Whatever (Aimee Mann album)

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Whatever
Studio album by
Aimee Mann
ReleasedMay 11, 1993
StudioQ Division, Capitol Studios, Clubhouse, Blue Jay, Bearsville, Zeitgeist, Sunset Sound, Presence
GenrePop, rock
Length52:14
LabelImago Records (original release); Geffen (reissue)
Producer
Aimee Mann chronology
Whatever
(1993) 		I'm with Stupid
(1995)

Whatever is the first solo album by the American singer-songwriter Aimee Mann, released in 1993.

"I've Had It" is one of the songs featured in Nick Hornby's book 31 Songs. The album, with special note for the song "4th of July", was included by Elvis Costello in his "Costello's 500" list for Vanity Fair.[1] It has also been included in the 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die list.[2]

Reception[edit]

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[3]
The Buffalo News[4]
Chicago Tribune[5]
Encyclopedia of Popular Music[6]
Entertainment WeeklyA[7]
Los Angeles Times[8]
Orlando Sentinel[9]
Q[10]
Rolling Stone[11]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide[12]

Whatever received mostly positive reviews from critics. Most praised her sense of melody and the wordplay of her lyrics, exemplified by Entertainment Weekly in "hooky songs" and "evocative lyrics".[7] The Los Angeles Times reflected this by saying she "mixes words like a master, catching lifetimes of ache and Angst" in her songs[8] while the Chicago Tribune compared her to Elvis Costello.[5] Rolling Stone cited her music as "sunny, surreal melodies" with "razor-sharp lyrics".[11] The Independent's Andy Gill highly recommended the album, concluding that "it's the tension between Mann's disarmingly direct, conversational lyric style and the complexity of her musical design that gives Whatever its peculiar charge."[13] On the other hand, Robert Christgau only cited "Mr. Harris" as a "choice cut", finding nothing else to say about it.[14]

The album was included in the book 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die[15] and in Pitchfork's "150 Best Albums of the 1990s."[16]

Commercial performance[edit]

As of February 2001, combined sales for two releases of Whatever stand at 170,000 copies sold in United States.[17]

Track listing[edit]

Original release[edit]

All tracks by Aimee Mann, except where noted.

  1. "I Should've Known" – 4:53
  2. "Fifty Years After the Fair" – 3:46
  3. "4th of July" – 3:21
  4. "Could've Been Anyone" (Lyrics by Mann, Music by Mann, Jules Shear, Marty Willson-Piper) – 4:23
  5. "Put Me on Top" – 3:28
  6. "Stupid Thing" (Mann, Jon Brion) – 4:27
  7. "Say Anything" (Mann, Jon Brion) – 4:57
  8. "Jacob Marley's Chain" – 3:01
  9. "Mr. Harris" – 4:05
  10. "I Could Hurt You Now" – 4:17
  11. "I Know There's a Word" (Mann, Jon Brion) – 3:16
  12. "I've Had It" – 4:42
  13. "Way Back When" – 4:05
  14. "Nothing" – 0:09

Whatever – An Exclusive Collection[edit]

In 1994, BMG Records in Germany released a limited edition Whatever – An Exclusive Collection. This featured a second CD containing previously released B-sides. The cover of the CD was unchanged, there just being a sticker announcing the bonus material. It appears that Aimee was unaware of this release until it was mentioned in the message forum at her website in 2004, her management calling it a bootleg before it being confirmed as an official release.[18]

Contents of the second disc:

  1. "Jimmy Hoffa Jokes"
  2. "4th of July" (live for Virgin 1215)
  3. "Say Anything" (acoustic)
  4. "Baby Blue"
  5. "Truth on My Side" (demo, 1989)
  6. "Fifty Years After the Fair" (demo, 1989)
  7. "Put on Some Speed" (demo, 1989)
  8. "Stupid Thing" (live)
  9. "The Other End (Of the Telescope)" (live)

Personnel[edit]

