Greenland (Remastered 20th Anniversary Edition) Cracker

• 1 Something You Ain't Got 05:17
• 2 Maggie 03:43
• 3 Where Have Those Days Gone? 04:13
• 4 Fluffy Lucy 03:24
• 5 The Riverside 04:21
• 6 Gimme One More Chance 04:15
• 7 I'm So Glad She Ain't Never Coming Back 01:54
• 8 Sidi Ifni 06:05
• 9 I Need Better Friends 03:49
• 10 Minotaur 04:28
• 11 Night Falls 05:25
• 12 I Know Your Sister She's Big In Japan 02:38
• 13 Better Times Are Coming Our Way 05:01
• 14 Everybody Gets One For Free 06:44
• 15 Darling We're Out Of Time 04:31
• Total Runtime 01:05:48

Info for Greenland (Remastered 20th Anniversary Edition)

With this anniversary edition, the seventh studio album by the American alternative rock band—originally released in 2006—is being issued as a high-resolution remaster for the first time.

For the seventh studio album by his band Cracker, singer-songwriter David Lowery set out to do something special—something that challenged his own self-perception as a musician while simultaneously signaling a shift in direction for the band, now 15 years into its career. "I reached a point where I asked myself if I even wanted to keep making music," Lowery explains, "and this album is the answer to that." It is the best possible answer. The irreverent, self-deprecating tone gave way to a more serious—at times even somber—gravity, which in turn provided a significant boost to Lowery’s songwriting. The album tells a story, with every song occupying its own essential place. To put it another way: "Greenland" begins with a bottle of Scotch and ends with a final, bitter sip of wine. Contributors to the project include David Immergluck (Counting Crows) and Mark Linkous (Sparklehorse), among others.

"Cracker's Greenland never specifically references that isolated island in the North Atlantic, but there's an aura of loneliness coursing through even its brightest songs that is perfectly in keeping with the record's namesake. Listening to Greenland is like booking passage into David Lowery's past, with ports of call in his old northern California Camper Van Beethoven stomping grounds, the British Isles, Spain, India, Morocco, and even Jamaica. Greenland is quite a trip, in other words, and Cracker's strongest record since their early-'90s high point, Kerosene Hat -- the antiquey cover art even seems culled from the same vintage thrift-store bins that provided Kerosene Hat's artwork. "Something You Ain't Got" opens Greenland with organ swells, barroom piano, High Plains lap steel, and guest harmonies from Caitlin Cary -- it's a reminder that Lowery has always excelled at these elegiac country-rockers. "Where Have Those Days Gone" is a propulsive road song that picks up momentum as it runs through Lowery's past. Lauren Hoffman's harmonies and B-3 make the choruses soar, and a memorable bridge contrasting cascading piano with Victor Krummenacher's high-octave basslines leads the song to the same resigned but redeemed destination as the cheekier "I Need Better Friends." The record's gentlest laments, "Fluffy Lucy" and "Night Falls," sound like outtakes from Sparklehorse's It's a Wonderful Life, which is not surprising since Lowery's occasional collaborator Mark Linkous plays on and co-produces both.

The record takes a more exotic turn with the tabla-and-sitar feel that infuses the brief "I'm So Glad She Ain't Never Coming Back," which is what a country weeper written in New Delhi might sound like. Greenland's centerpiece is "Sidi Ifni," a trance-inducing half-raga/half-blues with an epic widescreen feel courtesy of thick organ swirls, acres of reverb guitar, and a blissfully disorienting crescendo midway through. Lowery wanders on a six-minute journey through the empty alleys, deserted souks, and abandoned consulates of a crumbling seaside town that was the last outpost of the Spanish before Moroccan independence. Images of "lethargy, decay, and forgotten loves" match the song's hypnotic downward pull, and the closing stanza ranks with Lowery's finest writing. "I drink gin with the old expats/We are broken things/From a broken past/And it comes near/But just out of grasp/The alchemist words/That would bring her back." Taken together, the imagery and hallucinatory sonics would make "Sidi Ifni" the perfect soundtrack for one of Paul Bowles' sinister North African stories. But the audio passage to foreign locales doesn't end there. Another of Greenland's many pleasant surprises is "Better Times Are Coming Our Way," a slice of syncopated white-boy reggae with infectious dub echoes not heard since Joe Strummer retired to the great reggae hall in the sky.

Yet even when Cracker indulge their hard rock inclinations -- which is where their previous records often suffered -- Greenland's rockers benefit from well-placed, similarly exotic accents and/or dynamic shifts. "Riverside" has enough of these -- staccato acoustic strums, keening Casio -- to keep the song interesting; "Minotaur" alternates between spacy blues and choruses built on stampeding riffs; and "Gimme One More Chance" pulses with menace and leads to a towering Johnny Hickman solo. Even what normally might constitute a silly throwaway, like the penultimate "Everybody Gets One for Free," is a Stonesy rocker with Billy Preston-like organ that bristles with energy and features Lowery's Dr. Seuss/nonsense lyrics, "I was driving in my car/It was filled up with yams/For no obvious reason/That's just who I am." By the time the country-tinged disc-ender "Darling We're Out of Time" runs its mournful course, there's a sense that Cracker have delivered their most honest and emotionally compelling record, and quite possibly their best." (John Schacht, AMG)

David Lowery, vocals, guitars
Johnny Hickman, guitars, vocals
Frank Funaro, drums, percussion
Kenny Margolis, keyboards, piano, accordion
Victor Krummenacher, bass

Digitally remastered

Please Note: We offer this album in its native sampling rate of 48kHz, 24-bit. The provided 96kHz version was up-sampled and offers no audible value!

