Wax Ecstatic

Wax Ecstatic
Studio album by Sponge
Released	July 2, 1996
Recorded	1996
Studio	The Loft, Saline, Michigan
Genre	Alternative rock grunge post-grunge hard rock
Length	38:33 49:40 (Japan Bonus Tracks) 18:03 (5 Track Sampler Album) 16:05 (4 Track Promo)
Label	Columbia
Producer	Tim Patalan and Sponge
Sponge chronology
Rotting Piñata (1994) Wax Ecstatic (1996) New Pop Sunday (1999)
Singles from Wax Ecstatic
"Wax Ecstatic (To Sell Angelina)" Released: 1996 "Have You Seen Mary" Released: 1996

Wax Ecstatic is the second studio album by American rock band Sponge. It was released on July 2, 1996, through Columbia Records. ^{[1] [2]} The album features a more '70s hard rock-influenced sound compared with the band's previous release. It is the band's first album with drummer Charlie Grover, and includes the hit singles "Wax Ecstatic (To Sell Angelina)" and "Have You Seen Mary".

Production

Wax Ectastic was originally intended to be a concept album revolving around the death of a drag queen; instead, only two songs on the album address the subject. ^{[3] [4]} The band decided against the idea of making a concept album, and instead would incorporate new instrumentation along with a more '70s hard rock-influenced sound compared to Rotting Piñata .

Release

Wax Ecstatic was released in July 1996 and peaked at number 60 on the Billboard 200. "Wax Ecstatic (To Sell Angelina)" and "Have You Seen Mary" were released as the first and second singles from the album, and both received significant airplay on radio and MTV. The songs "I Am Anastasia" and "Silence Is Their Drug" also received radio airplay, but were not officially released as singles. By 1998, the album had sold a quarter of a million copies. ^[5]

Critical reception

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[1]
Collector's Guide to Heavy Metal	8/10 [6]
Detroit Free Press	[7]
The Encyclopedia of Popular Music	[8]
Fort Worth Star-Telegram	[9]
MusicHound Rock	[10]
Rolling Stone	[11]
USA Today	[12]
Vox	4/10 [13]
Wall of Sound	79/100 [14]

Wax Ecstatic received mostly positive reviews. AllMusic staff writer Stephen Thomas Erlewine said "In order to grow, the group went back to their beginnings, touching on glam rock, arena rock, blues rock, and jangle pop. Although it reveals Rotting Piñata to be somewhat calculating in its approach, Wax Ecstatic, ironically, is a far superior album." ^[1] Trouser Press wrote that the album "is markedly stripped down from the dense fury of Rotting Piñata, incorporating new instrumentation (piano, saxophone, cello) and working its way through such rootsy numbers as 'The Drag Queens of Memphis' and the album-closing 'Velveteen'." ^[15]

At the 1997 Detroit Music Awards, Wax Ecstatic won the award for "Outstanding National Rock-Pop Album", and "Wax Ecstatic (To Sell Angelina)" was nominated for "Outstanding National Rock-Pop Single". ^{[16] [17]}

Track listing

All songs produced by Tim Patalan and Sponge.

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"My Purity"	Vinnie Dombroski, Mike Cross	3:32
2.	"Got to Be a Bore"	Vinnie Dombroski	3:24
3.	"Wax Ecstatic (To Sell Angelina)"	Vinnie Dombroski	4:08
4.	"The Drag Queens of Memphis"	Vinnie Dombroski	4:54
5.	"I Am Anastasia"	Vinnie Dombroski, Mike Cross, Joey Mazzola	3:58
6.	"Silence Is Their Drug"	Vinnie Dombroski	3:11
7.	"Have You Seen Mary"	Vinnie Dombroski, Mike Cross	3:49
8.	"My Baby Said"	Vinnie Dombroski, Joey Mazzola	3:05
9.	"The Death of a Drag Queen"	Vinnie Dombroski, Mike Cross, Joey Mazzola	5:20
10.	"Velveteen" (Contains the hidden track "Imagine You")	Vinnie Dombroski	7:32

Japan Bonus Tracks

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
11.	"Imagine You" (Separate track)	Vinnie Dombroski	3:45
12.	"Mekron Bomb"	Vinnie Dombroski, Joey Mazzola	4:04
13.	"Imaginary Marriage"	Vinnie Dombroski	3:18

• European Version contains "Slower Suicide" ^[18]

Samplers and promos

All songs produced Tim Patalan and Sponge.

5 Track Sampler Album

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"Got to Be a Bore"	Vinnie Dombroski	3:24
2.	"Wax Ecstatic (To Sell Angelina)" (Radio Edit)	Vinnie Dombroski	3:47
3.	"I Am Anastasia"	Vinnie Dombroski, Mike Cross, Joey Mazzola	3:58
4.	"My Baby Said"	Vinnie Dombroski, Joey Mazzola	3:05
5.	"Have You Seen Mary"	Vinnie Dombroski, Mike Cross	3:49

All songs produced by Tim Patalan and Sponge except where noted.

