II & III is a 1986 album

Album

An album is a collection of recordings, released as a single package on gramophone record, cassette, compact disc, or via digital distribution. The word derives from the Latin word for list .Vinyl LP records have two sides, each comprising one half of the album...

 by music

Music

Music is an art form whose medium is sound and silence. Its common elements are pitch , rhythm , dynamics, and the sonic qualities of timbre and texture...

al group Camper Van Beethoven

Camper Van Beethoven

Camper Van Beethoven is an American alternative rock group formed in Redlands, California in 1983.An eclectic band, Camper Van Beethoven mixes elements of pop, ska, punk rock, folk and alternative country, as well as various types of world music. Their aggressive musical pluralism created a...

, released on Pitch-a-Tent and Rough Trade

Rough Trade Records

Rough Trade Records is an independent record label based in London. It was formed in 1978 by Geoff Travis who had opened a record store off Ladbroke Grove...

. It was the band's second album.

After releasing their debut album, original drummer Anthony Guess left the band, and guitarist Greg Lisher

Greg Lisher

Greg Lisher is the lead guitar player for Camper Van Beethoven, from 1986 until 1990, and again from 2000 to present.He was the lead guitarist for the Monks of Doom, from 1986 until 1993, and again from 2003 to present....

 joined. With the band temporarily lacking a drummer, guitarist Chris Molla played many of the drum parts on 'II & III', with singer/rhythm guitarist David Lowery

David Lowery

David Lowery is an American guitarist, vocalist and songwriter; he is the founder of alternative rock band, Camper Van Beethoven, and co-founder of the more traditional rock band, Cracker...

 playing some of the drum parts as well. As the album was being finished, they finally found a permanent replacement for Guess with Chris Pedersen

Chris Pedersen (musician)

Chris Pedersen is an American-born musician, best known as the drummer of the groups Camper Van Beethoven and Monks of Doom. He currently resides in Australia.-Musical career:...

, who ended up playing on only one song, "We're a Bad Trip."

The album also found violinist/multi-instrumentalist Jonathan Segel

Jonathan Segel

Jonathan Segel is an American composer and multi-instrumentalist. He has played with Camper Van Beethoven, Sparklehorse, Eugene Chadbourne, and Dieselhed.-Biography:...

 singing lead vocals for the first time, on the tracks "Chain of Circumstance" and "We're a Bad Trip," the latter which featured him and Lowery trading verses.

II & III found the band already moving past the mixture of faux ethnic instrumentals and absurdist folk-pop-punk tunes of their debut album, for an even more eclectic sound, including elements of Americana

Americana (music)

Americana is an amalgam of roots musics formed by the confluence of the shared and varied traditions that make up the American musical ethos; specifically those sounds that are merged from folk, country, blues, rhythm and blues, rock and roll and other external influential styles...

, psychedelia, and Middle-Eastern music. Molla played steel guitar on some songs, and Segel played mandolin, adding to the country influences. There are relatively fewer instrumentals, with the vocal songs taking on many of the ethnic elements that were contained on the debut album's instrumental numbers.

It contains several notable songs, especially "Sad Lover's Waltz," a slow alt-country number that did much to dispel the band's then-image as a novelty band. Another Americana-style song was a bluegrass

Bluegrass music

Bluegrass music is a form of American roots music, and a sub-genre of country music. It has mixed roots in Scottish, English, Welsh and Irish traditional music...

-influenced cover of "I Love Her All the Time" by Sonic Youth

Sonic Youth

Sonic Youth is an American alternative rock band from New York City, formed in 1981. The current lineup consists of Thurston Moore , Kim Gordon , Lee Ranaldo , Steve Shelley , and Mark Ibold .In their early career, Sonic Youth was associated with the No Wave art and music scene in New York City...

, which continued the band's traditions of doing countrified versions of punk and alternative songs. The more humorous "We're a Bad Trip" and the semi-instrumental spaghetti-Western number "Cowboys From Hollywood" are also among the album's more enduring tunes.

Side one

1. "Abundance" - 2:53
2. "Cowboys from Hollywood" - 0:43
3. "Sad Lovers Waltz" - 4:03
4. "Turtlehead" - 1:16
5. "I Love Her All the Time" (Sonic Youth
   Sonic Youth
   Sonic Youth is an American alternative rock band from New York City, formed in 1981. The current lineup consists of Thurston Moore , Kim Gordon , Lee Ranaldo , Steve Shelley , and Mark Ibold .In their early career, Sonic Youth was associated with the No Wave art and music scene in New York City...
   
   ) - 2:16
6. "No Flies on Us" - 1:46
7. "Down and Out" - 1:35
8. "No Krugerrands for David" - 2:32
9. "(Don't You Go To) Goleta" - 1:21
10. "4 Year Plan" - 1:49

Side two

1. "(We're A) Bad Trip" - 2:32
2. "Circles" - 2:52
3. "Dust Pan" - 1:54
4. "Sometimes" - 2:37
5. "Chain of Circumstance" - 2:27
6. "ZZ Top Goes to Egypt" - 3:07
7. "Cattle (Reversed)" - 2:50
8. "Form Another Stone" - 2:09
9. "No More Bullshit" - 3:08

2004 CD reissue

1. "Abundance" - 1:53
2. "Cowboys from Hollywood" - 1:43
3. "Sad Lovers Waltz" - 4:03
4. "Turtlehead" - 1:16
5. "I Love Her All the Time" - 2:16
6. "No Flies on Us" - 1:46
7. "Down and Out" - 1:35
8. "No Krugerrands for David" - 2:32
9. "(Don't You Go To) Goleta" - 1:21
10. "4 Year Plan" - 1:49
11. "Devil Song (Original Version)" - 2:07
12. "Vampire Club" - 4:11
13. "(We're A) Bad Trip" - 2:32
14. "Circles" - 2:52
15. "Dust Pan" - 1:54
16. "Sometimes" - 2:27
17. "Chain of Circumstances (Replacement Version)" - 2:37
18. "ZZ Top Goes to Egypt" - 3:07
19. "Cattle (Reversed)" - 2:50
20. "Form Another Stone (Replacement Version)" - 2:09
21. "Circles Dub" - 2:49
22. "(We're A) Bad Trip (Original Version)" - 2:46
23. "No More Bullshit" - 3:08

• Tracks 11-12 and 21-22 are bonus tracks.