Mescalero (album)
Encyclopedia
Mescalero is the fourteenth studio album
by American
rock
band ZZ Top
. It was released on April 15, 2003 as the band's final release for RCA Records
. While the band still retained their foundation in blues
music, Mescalero explored genres like country
, Tejano
. Recording sessions took place at Foam Box Recordings in Houston, with frontman
Billy Gibbons
as producer
; Gibbons wrote most of the songs for the album, collaborating with engineers
Joe Hardy and Gary Moon
, as well as band members Dusty Hill
and Frank Beard
.
, which produced Antenna (1994), Rhythmeen
(1996), and XXX
, the latter of which marked the band's thirtieth anniversary of their formation and gained mixed reviews from critics. They mostly toured in the years between XXX and Mescalero, visiting nations like Australia
and New Zealand
, along with various countries in Europe
. In 2002, the band performed at the annual RodeoHouston
and with Brooks & Dunn
on CMT Crossroads. They went on a short Casino Tour
in the United States
and European Tour
.
In 2002, ZZ Top convened at Foam Box Recordings in Houston, a private studio owned by the band that was used to record XXX and Rhythmeen
(1996). Billy Gibbons
produced the project and wrote most of the songs, collaborating with engineers
Joe Hardy and Gary Moon
, as well as band members Dusty Hill
and Frank Beard
. A variety of instruments were featured on Mescalero. After taking a lunch break at a Mexican restaurant
, ZZ Top hired a marimba duo from Chiapas
, Mexico
. The father-and-son team provided entertainment at the restaurant and were anxious to be featured on a rock
album. After explaining that there were only three chords involved, they played on the title track. James Harman
played harmonica
on "Que Lastima," a title meaning 'what a pity.'
in Texas
. "Buck Nekkid" was used in a television commercial promoting the album.
instrumentation including accordion
, pedal steel guitar
, and harmonica
. The album often features slide guitar
and "fuzzy" bass
sounds. It opens with "Mescalero," a track with marimbas
featured throughout the entire song and a solo at the end. "Two Ways to Play" is a hard rock
-inspired track in which Billy Gibbons' guitar is tuned down a whole step
from standard pitch
. "Alley-Gator" made use of the accordion
and a 1955 Gibson Les Paul Goldtop played by Gibbons. "Buck Nekkid" is a moderate swing
, while "Goin' So Good" is a slow ballad, the latter of which Gibbons used a 1949 Fender Telecaster
prototype and played Steve Cropper
-tinged licks
; he traded phrases
in call and response
form with a pedal steel guitar
. "Me So Stupid" is a moderate rock featuring a clip of Gibbons' voice remaining constant throughout the track. Dusty Hill sang lead vocals on "Piece."
(April–November 2003). The tour spanned three months in the US, with a European leg visiting twelve countries and included a concert in Helsinki
, Finland
as special guests with The Rolling Stones
. After returning to the United States for another string of performances, ZZ Top appeared on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno
; they played at the Compaq Center (previously known as The Summit) and was the last event to ever be held in the venue. The band continued touring to support Mescalero throughout summer 2004
and performed at the Crossroads Guitar Festival
.
, they showed signs of life on all their RCA labeled albums, and their fourth, 2003's long delayed Mescalero, is no exception to the rule. Billy Gibbons
' fat guitar tone really has some presence here, at least on some of the album, and there are enough rhythm tracks not performed to a didactic click track to provide some real swing."
The album peaked at number 57 on the Billboard 200
.
(North America)
Studio album
A studio album is an album made up of tracks recorded in the controlled environment of a recording studio. A studio album contains newly written and recorded or previously unreleased or remixed material, distinguishing itself from a compilation or reissue album of previously recorded material, or...
by American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
rock
Rock music
Rock music is a genre of popular music that developed during and after the 1960s, particularly in the United Kingdom and the United States. It has its roots in 1940s and 1950s rock and roll, itself heavily influenced by rhythm and blues and country music...
band ZZ Top
ZZ Top
ZZ Top is an American rock band, sometimes referred to as "That Little Ol' Band from Texas". Their style, which is rooted in blues-based boogie rock, has come to incorporate elements of arena, southern, and boogie rock. The band, from Houston Texas, formed in 1969...
. It was released on April 15, 2003 as the band's final release for RCA Records
RCA Records
RCA Records is one of the flagship labels of Sony Music Entertainment. The RCA initials stand for Radio Corporation of America , which was the parent corporation from 1929 to 1985 and a partner from 1985 to 1986.RCA's Canadian unit is Sony's oldest label...
. While the band still retained their foundation in blues
Blues
Blues is the name given to both a musical form and a music genre that originated in African-American communities of primarily the "Deep South" of the United States at the end of the 19th century from spirituals, work songs, field hollers, shouts and chants, and rhymed simple narrative ballads...
music, Mescalero explored genres like country
Country music
Country music is a popular American musical style that began in the rural Southern United States in the 1920s. It takes its roots from Western cowboy and folk music...