4 Track Promo

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Producer(s)	Length
1.	"Wax Ecstatic (To Sell Angelina)"	Vinnie Dombroski		4:08
2.	"No Fun" (Live at CBGB's December 4, 1995)	Iggy Pop		3:45
3.	"Imaginary Marriage"	Vinnie Dombroski		3:16
4.	"Wax Ecstatic (Critter Full On Remix)"	Vinnie Dombroski	Tim Palmer, Critter	4:56

Personnel

• Vinnie Dombroski – vocals, drums, guitar
• Mike Cross – guitar, bass
• Tim Cross – bass
• Joey Mazzola – guitar, backing vocals
• Charlie Grover – drums

Additional personnel

• Tim Patalan – recording
• Andy Patalan & Matt Hanson – recording assistants
• Tim Palmer – mixing, additional production on "Silence Is Their Drug"
• Mark O'Donoughue – mix engineer
• Jamie Seyberth – additional engineering
• Lamont Hyde – engineering assistant
• Steve King – engineer
• Mike Corbett – post production edit
• Howie Weinberg – mastering
• Pablo Mathiason – A&R
• Susan Silver – management
• Stacy Fass – legal
• Gudvi, Chapnick & Oppenheim – business management
• John Jackson – international booking
• Mary Maurer – art direction
• SITE – design
• Melanie Nissen – photography

Additional musicians

• Richard Butler – additional vocals on "I Am Anastasia"
• Johnny Evans – tenor, alto and baritone sax
• Chris Codish – acoustic piano
• Mando Dorame – sax solo on "My Baby Said"
• Steve Baxter – trombone on "My Baby Said"
• Donald Hayes – saxophone on "My Baby Said"
• Anne King – trumpet on "My Baby Said"
• Tim Patalan – cello

Equipment

• Fender guitars and strings
• Naylor amps
• GHS strings
• Sabian cymbals
• Pearl drums
• Vic Firth sticks

Charts

Album

Chart (1996)	Peak position
US Billboard 200	60

Singles

Year	Title	US Hot 100	US Modern Rock	US Mainstream Rock
1996	Wax Ecstatic (To Sell Angelina)	64	15 [19]	11 [19]
	Have You Seen Mary	-	-	7

References

1. "Wax Ecstatic - Sponge | Songs, Reviews, Credits | AllMusic" – via www.allmusic.com.
2. "Remember Sponge? Oh, they remember us, alright". Tulsa World.
3. "Sponge seems to have it all _ if only its new album would sell". Tampa Bay Times.
4. Eddy, Chuck (August 25, 2016). Terminated for Reasons of Taste: Other Ways to Hear Essential and Inessential Music. Duke University Press. ISBN   9780822373896 – via Google Books.
5. MTV News Staff (November 19, 1998). "Sponge Returning To Form". MTV News . Archived from the original on June 21, 2023. Retrieved March 28, 2024.
6. Popoff, Martin (2007). The Collector's Guide to Heavy Metal: Volume 3: The Nineties. Burlington, Ontario, Canada: Collector's Guide Publishing. p. 421. ISBN   978-1-894959-62-9.
7. McCollum, Brian (July 2, 1996). "Sponge's sophomore effort is daring, diverse" . Detroit Free Press . p. C1 – via newspapers.com.
8. Larkin, Colin, ed. (2006). "Sponge". Encyclopedia of Popular Music. Vol. 7 (4th ed.). MUZE. pp.  672–673. ISBN   978-0-19-531373-4.
9. Ferman, Dave (July 19, 1996). "Capsule Reviews" . Fort Worth Star-Telegram (Star Time). p. 12 – via newspapers.com.
10. Fuoco, Christina (1999). "Sponge". MusicHound Rock: The Essential Album Guide. Visible Ink Press. p.  1072. ISBN   1-57859-061-2.
11. Diehl, Matt (July 11, 1996). "Sponge: Wax Ecstatic". Rolling Stone . No. 738/739. p. 90.
12. Gundersen, Edna (July 2, 1996). "Bryan Adams regresses; Dylan is redone -- with strings". USA Today . p. 7D. ProQuest   306756891.
13. Empire, Kitty (September 1996). "Albums". Vox . No. 71. IPC. p. 110.
14. Graff, Gary. "Wall of Sound Review: Wax Ecstatic". Wall of Sound . Archived from the original on April 15, 2001. Retrieved March 28, 2024.
15. "Sponge". Trouser Press. Retrieved January 19, 2021.
16. McCollum, Brian (April 20, 1997). "Unity the theme for Detroit Music Awards" . Detroit Free Press : 6E – via newspapers.com.
17. McCollum, Brian (April 26, 1997). "Sponge leads honorees at music awards" . Detroit Free Press : 2A – via newspapers.com.
18. "Sponge - Wax Ecstatic". July 1, 1996.
19. "For Week Ending August 3, 1996". Billboard. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. August 3, 1996 – via Google Books.