American Music Club - Everclear

Put simply, Everclear is American Music Club's masterpiece. Benefiting immensely from improved production values, the album crystallizes the band's often erratic vision into a unified, endlessly complex whole. While the arrangements are typically diffuse -- "Crabwalk" is shambling rockabilly, "Royal Cafe" is sweet country-pop, and "Rise" is anthemic alt-rock -- there is a consistency of tone and a sense of place that runs through these songs that is absent from the band's other records. Similarly, Mark Eitzel's compositions achieve an uncommon emotional balance, never once slipping into pathos or melodrama; the atmospheric "Miracle on 8th Street" and "The Confidential Agent" offer cinéma vérité evocations of relationships at the breaking point, while the brute force of alcoholic laments like "Sick of Food" or the funereal "Why Won't You Stay" is staggering -- never before or since has this loser been quite so beautiful. ~ Jason Ankeny, All Music Guide

Name Credits Beth Herzhaft Photography Bob Ludwig Mastering Bruce Kaphan Pedal Steel, Bass, Engineer, Percussion, Dulcimer, Lap Steel Guitar, Dobro, Guitar (Steel), Mixing, Keyboards, Producer, Guitar Dan Pearson Banjo, Bass, Dulcimer, Vocals, Mandolin, Guitar Frank Wiedemann Design Jean Lowe Paintings Joe Chiccarelli Mixing Kyle Johnson Engineer, Second Engineer Mark Eitzel Vocals, Keyboards, Guitar Mike Simms Drums Norman Kerner Engineer, Producer Tom Carr Engineer Vudi Accordion, Bass, Guitar