A Worm's Life
Encyclopedia
A Worm's Life is the third album by Crash Test Dummies
, released in 1996. It came after their successful album, God Shuffled His Feet
.
, frontman Brad Roberts
spent considerable time traveling abroad, relocating to London
, England
at the time to escape the pressures of fame and celebrity where, because they didn't get MTV Europe
, no one recognized him there "except German and Italian tourists."
During his travels, Roberts began penning new material. Though he briefly visited New York City
, most of the material he had written was outside North America
, including one notable stay in Prague
, Czech Republic
. Finally, after having compiled much written material, Roberts reconvened with the rest of the band at Compass Point Studios
in The Bahamas
in the winter of 1995 to begin recording the follow-up to God Shuffled His Feet.
As a departure from the recording sessions of their first two records, the band decided to self-produce A Worm's Life. Pursuing a more guitar-heavy sound, the band drafted acclaimed music producer and recording engineer Terry Manning
(known notably for his work with ZZ Top
) to engineer the record. The band's producer, Jeff Rogers, noted: "Terry has got a guitar collection to rival Randy Bachman's. And Brad got to play every one of them on the record."
Roberts had claimed on record that A Worm's Life "does go a little further than the other ones in terms of odd melodies, wacky key signatures, and chord changes." while continuing to adopt a lyrical approach that looks "at simple things in unusual ways rather than the other way around."
Originally "Overachievers" was planned as the album's lead single (then titled "The Over-Achievers"), with the band's producer Jeff Rogers even noting at the time that the band had contacted three different directors for music video concepts to complement that track's release. However, "He Liked to Feel It
" would later replace "Overachievers" as the lead single as the album's release date drew closer.
"He Liked to Feel It" proved to be a hit in the band's native Canada, becoming their highest-peaking career single at #2 on the Canadian singles chart. Despite the single's success domestically, "He Liked to Feel It" made minimal chart impact abroad, perhaps due to controversy surrounding the track's music video hindering its promotional efforts. A second single, "My Own Sunrise
", would follow in January 1997, becoming a minor hit for the band, with "My Enemies" following as the album's third and final single later that year, also making limited impact.
A Worm's Life enjoyed strong initial sales in Canada; achieving a platinum certification less than one month after its release date. However, the album sold disappointingly elsewhere, and would have a considerably shorter chart life compared to its predecessor God Shuffled His Feet in Canada.
.
Crash Test Dummies
The Crash Test Dummies is a Canadian folk rock/alternative rock band from Winnipeg, Manitoba, widely known for their 1993 single "Mmm Mmm Mmm Mmm".The band is most identifiable through Brad Roberts and his distinctive bass-baritone voice...
, released in 1996. It came after their successful album, God Shuffled His Feet
God Shuffled His Feet
The album was the band's biggest mainstream hit. Allmusic writer Stephen Thomas Erlewine, who gave it 4½ out of 5 stars, attributes the album's success to "Jerry Harrison's remarkably clear and focused production" and that "apart from the relatively concise pop smarts of the singles "Mmm Mmm Mmm...
.
Background
After the band finished touring their hit album God Shuffled His FeetGod Shuffled His Feet
The album was the band's biggest mainstream hit. Allmusic writer Stephen Thomas Erlewine, who gave it 4½ out of 5 stars, attributes the album's success to "Jerry Harrison's remarkably clear and focused production" and that "apart from the relatively concise pop smarts of the singles "Mmm Mmm Mmm...
, frontman Brad Roberts
Brad Roberts
Bradley Kenneth "Brad" Roberts is the lead singer and guitarist for the Canadian folk-rock band Crash Test Dummies. He sings in the bass-baritone range.-Career:...
spent considerable time traveling abroad, relocating to London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
at the time to escape the pressures of fame and celebrity where, because they didn't get MTV Europe
MTV Europe
MTV Europe is a pan-European 24-hour entertainment cable and digital television network launched on August 1, 1987. Initially, the channel served all regions within Europe being one of the very few channels that targeted the entire European continent...
, no one recognized him there "except German and Italian tourists."
During his travels, Roberts began penning new material. Though he briefly visited New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
, most of the material he had written was outside North America
North America
North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
, including one notable stay in Prague
Prague
Prague is the capital and largest city of the Czech Republic. Situated in the north-west of the country on the Vltava river, the city is home to about 1.3 million people, while its metropolitan area is estimated to have a population of over 2.3 million...
