Fruitcake (Eraserheads album)
Encyclopedia
Fruitcake is the fourth commercial album and the only concept album
of the Eraserheads
, released in 1996 by Sony BMG Music Philippines Inc. (Formerly BMG Records Pilipinas, Inc.). It is also the official Christmas album and accompanied by a separate storybook, also called Fruitcake, and can be categorized as a musical itself. To date, there has only been one theater musical adaptation of it - the Eraserheads' Fruitcake Musical 2010.
The release of Fruitcake is preceded by the release of a limited cassette EP version (which was later released as CD), also called Fruitcake. The cassette/cd single version contains three songs, including a different version of the song Fruitcake and another song called Christmas Alphabet which is not found in the official Fruitcake album.
Unlike the other albums, Fruitcake is an all-English one and that not a single word in Tagalog
is used which is pretty unusual for a band from the Philippines. The album is also the longest in terms of duration, lasting 73 minutes.
Concept album
In music, a concept album is an album that is "unified by a theme, which can be instrumental, compositional, narrative, or lyrical." Commonly, concept albums tend to incorporate preconceived musical or lyrical ideas rather than being improvised or composed in the studio, with all songs contributing...
of the Eraserheads
The Eraserheads
Eraserheads, or E-Heads was a Filipino rock band of the 90s, formed by Ely Buendia, Raimund Marasigan, Buddy Zabala and Marcus Adoro. The band is one of the most successful, critically acclaimed, and significant bands in the history of OPM...
, released in 1996 by Sony BMG Music Philippines Inc. (Formerly BMG Records Pilipinas, Inc.). It is also the official Christmas album and accompanied by a separate storybook, also called Fruitcake, and can be categorized as a musical itself. To date, there has only been one theater musical adaptation of it - the Eraserheads' Fruitcake Musical 2010.
The release of Fruitcake is preceded by the release of a limited cassette EP version (which was later released as CD), also called Fruitcake. The cassette/cd single version contains three songs, including a different version of the song Fruitcake and another song called Christmas Alphabet which is not found in the official Fruitcake album.
Unlike the other albums, Fruitcake is an all-English one and that not a single word in Tagalog
Tagalog language
Tagalog is an Austronesian language spoken as a first language by a third of the population of the Philippines and as a second language by most of the rest. It is the first language of the Philippine region IV and of Metro Manila...
is used which is pretty unusual for a band from the Philippines. The album is also the longest in terms of duration, lasting 73 minutes.
Track listing
| Title | Length/Notes |
|---|---|
| 1. Fruitcake | 5:00 The song starts with the album's final track played in reversed. Fruitcake comes in two versions; the album version and the standard version. The standard version, which is slightly shorter, is what's used in the band's compilations, radio broadcasts, and videoke entrees, |
| 2. Shadow | 2:37 |
| 3. Flat Tire | 4:10 |
| 4. Shadow Boxes Accountants | 1:02 Piano instrumental by Buddy Zabala. |
| 5. Gatekeeper | 2:43 |
| 6. Old Fashioned Christmas Carol | 4:39 Some lyrics borrowed from Silver Bells, Jingle Bells, The Little Drummer Boy, Joy To The World, Silent Night, Whispering Hope and Rudolph the Red-nosed Reideer. |
| 7. Styrosnow | 2:15 |
| 8. Trip to Jerusalem | 6:15 In Philippine culture, "Trip to Jerusalem" is a game similar to musical chairs, where players dance along to a background music, while spinning around a set of chairs. The numbers of the chairs are fewer than the players. When the music is paused, the players rush to sit, and the one left standing loses and is removed from the game. Every time a player loses, a chair is removed. This song has a music video. |
| 9. Shadow Reads The News Today, Oh Boy | 0:27 Second piano solo by Zabala. |
| 10. Fruit Fairy | 2:49 |
| 11. The Fabulous Baker Boy | 5:00 |
| 12. Lord Of The Rhum | 4:02 The title is probably a parody of Lord of the Rings. |
| 13. Lightyears | 4:18 The words "north of nowhere" and "south of somewhere" in the lyrics are the names for the sides of the album's cassette Compact Cassette The Compact Cassette, often referred to as audio cassette, cassette tape, cassette, or simply tape, is a magnetic tape sound recording format. It was designed originally for dictation, but improvements in fidelity led the Compact Cassette to supplant the Stereo 8-track cartridge and reel-to-reel... form. |
| 14. Christmas Ball | 3:19 |
| 15. Mono Virus | 4:28 |
| 16. shadow@buttholesurfs.com | 1:05 Third and last piano solo by Zabala. |
| 17. Rise and Shine | 3:32 |
| 18. Santa Ain't Comin' No Mo' | 2:53 The idea of using "mo'" instead of "more" was probably inspired by It Ain't Gonna Rain No Mo' It Ain't Gonna Rain No Mo' "It Ain’t Gonna Rain No Mo’" is the title of a novelty song that is entirely the creation of the "Red-Headed Music Maker", guitarist and vocalist Wendell Woods Hall . Much like that other major, much-quoted song of the early 1920s, Yes! We Have No Bananas, the novelty, vaudeville aspect of "It... , a 1930s American song. |
| 19. Christmas Party | 4:04 |
| 20. Hitchin' A Ride | 3:38 Contains a slight sample of Fruitcake near the end. |
| 21. Christmas Morning | 4:07 |
| 22. Merry Christmas Everybody, Happy New Year Too | 0:57 The album's closing. Its title is also the chorus of the sixth track. |