Cracker
An American alternative rock band, formed in 1990 in Redlands, California, by singer David Lowery and guitarist Johnny Hickman. Lowery had previously been the lead singer of the band Camper Van Beethoven.

He and Hickman settled in Richmond, Virginia, where they recorded a demo tape—later dubbed the "Big Dirty Yellow Demos" by fans. It was only then that they gave their musical project the name Cracker.

They brought in additional musicians, including Davey Faragher (bass) and Greg Weatherford (drums). Weatherford did not stay long; by the time recording began for their self-titled debut album, *Cracker* (Virgin, 1992), he was no longer with the group. Consequently, the band enlisted drummers such as Rick Jaeger and Jim Keltner, alongside other guest musicians, for the studio sessions.

The album sold over 200,000 copies and featured two minor hit singles. By the time they recorded their second album, *Kerosene Hat* (Virgin, 1993), the band had secured a permanent drummer in Michael Urbano.

That album sold over half a million copies and reached number 59 on the Billboard 200 chart. Following this commercial success, the label released a compilation titled *The Virgin Years* (Virgin, 1994), which included songs from both Camper Van Beethoven and Cracker.

"Bob's Car" (Virgin, 1995) was released primarily for fans. For the recording of their third album, "The Golden Age" (Virgin, 1996), Lowery and Hickman brought two new members into the band—Bob Rupe (electric bass, synth, vocals) and Charlie Quintana (drums)—after Faragher and Urbano threw in the towel.

The album, which featured contributions from many additional musicians, climbed to number 63 on the Billboard 200. Its successor, "Gentleman's Blues" (Virgin, 1998), only managed to reach number 182. By this time, Frank Funaro had joined as the new drummer. It was their final album for Virgin.

As a parting gesture, the label released a compilation titled "Garage D'Or" (Virgin, 2000). A double-CD version included live songs, demo tracks, and outtakes on the second disc. Meanwhile, Camper Van Beethoven had unexpectedly reunited in 1999, keeping Lowery occupied there for the time being.

Nevertheless, a new Cracker studio album, "Forever" (Back Porch, 2001), was released, featuring a lineup of David Lowery (vocals, guitar, keyboards, electric bass), Johnny Hickman (guitar, vocals, percussion), Kenny Margolis (keyboards, accordion, vocals), Brandy Wood (electric bass, vocals), and Frank Funaro (drums, percussion, vocals).

That same year, the live album "Flash Your Sirens" (Pitch-A-Tent, 2001) was released under the moniker "The Cracker Traveling Apothecary Show And Revue and Ex-Members Of Camper Van Beethoven!" Live recordings by Cracker—captured back in 1999—were released under the title "Hello, Cleveland! (Live From The Metro)" (Cooking Vinyl, 2002).

A collaborative recording with the bluegrass/jam band Leftover Salmon was released under the title "O' Cracker Where Art Thou?" (Pitch-A-Tent, 2003). "Countrysides" (Cooking Vinyl, 2003) was a Cracker-only album, recorded by Lowery and Hickman alongside Wood and Funaro.

This album consisted primarily of cover songs—the same material the band had performed during a previous tour under the name "Ironic Mullet." "We Don't Suck Live: Live At Wavefest" (Pitch-A-Tent, 2005) featured live recordings from 1998.

"Greatest Hits Redux" (Cooking Vinyl, 2006) was a collection of well-known Cracker songs, re-recorded for the release. The compilation "Get On With It: The Best Of Cracker" (Virgin, 2006) was released on the same day. "Greenland" (Cooking Vinyl, 2006) contained new material and featured Victor Krummenacher—of Camper Van Beethoven—as the band's new bassist.

The CD "Berlin" (Pitch-A-Tent, 2007) was sold at concerts. Sal Maida served as the new bassist on the subsequent studio album, "Sunrise In The Land Of Milk And Honey" (429 Records, 2009). "Live At The Rockpalast Crossroads-Festival" (Blue Rose, 2010) was released as a double CD accompanied by a DVD.

The set consisted of live recordings captured in Germany. Several years passed before the release of the next studio album, the double CD "Berkeley To Bakersfield" (429 Records, 2014). Part of this album was recorded with the rhythm section of Davey Faragher (electric bass) and Michael Urbano (drums).

Since then, the only other releases have been "Live In Madrid" (Pitch-A-Tent, 2022) and "Bingo! Live In The Inland Empire" (2023), both featuring live recordings from that period. The compilation "Alternative History: A Cracker Retrospective" (Cooking Vinyl, 2024) was released as a three-LP or two-CD set. (Source: compendium-musicum.com)

This album contains no booklet.