, Czech Republic
Czech Republic
The Czech Republic is a landlocked country in Central Europe. The country is bordered by Poland to the northeast, Slovakia to the east, Austria to the south, and Germany to the west and northwest....
. Finally, after having compiled much written material, Roberts reconvened with the rest of the band at Compass Point Studios
Compass Point Studios
Compass Point Studios were founded in 1977 by Chris Blackwell, the owner of Island Records.In the late 1970s and mid-1980s, many musical artists from across the world came to the Bahamas to record music at its facilities. Many producers, including Chris Blackwell himself, used the studio to produce...
in The Bahamas
The Bahamas
The Bahamas , officially the Commonwealth of the Bahamas, is a nation consisting of 29 islands, 661 cays, and 2,387 islets . It is located in the Atlantic Ocean north of Cuba and Hispaniola , northwest of the Turks and Caicos Islands, and southeast of the United States...
in the winter of 1995 to begin recording the follow-up to God Shuffled His Feet.
As a departure from the recording sessions of their first two records, the band decided to self-produce A Worm's Life. Pursuing a more guitar-heavy sound, the band drafted acclaimed music producer and recording engineer Terry Manning
Terry Manning
Terry Manning is a music producer, songwriter, photographer and recording engineer known for work in rock, rhythm and blues, and pop music genres....
(known notably for his work with ZZ Top
ZZ Top
ZZ Top is an American rock band, sometimes referred to as "That Little Ol' Band from Texas". Their style, which is rooted in blues-based boogie rock, has come to incorporate elements of arena, southern, and boogie rock. The band, from Houston Texas, formed in 1969...
) to engineer the record. The band's producer, Jeff Rogers, noted: "Terry has got a guitar collection to rival Randy Bachman's. And Brad got to play every one of them on the record."
Roberts had claimed on record that A Worm's Life "does go a little further than the other ones in terms of odd melodies, wacky key signatures, and chord changes." while continuing to adopt a lyrical approach that looks "at simple things in unusual ways rather than the other way around."
Release
The album was originally planned for release on August 28, 1996. However, the release date would later be moved back to October 2, 1996, with BMG Canada citing the need for "more set-up time".Originally "Overachievers" was planned as the album's lead single (then titled "The Over-Achievers"), with the band's producer Jeff Rogers even noting at the time that the band had contacted three different directors for music video concepts to complement that track's release. However, "He Liked to Feel It
He Liked To Feel It
"He Liked to Feel It" is a song by Canadian group Crash Test Dummies and was the first single from their 1996 album A Worm's Life. The song and subsequent video generated some controversy for the band due to the subject matter about a boy, who experimented with different ways of pulling out his...
" would later replace "Overachievers" as the lead single as the album's release date drew closer.
"He Liked to Feel It" proved to be a hit in the band's native Canada, becoming their highest-peaking career single at #2 on the Canadian singles chart. Despite the single's success domestically, "He Liked to Feel It" made minimal chart impact abroad, perhaps due to controversy surrounding the track's music video hindering its promotional efforts. A second single, "My Own Sunrise
My Own Sunrise
"My Own Sunrise" is a song by Canadian group Crash Test Dummies and was the second and last single from their 1996 album A Worm's Life.-Music video:...
", would follow in January 1997, becoming a minor hit for the band, with "My Enemies" following as the album's third and final single later that year, also making limited impact.
A Worm's Life enjoyed strong initial sales in Canada; achieving a platinum certification less than one month after its release date. However, the album sold disappointingly elsewhere, and would have a considerably shorter chart life compared to its predecessor God Shuffled His Feet in Canada.
Track listing
All songs by Brad RobertsBrad Roberts
Bradley Kenneth "Brad" Roberts is the lead singer and guitarist for the Canadian folk-rock band Crash Test Dummies. He sings in the bass-baritone range.-Career:...
.
- "Overachievers"-3:44
- "He Liked to Feel ItHe Liked To Feel It"He Liked to Feel It" is a song by Canadian group Crash Test Dummies and was the first single from their 1996 album A Worm's Life. The song and subsequent video generated some controversy for the band due to the subject matter about a boy, who experimented with different ways of pulling out his...
