It's Spooky

It's Spooky is a collaboration album by musicians Daniel Johnston and Jad Fair, of the band Half Japanese. It was first released in 1989 on 50 Skidillion Watts Records, under the title Jad Fair and Daniel Johnston. It was re-issued on CD in 1993 on Paperhouse (PAPCD 019). The album originally featured 25 songs (in its cassette version--fewer songs on the simultaneous LP), and a further six tracks were added for a re-release in 2001. The 2001 re-issue also features, as an enhanced CD bonus, video footage of Daniel Johnston performing a version of his song "Don't Play Cards with Satan."

Although receiving praise from critics and fans alike, the record was commercially overlooked. Both Johnston and Fair play the majority of instruments, including vocals, guitars, piano, keyboards and drums.

Track listing

All songs written by Jad Fair and Daniel Johnston, except where noted.

1. "It's Spooky" (Johnston)
2. "Summertime"
3. "I Met Rocky Erikson" (Johnston)
4. "Happy Talk" (Oscar Hammerstein II, Richard Rodgers)
5. "McDonalds on the Brain" (Johnston)
6. "I Did Acid With Caroline" (Johnston)
7. "If I'd Only Know" (Fair)
8. "Tongues Wag in This Town"
9. "Tomorrow Never Knows" (John Lennon, Paul McCartney)
10. "Oh Honey" (Johnston)
11. "A Vow of Love"
12. "When Love Calls"
13. "Frankenstein vs. The World"
14. "Hands of Love"
15. "Kicking the Dog" (Brian Beattie, Dave Cameron, Sheri Lane, Kathy McCarty)
16. "What I've Seen" (Johnston)
17. "Something's Got a Hold on Me" (Johnston)
18. "Villain"
19. "Chords of Fame" (Phil Ochs)
20. "Ostrich"
21. "Casper the Friendly Ghost" (Johnston)
22. "First Day at Work" (Johnston)
23. "Fan and Games"
24. "Nothing Left"
25. "Memphis Tennessee" (Johnston)
26. "Comes Back" ^† (Beattie, Cameron, Lane, McCarty)
27. "Tears Stupid Tears" ^† (Johnston)
28. "The Making of the Album" ^†
29. "Get Yourself Together" ^† (Johnston)
30. "What the World Needs Now" ^† (Burt Bacharach, Hal David)
31. "Sweet Loafed" ^† (Butthole Surfers)

• † Denotes bonus tracks featured on the 2001 re-release.

Musical style

The album features both artists' typically idiosyncratic approach to songwriting, clever vocal wordplay, simple instrumentation, and wild imaginations for song themes and concepts. Seven of the songs are covers; artists covered include Burt Bacharach, the Beatles and Phil Ochs. The structures of many of the songs are akin to Johnston's previous music; some of the songs, such as "Get Yourself Together" and "Casper The Friendly Ghost", had previously featured on Johnston's Hi, How Are You and Continued Story with Texas Instruments records of 1983 and 1985, respectively.