Tenacious D (album)

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Tenacious D

Studio album by Tenacious D
Released	September 25, 2001
Genre	Comedy rock Hard rock
Length	50:35
Label	Epic Records
Producer(s)	The Dust Brothers
All Music Guide link Rolling Stone link
Tenacious D chronology
	Tenacious D (2001)	D Fun Pak (2003)

Tenacious D is the debut album of the comedy rock duo Jack Black and Kyle Gass. It was recorded at The Boat in Silverlake, CA.

For their first album, they enlisted the help of drummer Dave Grohl; keyboardist Page McConnell of Phish; guitarist Warren Fitzgerald; and bass player Steve McDonald. The Dust Brothers produced the album. The majority of the songs on their debut album stem from early versions as seen on their HBO TV series. The record itself does not list the song titles on the back cover as is the convention but instead on the back cover of the jacket; therefore one must open the CD (after presumably buying it) to read them. This is perhaps to allow songs with expletives or words otherwise deemed offensive to escape censorship or omission.

The band's signature song is "Tribute", a tribute to the 'greatest song in the world', which - according to the duo - was once created by themselves and has now unfortunately been forgotten. Early versions of the song incorporated guitar riffs borrowed from Led Zeppelin's Stairway to Heaven, suggesting that the so-called "greatest song" is in fact Stairway to Heaven Although they do say that the greatest song in the world "doesn't actually sound anything like this song."

Their song "Wonderboy" (#34 UK, #48 Australia) and its video were also well-received, as a parody of and tribute to both the fantasy genre and power metal/epic metal. "Wonderboy" was a tale of an unlikely superhero, portrayed by Black in the video, as he formed an alliance with a fellow adventurer Young Nasty Man (Gass) and attempted to destroy a fire-breathing hydra. (Note: "Wonder Boy" is also the name of an unrelated video game series.)

Their song "Dio" was a tribute of some sorts to the rock singer Ronnie James Dio. In the song they ask that Dio stop playing rock music and allow them to fill his shoes. Dio himself liked the song enough that he let the band appear in his next music video "Push".

The third single from the album, "Fuck Her Gently", was released in May 2004. The video was animated by John Kricfalusi, creator of Ren and Stimpy, and features Jack and Kyle as nude cherubs on the shoulders of Satan.

[edit] Track listing

All lyrics by Tenacious D, except where noted.

"Kielbasa" – 3:00
"One Note Song" – 1:23
"Tribute" – 4:08
"Wonderboy" – 4:06
"Hard Fucking" – 0:35
"Fuck Her Gently" – 2:03
"Explosivo" – 1:55
"Dio" – 1:41
"Inward Singing" – 2:13
"Kyle Quit The Band" – 1:29
"The Road" – 2:18
"Cock Pushups" – 0:48
"Lee" – 1:02
"Friendship Test" (Bob Odenkirk) – 1:30
"Friendship" – 1:59
"Karate Schnitzel" – 0:36
"Karate" – 1:05
"Rock Your Socks" – 3:32
"Drive-Thru" – 3:00
"Double Team" – 3:10
"City Hall" – 9:02

[edit] Miscellanea

At the end of "Karate" there is a backwards vocal message recorded. Reversing the message reveals Jack Black reciting the phrase "Eat Donkey Crap."
There is a hidden track at the end of "City Hall" called "Malibu Nights"
The cover is a reference to the Tarot card The Devil.
The track "Kielbasa" mentions "Dianetics" (which is the basis for the religion of Scientology). In the FAQ section on the official website, a fan asked if "The D" are Scientologists, to which Jack Black responded: "No, but we infiltrated the scientology celebrity center (a fact gathering research mission) in the hopes of doing a loosely based cult episode, but we got cold feet. Those dudes are all about money and brainwashing. I can't speak for Rage but I believe that God is an unfathomable force of love and cosmic sadness."
At least one song was cut from the final release of the album. A studio recording of "Jesus Ranch", the final song from the HBO shorts (the closing credits feature the end of "The Road"), was omitted from the album because "it just didn't cut the mustard" (quoted by the D in the 'FAQ' section of their site). The HBO version can be found on their DVD The Complete Masterworks and a recorded studio demo can be found on their 2002 EP D Fun Pak.