, Tejano
Tejano music
Tejano music or Tex-Mex music is the name given to various forms of folk and popular music originating among the Mexican-American populations of Central and Southern Texas...
. Recording sessions took place at Foam Box Recordings in Houston, with frontman
Lead vocalist
The lead vocalist is the member of a band who sings the main vocal portions of a song. They may also play one or more instruments. Lead vocalists are sometimes referred to as the frontman or frontwoman, and as such, are usually considered to be the "leader" of the groups they perform in, often the...
Billy Gibbons
Billy Gibbons
William Frederick "Billy" Gibbons is an American musician, actor and car customizer, best known as the guitarist of the Texas blues-rock band ZZ Top. He is also the lead singer and composer for many of the band's songs. Gibbons is known for playing his Gretsch Billy Bo guitar and his famous 1959...
as producer
Record producer
A record producer is an individual working within the music industry, whose job is to oversee and manage the recording of an artist's music...
; Gibbons wrote most of the songs for the album, collaborating with engineers
Audio engineering
An audio engineer, also called audio technician, audio technologist or sound technician, is a specialist in a skilled trade that deals with the use of machinery and equipment for the recording, mixing and reproduction of sounds. The field draws on many artistic and vocational areas, including...
Joe Hardy and Gary Moon
Gary Moon
Gary Moon is a bassist who has played for several bands, including Night Ranger and Three Dog Night. He has also recorded as a solo artist. Before joining Night Ranger, he was in a band called The Pack with Steve Isham of Autograph. Matt Sorum, later of Guns 'N Roses, The Cult and Velvet...
, as well as band members Dusty Hill
Dusty Hill
Joseph Michael "Dusty" Hill is the bassist and vocalist with the American rock group ZZ Top.-History:Hill was in Dallas, Texas and grew up in the Lakewood neighborhood of East Dallas...
and Frank Beard
Frank Beard (musician)
Frank Lee Beard is the drummer in the rock band ZZ Top. Beard was formerly with the bands The Cellar Dwellars, who originally were a three-piece band, The Hustlers, The Warlocks, and American Blues before starting to play and record with Billy Gibbons and Dusty Hill as ZZ Top.Beard was born in...
.
Background and recording
In 1993, ZZ Top signed with RCA RecordsRCA Records
RCA Records is one of the flagship labels of Sony Music Entertainment. The RCA initials stand for Radio Corporation of America , which was the parent corporation from 1929 to 1985 and a partner from 1985 to 1986.RCA's Canadian unit is Sony's oldest label...
, which produced Antenna (1994), Rhythmeen
Rhythmeen
Rhythmeen is the 12th studio album by American blues rock band ZZ Top, released in 1996.-Reception:Allmusic gave it a mixed review, by stating: "ZZ Top's long-awaited return to blues finally arrived in 1996, well over a decade after they abandoned their simple three-chord boogie for a synth and...
(1996), and XXX
XXX (album)
-Japan track listing:-ZZ Top:*Billy Gibbons – guitar, vocals*Dusty Hill – bass, keyboards, vocals*Frank Beard – drums, percussion-Production:*Producer: Billy Gibbons*Engineer: Joe Hardy*Assistant engineer: Gary Moon*Mixing: Joe Hardy*Mastering: Bob Ludwig...
, the latter of which marked the band's thirtieth anniversary of their formation and gained mixed reviews from critics. They mostly toured in the years between XXX and Mescalero, visiting nations like Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
and New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
, along with various countries in Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
. In 2002, the band performed at the annual RodeoHouston
Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo
The Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo, also called RodeoHouston, is the world's largest live entertainment and livestock exhibition. It also includes the richest regular-season rodeo event. It has been held at Reliant Stadium in Houston, Texas, since 2003...
and with Brooks & Dunn
Brooks & Dunn
Brooks & Dunn was an American country music duo consisting of Kix Brooks and Ronnie Dunn, who were both vocalists and songwriters. They were paired by record producer Tim DuBois in 1990. Before the duo's foundation, both members of the duo were solo recording artists...
on CMT Crossroads. They went on a short Casino Tour
Casino Tour
The Casino Tour was a concert tour by American rock band ZZ Top. This was another tour that supported their thirteenth studio album, XXX, released on September 28, 1999.-Personnel:*Billy Gibbons - Guitar, Vocals*Dusty Hill - Bass, Keyboards, Vocals...
in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
and European Tour
European Tour 2002
The European Tour was a concert tour by American rock band ZZ Top. This was the third tour that supported their thirteenth studio album, XXX, released on September 28, 1999...
.
In 2002, ZZ Top convened at Foam Box Recordings in Houston, a private studio owned by the band that was used to record XXX and Rhythmeen
Rhythmeen
Rhythmeen is the 12th studio album by American blues rock band ZZ Top, released in 1996.-Reception:Allmusic gave it a mixed review, by stating: "ZZ Top's long-awaited return to blues finally arrived in 1996, well over a decade after they abandoned their simple three-chord boogie for a synth and...
