Charmed Life (Half Japanese album)
Charmed Life is an album by the punk rock group Half Japanese, released in 1988.[6] It is their second studio album released on their label, 50 Skidillion Watts.
| Charmed Life | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | 1988 | |||
| Genre | Indie rock, lo-fi, twee pop | |||
| Length | 51:18 | |||
| Label | 50 Skidillion Watts[1] | |||
| Half Japanese chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [2] |
| Robert Christgau | B+[3] |
| Pitchfork | 8.9/10[4] |
| Spin Alternative Record Guide | 9/10[5] |
The eighth song, "Bright Lights, Big City," was originally sung and recorded by the American blues musician Jimmy Reed, in 1961.
Critical reception
The Quietus wrote: "Less whiny and needy than Music To Strip By, the lyrics are spouted from a lip with more curl and less pucker ... as accessible as Half Japanese get."[7] Trouser Press called the album "a guileless burst of optimism that mutes the shriller frequencies considerably, replacing them with an unaffected, exuberant guitar/harmonica backdrop played by a band."[8]
Track listing
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Said and Done" | 2:53 |
| 2. | "Penny in the Fountain" | 1:58 |
| 3. | "Evidence" | 2:04 |
| 4. | "Vietnam" | 2:00 |
| 5. | "Roman Candles" | 2:22 |
| 6. | "Love at First Sight" | 2:43 |
| 7. | "Snake Line" | 2:08 |
| 8. | "Bright Lights, Big City" | 2:10 |
| 9. | "Face Rake" | 0:59 |
| 10. | "Later in a Magazine" | 1:28 |
| 11. | "Red Dress" | 2:16 |
| 12. | "Charmed Life" | 1:47 |
| 13. | "Day and Night" | 2:53 |
| 14. | "1,000,000,000,000 Kisses" | 1:55 |
| 15. | "Terminator" | 1:58 |
| 16. | "I'll Change My Style" | 2:18 |
| 17. | "Charmed Life" | 1:59 |
| 18. | "Trouble in the Water" | 3:00 |
| 19. | "Miracles Happen Every Day" | 2:20 |
| 20. | "Fortunate" | 2:05 |
| 21. | "Poetic License" | 2:08 Bonus tracks: |
| 22. | "Day and Night" | 3:51 |
| 23. | "1,000,000 Kisses" | 2:06 |
| 24. | "Madonna Nude" | 1:35 |
| 25. | "I'll Change My Style" | 2:35 |
| 26. | "George Steele" | 1:57 |
| 27. | "Real Cool Time" | 8:54 |
| 28. | "How Many More Years" | 2:13 |
| 29. | "King Kong Bundy" | 1:53 |
| 30. | "Something New in the Ring" | 1:15 |
| 31. | "Terminator" | 1:56 |
Personnel
- Jad Fair - guitar, harmonica, vocals
- David Fair - guitar, harmonica, vocals
- Don Fleming - guitar, vocals[8]
- John Dreyfuss - organ, saxophone
- Rick Dreyfuss - composer
- Mark Jickling - bass guitar, guitar
- John Moremen - guitar
- Jay Spiegel - drums
- Don Zientara - engineer, mixing
References
- "Strange but True". www.austinchronicle.com.
- "Charmed Life - Half Japanese | Songs, Reviews, Credits | AllMusic" – via www.allmusic.com.
- "Robert Christgau: CG: Half Japanese". www.robertchristgau.com.
- "Half Japanese: Music to Strip By/Charmed Life/The Band That Would Be King". Pitchfork.
- Spin Alternative Record Guide. Vintage Books. 1995. p. 174.
- Buckley, Peter (August 8, 2003). The Rough Guide to Rock. Rough Guides. ISBN 9781843531050 – via Google Books.
- "The Quietus | Reviews | Half Japanese". The Quietus.
- "Half Japanese". Trouser Press. Retrieved 8 August 2020.
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