Heads Are Gonna Roll
Encyclopedia
Heads Are Gonna Roll is the second album by the Los Angeles, California
ska
band The Hippos
, released in 1999 by Interscope Records
. It was the band's first album for a major record label and was their most successful, with the single "Wasting My Life" receiving some airplay on rock radio stations in the United States
. Musically the album found the band transitioning from the ska
-based structure of their debut album to a more pop-rock sound, using fewer ska rhythms and instead incorporating synthesizer
s. It includes a new version of the song "Far Behind" from their debut album Forget the World
.
Heads Are Gonna Roll was The Hippos' last proper album as a committed band. Although they would continue to perform and record over the next few years, they did not release any other albums until the posthumous The Hippos
in 2003, after quietly disbanding.
Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles , with a population at the 2010 United States Census of 3,792,621, is the most populous city in California, USA and the second most populous in the United States, after New York City. It has an area of , and is located in Southern California...
ska
Ska
Ska |Jamaican]] ) is a music genre that originated in Jamaica in the late 1950s, and was the precursor to rocksteady and reggae. Ska combined elements of Caribbean mento and calypso with American jazz and rhythm and blues...
band The Hippos
The Hippos
The Hippos were an American rock band formed in 1995 in Los Angeles, California, and disbanded in 2000. During the band's lifetime they released 3 full-length albums...
, released in 1999 by Interscope Records
Interscope Records
Interscope Records is an American record label owned by Universal Music Group that currently operates as one third of UMG's Interscope-Geffen-A&M label group.-History:...
. It was the band's first album for a major record label and was their most successful, with the single "Wasting My Life" receiving some airplay on rock radio stations in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. Musically the album found the band transitioning from the ska
Ska
Ska |Jamaican]] ) is a music genre that originated in Jamaica in the late 1950s, and was the precursor to rocksteady and reggae. Ska combined elements of Caribbean mento and calypso with American jazz and rhythm and blues...
-based structure of their debut album to a more pop-rock sound, using fewer ska rhythms and instead incorporating synthesizer
Synthesizer
A synthesizer is an electronic instrument capable of producing sounds by generating electrical signals of different frequencies. These electrical signals are played through a loudspeaker or set of headphones...
s. It includes a new version of the song "Far Behind" from their debut album Forget the World
Forget the World
Forget the World is the debut album by the Los Angeles, California ska band The Hippos, released in 1997 by Vagrant Records and Fueled by Ramen Records. It was the band's first full-length album and established their presence in the prolific southern California music scene of the mid-1990s...
.
Heads Are Gonna Roll was The Hippos' last proper album as a committed band. Although they would continue to perform and record over the next few years, they did not release any other albums until the posthumous The Hippos
The Hippos (album)
The Hippos is the third and final album by the Los Angeles, California rock band The Hippos, released in 2003 by Olympic Records and Fanscape Music. It was released posthumously after their breakup in 2000...
in 2003, after quietly disbanding.
Track listing
All songs written by Ariel Rechtshaid except where noted- "Lost It"
- "Wasting My Life"
- "Struggling"
- "Pollution"
- "Thinking"
- "Something"
- "Always Something There to Remind Me(There's) Always Something There to Remind Me" Always Something There to Remind Me" is a song written in the 1960s by songwriting team Burt Bacharach and Hal David.-First charting versions:...
" (Hal DavidHal DavidHarold Lane "Hal" David is an American lyricist. He grew up in Brooklyn, New York. David is best known for his collaborations with composer Burt Bacharach.-Career:...
/Burt BacharachBurt BacharachBurt F. Bacharach is an American pianist, composer and music producer. He is known for his popular hit songs and compositions from the mid-1950s through the 1980s, with lyrics written by Hal David. Many of their hits were produced specifically for, and performed by, Dionne Warwick...
; originally performed by Burt Bacharach) - "Better Watch Your Back"
- "The Sand"
- "Paulina"
- "Far Behind" (Zahniser/Castle/Rechtshaid)
- "All Alone" (Castle/Rechtshaid)
- "He Said"
- "Paulina (reprise)"
Performers
- Ariel Rechtshaid - vocalsSingingSinging is the act of producing musical sounds with the voice, and augments regular speech by the use of both tonality and rhythm. One who sings is called a singer or vocalist. Singers perform music known as songs that can be sung either with or without accompaniment by musical instruments...
, 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...