"-3:55 - "A Worm's Life"-2:56
- "Our Driver Gestures"-3:36
- "My Enemies"-3:14
- "There Are Many Dangers"-3:44
- "I'm Outlived by That Thing?"-3:15
- "All of This Ugly"-3:19
- "An Old Scab"-3:50
- "My Own SunriseMy Own Sunrise"My Own Sunrise" is a song by Canadian group Crash Test Dummies and was the second and last single from their 1996 album A Worm's Life.-Music video:...
"-3:35 - "I'm a Dog"-3:47
- "Swatting Flies"-2:51
Personnel
- Brad RobertsBrad RobertsBradley Kenneth "Brad" Roberts is the lead singer and guitarist for the Canadian folk-rock band Crash Test Dummies. He sings in the bass-baritone range.-Career:...
– lead vocals, guitarGuitarThe guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
s - Ellen ReidEllen ReidEllen Reid provides backing vocals, piano, keyboards and accordion for the Canadian rock band Crash Test Dummies....
– back-up vocals, pianoPianoThe piano is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. It is one of the most popular instruments in the world. Widely used in classical and jazz music for solo performances, ensemble use, chamber music and accompaniment, the piano is also very popular as an aid to composing and rehearsal...
, keyboardsKeyboard instrumentA keyboard instrument is a musical instrument which is played using a musical keyboard. The most common of these is the piano. Other widely used keyboard instruments include organs of various types as well as other mechanical, electromechanical and electronic instruments... - Benjamin DarvillBenjamin DarvillBenjamin Darvill , known by his stage name Son of Dave, is a Canadian musician and singer–songwriter, based in the United Kingdom. He was a member of folk rock band Crash Test Dummies in which he played harmonica, mandolin, guitar and percussion before going solo in 2000.SOD was born in Winnipeg,...
– harmonicaHarmonicaThe harmonica, also called harp, French harp, blues harp, and mouth organ, is a free reed wind instrument used primarily in blues and American folk music, jazz, country, and rock and roll. It is played by blowing air into it or drawing air out by placing lips over individual holes or multiple holes...
, melodicaMelodicaThe melodica, also known as the "blow-organ" or "key-flute", is a free-reed instrument similar to the melodeon and harmonica. It has a musical keyboard on top, and is played by blowing air through a mouthpiece that fits into a hole in the side of the instrument. Pressing a key opens a hole,...
, thereminThereminThe theremin , originally known as the aetherphone/etherophone, thereminophone or termenvox/thereminvox is an early electronic musical instrument controlled without discernible physical contact from the player. It is named after its Russian inventor, Professor Léon Theremin, who patented the device... - Dan RobertsDan RobertsDan Roberts is the bassist for the Canadian rock band, Crash Test Dummies, and brother of their lead singer, Brad Roberts.-Biography:...
– bass guitarBass guitarThe bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
s, synth bass - Mitch DorgeMitch DorgeMitch Dorge is a Canadian drummer, composer and record producer.-Biography:...
– drumDrumThe drum is a member of the percussion group of musical instruments, which is technically classified as the membranophones. Drums consist of at least one membrane, called a drumhead or drum skin, that is stretched over a shell and struck, either directly with the player's hands, or with a...
s, percussionPercussion instrumentA percussion instrument is any object which produces a sound when hit with an implement or when it is shaken, rubbed, scraped, or otherwise acted upon in a way that sets the object into vibration...
, digitalDigitalA digital system is a data technology that uses discrete values. By contrast, non-digital systems use a continuous range of values to represent information...
stuff - Murray Pulver – electric guitarElectric guitarAn electric guitar is a guitar that uses the principle of direct electromagnetic induction to convert vibrations of its metal strings into electric audio signals. The signal generated by an electric guitar is too weak to drive a loudspeaker, so it is amplified before sending it to a loudspeaker...
solos on I'm a Dog and All of This Ugly, additional guitars - Simon Franglen – stringStrings (music)A string is the vibrating element that produces sound in string instruments, such as the guitar, harp, piano, and members of the violin family. Strings are lengths of a flexible material kept under tension so that they may vibrate freely, but controllably. Strings may be "plain"...
and hornHorn (instrument)The horn is a brass instrument consisting of about of tubing wrapped into a coil with a flared bell. A musician who plays the horn is called a horn player ....
arrangements on My Own Sunrise
- Terry ManningTerry ManningTerry Manning is a music producer, songwriter, photographer and recording engineer known for work in rock, rhythm and blues, and pop music genres....
– Recording Engineer