  • Aimee Mann – vocals (all songs), electric guitar (1), bass (1–3, 5, 6, 10, 11), Dixie cup (1), acoustic guitar (3, 13), pump organ (4), Mellotron (5), percussion (7), lo-fi acoustic guitar (10), nylon-string guitar (12)
  • Michael Hausman – drums (3, 10, 13), percussion (4), orchestral percussion (8), bass drum (12), tongue drum (12), congas (12), cymbals (12)
  • Jim Keltner – drums (2, 5, 6)
  • Milt Sutton – drums (7)
  • Jon Brion – drums (1, 4, 11), bass (1, 4, 7, 13), electric guitar (1, 2, 5–7, 10, 12, 13), pump organ (1, 6, 8), Mellotron (1, 3, 4, 5, 7, 8, 10), Chamberlain (1, 4, 6, 8), vocals (1, 2, 4, 5, 7, 10, 13), Optigan (2, 4, 6, 12, 13), glockenspiel (2, 4, 10), tambourine (2, 10), vibraphone (3, 4), guitar (4), piano (4, 6, 7, 9, 10, 12, 13), harmonium (6, 8), acoustic guitar (7), acoustic bass (8), kazoo (8), woodwind arrangement (9), Hammond organ (10, 13), Indian harmonium (10), bass harmonica (10, 12), keyboards (11), cottage organ (12), B-3 organ (12), Wurlitzer organ (12), celesta (12), tack piano (12), piccolo flute (12), bottles (12), turtle guitar (13), toy piano (13), marimba (13), pipes (13)
  • Buddy Judge – vocals (1, 10–13), acoustic guitar (5, 6, 8, 11, 13), hi-fi acoustic guitar (10), bottles (12), pipes (13)
  • Todd Nelson – intro guitar (1)
  • Randy Brion – euphonium (9), trombone (13)
  • Mike Breaux – oboe (9), bassoon (12)
  • Roger McGuinn – 12-string electric guitar (2), vocals (2)
  • David Coleman – electric cello (10)
  • The Sid Sharp Strings - Sid Sharp (9, 11), Joy Lyle (9, 11), Harry Shirinian (9, 11), Harry Shultz (9, 11)
  • Jimmie Haskell - string arrangement (9)

Charts[edit]

Weekly charts[edit]

Source[19]
Year Chart Position
1993 Heatseekers 3
1993 Billboard 200 127

Singles[edit]

Year Single Chart Position
1993 "I Should've Known" Modern Rock Tracks[20] 16

References[edit]

  1. ^ Costello, Elvis (November 2000). "Costello's 500". Vanity Fair (483): 158–164. Posted at "Vanity Fair 2000-11-01". elviscostello.info. Archived from the original on May 25, 2011. Retrieved 21 November 2011.
  2. ^ "1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die". 1001beforeyoudie.com. Cassell Illustrated. 2014. Retrieved 18 February 2015.
  3. ^ McCartney, Kelly. "Whatever – Aimee Mann". AllMusic. Retrieved October 11, 2004.
  4. ^ "Voices of Youth". The Buffalo News. May 28, 1993. Retrieved December 21, 2018.
  5. ^ a b Caro, Mark (June 3, 1993). "Aimee Mann: Whatever (Imago)". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved November 21, 2011.
  6. ^ Larkin, Colin (2011). The Encyclopedia of Popular Music (5th concise ed.). Omnibus Press. ISBN 978-0-85712-595-8.
  7. ^ a b Sinclair, Tom (May 14, 1993). "Whatever". Entertainment Weekly (170). Retrieved August 11, 2007.
  8. ^ a b Rosenbluth, Jean (May 23, 1993). "Record Rack: Adult True Confessions". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved July 6, 2013.
  9. ^ Gettelman, Parry (July 23, 1993). "Aimee Mann". Orlando Sentinel. Retrieved September 15, 2018.
  10. ^ "Aimee Mann: Whatever". Q (84): 86. September 1993.
  11. ^ a b Manning, Kara (August 5, 1993). "Aimee Mann: Whatever". Rolling Stone (662): 68. Archived from the original on December 5, 2007. Retrieved July 6, 2013.
  12. ^ Randall, Mac (2004). "Aimee Mann". In Brackett, Nathan; Hoard, Christian (eds.). The New Rolling Stone Album Guide (4th ed.). Simon & Schuster. pp. 511–12. ISBN 0-7432-0169-8.
  13. ^ Gill, Andy (August 26, 1993). "Records: Aimee Mann Whatever". The Independent. London. p. 19. Posted at "The Independent – August 26, 1993". aimeemaninprint.com. Retrieved 21 November 2011.
  14. ^ Christgau, Robert (March 1, 1994). "Consumer Guide". The Village Voice. Retrieved November 7, 2011.
  15. ^ Robert Dimery; Michael Lydon (23 March 2010). 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die: Revised and Updated Edition. Universe. ISBN 978-0-7893-2074-2.
  16. ^ https://pitchfork.com/features/lists-and-guides/the-best-albums-of-the-1990s/
  17. ^ Wiltz, Teresa (18 February 2001). "Her Own Mann: Independent-Minded Singer Sheds Labels". The Washington Post. Retrieved 6 March 2019.
  18. ^ "Aimee Mann Message Board – Powered by XMB 1.8 Partagium Final SP2". Aimeemann.com. Archived from the original on 2012-02-20. Retrieved 2012-03-14.
  19. ^ Whatever – Aimee Mann > Charts & Awards > Billboard Albums at AllMusic. Retrieved 27 July 2005.
  20. ^ Whatever – Aimee Mann > Charts & Awards > Billboard Singles at AllMusic. Retrieved 27 July 2005.
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