, synthesizerSynthesizerA synthesizer is an electronic instrument capable of producing sounds by generating electrical signals of different frequencies. These electrical signals are played through a loudspeaker or set of headphones... - James Bairian - bassBass guitarThe bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
- Louis Castle - trumpetTrumpetThe trumpet is the musical instrument with the highest register in the brass family. Trumpets are among the oldest musical instruments, dating back to at least 1500 BCE. They are played by blowing air through closed lips, producing a "buzzing" sound which starts a standing wave vibration in the air...
, backing vocals - Rich Zahniser - tromboneTromboneThe trombone is a musical instrument in the brass family. Like all brass instruments, sound is produced when the player’s vibrating lips cause the air column inside the instrument to vibrate...
, Moog synthesizerMoog synthesizerMoog synthesizer may refer to any number of analog synthesizers designed by Dr. Robert Moog or manufactured by Moog Music, and is commonly used as a generic term for older-generation analog music synthesizers. The Moog company pioneered the commercial manufacture of modular voltage-controlled...
, farfisaFarfisaFarfisa is a manufacturer of electronics based in Osimo, Italy.The Farfisa brand name is commonly associated with a series of compact electronic organs, and later, a series of multi-timbral synthesizers. At the height of its production, Farfisa operated three factories to produce instruments, in...
, keyboardMusical keyboardA musical keyboard is the set of adjacent depressible levers or keys on a musical instrument, particularly the piano. Keyboards typically contain keys for playing the twelve notes of the Western musical scale, with a combination of larger, longer keys and smaller, shorter keys that repeats at the...
s, backing vocals - Danny Rukasin - trombone
- Kyle Briggs - drumsDrum kitA drum kit is a collection of drums, cymbals and often other percussion instruments, such as cowbells, wood blocks, triangles, chimes, or tambourines, arranged for convenient playing by a single person ....
, 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...
Album information
- Record label: Interscope RecordsInterscope RecordsInterscope Records is an American record label owned by Universal Music Group that currently operates as one third of UMG's Interscope-Geffen-A&M label group.-History:...
- Produced by and engineered by Mark TrombinoMark TrombinoMark Trombino is a rock music producer. He started his career as the drummer of Night Soil Man, before playing for Drive Like Jehu. He also played in a Long Beach-based punk rock band called First Offense which released a seven inch on Mystic Records entitled "Broken Home."-Bands:*Alive in Wild...
except "Always Something There to Remind Me" produced by Chris Fudurich, Ariel Rechtshaid, and Rich Zahniser and engineered by Chris Fudurich - Additional engineers: Jordan D'Aleffio, Dale Lawton, Robert Read, Billy Bowers, Brian Foxworthy, and Nick Raskaulincez
- Recorded at Mad Hatter in Silver Lake, CaliforniaSilver Lake, CaliforniaSilver Lake is a town that existed near the Tonopah and Tidewater Railroad, between Ludlow, California and Death Valley Junction, California, in the Mojave Desert of San Bernardino County, California....
, Sound City in Van Nuys, California, The Music Box in Hollywood, California, The Complex in west Los Angeles, CaliforniaLos Angeles, CaliforniaLos Angeles , with a population at the 2010 United States Census of 3,792,621, is the most populous city in California, USA and the second most populous in the United States, after New York City. It has an area of , and is located in Southern California...
, and Chateau Chaumont in Hollywood, California - Mixed by Phil Nicolo at Studio 4 in Conshohocken, PennsylvaniaConshohocken, PennsylvaniaConshohocken is a borough on the Schuylkill River in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, in suburban Philadelphia. Historically a large mill town and industrial and manufacturing center, after the decline of industry in recent years Conshohocken has developed into a center of riverfront commercial and...
- Mix engineer: Dirk Grobelny
- Mastered by Stephen Marcussen at A&M Mastering Studios in Hollywood, California
- Digitally edited by Andrew Garver
- All songs written by Ariel Rechtshaid except "All Alone" by Louis Castle and Ariel Rechtshaid, "Far Behind" by Rich Zahniser, Louis Castle, and Ariel Rechtshaid, and "Always Something There to Remind Me" by Hal David and Burt BacharachBurt BacharachBurt F. Bacharach is an American pianist, composer and music producer. He is known for his popular hit songs and compositions from the mid-1950s through the 1980s, with lyrics written by Hal David. Many of their hits were produced specifically for, and performed by, Dionne Warwick...
- Photos by Rocky Schenck
- Art direction and design by Francesca Restrepo