Key Lime Pie (album)

Key Lime Pie
Studio album by Camper Van Beethoven
Released September 5, 1989
Recorded February–July 1989
Genre Alternative rock, alternative country, neo-psychedelia
Length 50:05
Label Virgin Records
Producer Dennis Herring
Camper Van Beethoven chronology

Our Beloved Revolutionary Sweetheart
(1988)		 Key Lime Pie
(1989)		 Tusk
(2004)
Professional ratings
Review scores
Source Rating
AllMusic [1]
Rolling Stone [2]
Robert Christgau (B+) [3]

Key Lime Pie is a 1989 album by Camper Van Beethoven (CVB). It was the band's final album before breaking up in 1990, although the band has reunited and released new material in recent years. It was produced by Dennis Herring, who had also produced the band's previous album, Our Beloved Revolutionary Sweetheart.

Description

Key Lime Pie was the only Camper Van Beethoven album not to feature founding violinist/multi-instrumentalist/vocalist Jonathan Segel, who left the band before the album was recorded. The band's core lineup on the album consisted of vocalist/rhythm guitarist/frontman David Lowery, bassist Victor Krummenacher, lead guitarist Greg Lisher and drummer Chris Pedersen. Most of the violin parts were played by non-member Don Lax. Near the end of the recording of the album, violinist Morgan Fichter was hired as the replacement for Segel. Fichter played only on the tracks "Pictures of Matchstick Men" and "Flowers," although she sings harmony vocals on a few other tracks and appears on the record's cover. On the tour for the album, the band was also joined by steel guitarist/mandolinist/guitarist David Immerglück, a member of CVB's side project Monks of Doom.

Lowery has been quoted in interviews as saying that, although the entire band (save for Fichter) played on the basic tracks, Greg Lisher was the only other member to have contributed significantly to the album's recording, with most of the overdubbing and studio polishing having been done by Lowery, Lisher and producer Dennis Herring. Lisher's distinctive psychedelic lead guitar playing is arguably the album's most distinctive instrumental feature, although the band's use of violin also has a great influence on the sound of the record.

The album featured a darker lyrical outlook as compared to the band's previous record, although there is still a great deal of the band's trademark humor. It was also the most political record that CVB had released, with tracks like "When I Win the Lottery," "Sweethearts" and "Jack Ruby" providing some humorous political and social commentary. Lowery said in an interview that "All Her Favorite Fruit" was based on the romance between Jessica Swanlake and Roger Mexico from the Thomas Pynchon novel Gravity's Rainbow.[4]

It also featured less of the band's world music influence, although there are still elements of CVB favorites like ska and Eastern European music in songs like "Opening Theme" and "Borderline." In place of the world-music influence, there are even more elements of Americana evident in many of the songs. Psychedelia, another staple of the band's eclectic sound, is also very much in evidence, although songs like "The Light From a Cake" and "Flowers" feature a more-orchestrated, less-dissonant version of psychedelic music than did the band's earlier albums.

The album was CVB's most commercially successful record, with the Status Quo cover "Pictures of Matchstick Men" becoming an alternative rock hit.

Track listing

All songs written by Krummenacher/Lisher/Lowery/Pedersen, except where noted.

  1. "Opening Theme" – 2:21
  2. "Jack Ruby" – 5:22
  3. "Sweethearts" – 4:45
  4. "When I Win the Lottery" – 3:38
  5. "(I Was Born in a) Laundromat" – 3:43
  6. "Borderline" – 3:48
  7. "The Light from a Cake" – 2:43
  8. "June" – 4:24
  9. "All Her Favorite Fruit" – 5:14
  10. "Interlude" – 1:03
  11. "Flowers" (Curkendall/Hart/Lowery) – 2:58
  12. "The Humid Press of Days" – 2:44
  13. "Pictures of Matchstick Men" (Rossi) – 4:08
  14. "Come on Darkness" – 3:14

Personnel

Charts

Album - Billboard (North America)

Year Chart Position
1989 The Billboard 200 141

Singles - Billboard (North America)

Year Single Chart Position
1989 "Pictures of Matchstick Men" Modern Rock Tracks 1

References

  1. ↑ Raggett, Ned. Key Lime Pie (album) at AllMusic. Retrieved March 17, 2010.
  2. ↑ Brackett, Nathan. "Camper Van Beethoven". The New Rolling Stone Album Guide. November 2004. pg. 132-133, cited March 17, 2010
  3. ↑ Christgau, Robert. "Camper Van Beethoven". robertchristgau.com, Retrieved on March 17, 2010.
  4. ↑ "Interview: David Lowery of Cracker and Camper Van Beethoven". Popgurls.com. 4 June 2006. Retrieved 2011-06-21.