weisbard, Eric (October 1999). "Holy Modal Rounders: Too Much Fun". Spin . Vol. 15, no. 10. Retrieved November 23, 2018.
11. "Sharps & flats". Salon. July 29, 1999.