Ferociously Stoned

Ferociously Stoned
Studio album by Cherry Poppin' Daddies
Released November 20, 1990
December 12, 1994 (CD release)
Recorded August 1990 - September 1990 at Gung Ho Studios in Eugene, Oregon
Genre Funk rock, swing, punk rock
Length 49:24
65:03 (added tracks)
Label Sub Par Records
Space Age Bachelor Pad
Producer Cherry Poppin' Daddies
Cherry Poppin' Daddies chronology
4 From On High
(1989)		 Ferociously Stoned
(1990)		 Rapid City Muscle Car
(1994)
Alternative cover
Re-release cover

Ferociously Stoned is the debut album by American band the Cherry Poppin' Daddies, released in November 1990 on Sub Par Records. It was subsequently re-released on the Daddies' own independent label Space Age Bachelor Pad Records in 1994.

Contents

Overview

Boasting thumping bass, heavy brass and distorted guitars, Ferociously Stoned draws primarily from the punk and funk rock influences that dominated the Daddies' early sound, making occasional forays into areas of genre eclecticism that the band would explore on future albums, touching upon swing ("Drunk Daddy"), hot jazz ("Shake Your Lovemaker"), psychedelic pop ("The Lifeboat Mutiny"), disco ("Suicide Kings") and James Brown-style rhythm and blues ("You Better Move").

The working title for the album was The Enemy Within, referencing an unreleased song which later appeared on the Daddies' 1996 album Kids on the Street.[1] The band claims the title was changed to Ferociously Stoned in reference to moral controversy and censorship that surrounded them and their concerts during the early years of their career, alluding to the act of stoning.

Release

Upon release, Ferociously Stoned proved an immediate regional success, setting a record for advance sales in Eugene record stores and receiving favorable reviews in The Rocket, Alternative Press and The Oregonian, remaining for over a year on The Rocket's Northwest Top Twenty list.[2][3] At one point, an animated music video for "Teenage Brainsurgeon" was planned, but was ultimately scrapped due to production costs.[1]

Ferociously Stoned was initially released on vinyl by Sub Par Records, its cover depicting three busty, bikini-clad women clutching stones in front of a backwards American flag, a concept the band claimed was a satirical retort to the accusations of sexism and misogyny in their lyricism. In March 1991, when the band had temporarily shortened their name to "The Daddies" to alleviate said controversy, the album was re-released with the shortened band name and a newer, less controversial cover featuring a skeleton in formal wear, modeled after the Grateful Dead's "Uncle Sam" skeleton.[4][5]

In 1994, coinciding with the release of the Daddies' second album, Rapid City Muscle Car, Ferociously Stoned was re-issued on CD, restoring the band's full name and including the tracks from their 1989 demo tape 4 From On High as bonus content. In 1997, three of its tracks (plus two from 4 From On High) were included on the Daddies' all-swing compilation album Zoot Suit Riot.

Liner Notes and disclaimers

The Sub Par vinyl release included liner notes featuring Steve "M.C. Large Drink" Perry's description of the album and content of the songs:

“ The different characters in these songs are just that. My relationship to these unfortunates as a songwriter is detached and ironic — not autobiographical. In a sense, though, I feel them when they speak through me as a singer and I understand their radically differing opinions and problems. In a nutshell I guess what I would like to be understood is that these songs are meant to castigate predator/prey relationships, which is a primary theme, not celebrate them. Listen to these caged birds sing of their sufferings, bigotries, and alienations with an artistic ear and a measure of compassion (that is if these faculties haven't already withered in you from lack of use) and ask yourself, "how did they come to this?" then you will know them as I have come to know them. They share the same fundamental kernal [sic] of despair at their cores that they, like us, are sometimes unable to transcend. Their frustration is with their unforgiving world and less-than-perfect selves which to me makes them marvelously human and less fictional than some real people I know. In some ways I suppose I am still a child and I like to call these misfit song-people my imaginary friends. Perhaps they are not always able to bear their burdens with kingly or queenly grace, but this is not what I want for them. I want my brainchild to feel what it is like to live, and living means sometimes being neglected and misunderstood. But jaded old Daddy and the kids have an ace in the hole - when you are neglected and misunderstood tip down your brim and shake that Lovemaker. ”

The Sub Par CD release omitted the liner notes, but instead carried a sticker, conceived by Frank Zappa and used on his own albums, on its shrink wrapping reading:

“ WARNING: This album contains material which a truly free society would neither fear nor suppress. In some socially retarded areas, religious fanatics and ultra-conservative political organizations violate your First Amendment Rights by attempting to censor rock & roll albums. We feel that this is un-Constitutional and un-American. As an alternative to these government-supported programs (designed to keep you docile and ignorant), we are pleased to provide stimulating entertainment for those of you who have outgrown the ordinary.

The language and concepts contained herein are GUARANTEED NOT TO CAUSE ETERNAL TORMENT IN THE PLACE WHERE THE GUY WITH THE HORNS AND POINTED STICK CONDUCTS HIS BUSINESS.

This guarantee is as real as the threats of the video fundamentalists who use attacks on rock music in their attempt to transform America into a nation of check-mailing nincompoops (in the name of Jesus Christ). If there is a hell, its fires wait for them, not us.

 ”

Track listing

All songs written and composed by Steve Perry (MC Large Drink).

Kiss Me Side
No. Title Length
1. "Drunk Daddy"   5:11
2. "Teenage Brainsurgeon"   3:55
3. "Answering Machine"   6:03
4. "Midas in Reverse"   4:30
5. "The Lifeboat Mutiny"   5:45
Kill Me Side
No. Title Length
6. "Master and Slave"   4:07
7. "Dirty Mutha Fuzz"   5:13
8. "You Better Move"   2:44
9. "Suicide Kings"   4:19
10. "Flovilla Thatch Vs the Virile Garbageman"   3:46
11. "Shake Your Lovemaker"   5:51

Personnel

Cherry Poppin' Daddies
Production

References

  1. ^ a b Glauber, Rich (Aug. 9, 1990). "The Baddest Daddy" What's Happening
  2. ^ Siegle, Lisa. "Poppin' Up from the Underground" The Register-Guard. March 15, 1991.
  3. ^ Official 1994 Cherry Poppin' Daddies Press Kit
  4. ^ "Daddies, Caribbean Super Stars highlight the weekend at WOW". The Register-Guard. April 26, 1991. 
  5. ^ "Good Times hosts blues, rock with bands from NY, Chicago". The Register-Guard. April 5, 1991. 
Cherry Poppin' Daddies

Steve Perry • Dan Schmid • Dana Heitman • Dustin Lanker • Joe Manis • Kevin Congleton • William Seiji Marsh • Willie Matheis

Brooks Brown • Tim Arnold • Chris Azorr • James Gossard • James Phillips • John Fohl • Brian West • Jason Moss • Adrian P. Baxter • Darren Cassidy • Sean Flannery • Adam Glogauer • Jason Palmer • Rex Trimm • Hans Wagner • Tim Donahue • Ian Early • Johnny Goetchius • Jesse Cloninger
Studio albums
Compilations
EPs
Singles
"Zoot Suit Riot" • "Brown Derby Jump" • "Here Comes the Snake" • "Diamond Light Boogie"
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