(1996). Billy Gibbons
Billy Gibbons
William Frederick "Billy" Gibbons is an American musician, actor and car customizer, best known as the guitarist of the Texas blues-rock band ZZ Top. He is also the lead singer and composer for many of the band's songs. Gibbons is known for playing his Gretsch Billy Bo guitar and his famous 1959...
produced the project and wrote most of the songs, collaborating with engineers
Audio engineering
An audio engineer, also called audio technician, audio technologist or sound technician, is a specialist in a skilled trade that deals with the use of machinery and equipment for the recording, mixing and reproduction of sounds. The field draws on many artistic and vocational areas, including...
Joe Hardy and Gary Moon
Gary Moon
Gary Moon is a bassist who has played for several bands, including Night Ranger and Three Dog Night. He has also recorded as a solo artist. Before joining Night Ranger, he was in a band called The Pack with Steve Isham of Autograph. Matt Sorum, later of Guns 'N Roses, The Cult and Velvet...
, as well as band members Dusty Hill
Dusty Hill
Joseph Michael "Dusty" Hill is the bassist and vocalist with the American rock group ZZ Top.-History:Hill was in Dallas, Texas and grew up in the Lakewood neighborhood of East Dallas...
and Frank Beard
Frank Beard (musician)
Frank Lee Beard is the drummer in the rock band ZZ Top. Beard was formerly with the bands The Cellar Dwellars, who originally were a three-piece band, The Hustlers, The Warlocks, and American Blues before starting to play and record with Billy Gibbons and Dusty Hill as ZZ Top.Beard was born in...
. A variety of instruments were featured on Mescalero. After taking a lunch break at a Mexican restaurant
Mexican cuisine
Mexican cuisine, a style of food that originates in Mexico, is known for its varied flavors, colourful decoration and variety of spices and ingredients, most of which are native to the country. The cuisine of Mexico has evolved through thousands of years of blending indigenous cultures, with later...
, ZZ Top hired a marimba duo from Chiapas
Chiapas
Chiapas officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Chiapas is one of the 31 states that, with the Federal District, comprise the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided in 118 municipalities and its capital city is Tuxtla Gutierrez. Other important cites in Chiapas include San Cristóbal de las...
, Mexico
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
. The father-and-son team provided entertainment at the restaurant and were anxious to be featured on a rock
Rock music
Rock music is a genre of popular music that developed during and after the 1960s, particularly in the United Kingdom and the United States. It has its roots in 1940s and 1950s rock and roll, itself heavily influenced by rhythm and blues and country music...
album. After explaining that there were only three chords involved, they played on the title track. James Harman
James Harman
James Harman is an American blues harmonica player, singer, and songwriter. Music journalist, Tony Russell, described Harman as an "amusing songwriter and an excellent, unfussy harp player".-Biography:...
played harmonica
Harmonica
The harmonica, also called harp, French harp, blues harp, and mouth organ, is a free reed wind instrument used primarily in blues and American folk music, jazz, country, and rock and roll. It is played by blowing air into it or drawing air out by placing lips over individual holes or multiple holes...
on "Que Lastima," a title meaning 'what a pity.'
Promotion
In 2003, ZZ Top showcased two tracks from Mescalero in a performance at RodeoHoustonHouston Livestock Show and Rodeo
The Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo, also called RodeoHouston, is the world's largest live entertainment and livestock exhibition. It also includes the richest regular-season rodeo event. It has been held at Reliant Stadium in Houston, Texas, since 2003...
in Texas
Texas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
. "Buck Nekkid" was used in a television commercial promoting the album.
Music
Mescalero is centered around a variety of TejanoTejano music
Tejano music or Tex-Mex music is the name given to various forms of folk and popular music originating among the Mexican-American populations of Central and Southern Texas...
instrumentation including accordion
Accordion
The accordion is a box-shaped musical instrument of the bellows-driven free-reed aerophone family, sometimes referred to as a squeezebox. A person who plays the accordion is called an accordionist....
, pedal steel guitar
Pedal steel guitar
The pedal steel guitar is a type of electric guitar that uses a metal bar to "fret" or shorten the length of the strings, rather than fingers on strings as with a conventional guitar. Unlike other types of steel guitar, it also uses pedals and knee levers to affect the pitch, hence the name "pedal"...
, and harmonica
Harmonica
The harmonica, also called harp, French harp, blues harp, and mouth organ, is a free reed wind instrument used primarily in blues and American folk music, jazz, country, and rock and roll. It is played by blowing air into it or drawing air out by placing lips over individual holes or multiple holes...
. The album often features slide guitar
Slide guitar
Slide guitar or bottleneck guitar is a particular method or technique for playing the guitar. The term slide refers to the motion of the slide against the strings, while bottleneck refers to the original material of choice for such slides: the necks of glass bottles...
and "fuzzy" bass
Bass guitar
The bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
sounds. It opens with "Mescalero," a track with marimbas
Marimba
The marimba is a musical instrument in the percussion family. It consists of a set of wooden keys or bars with resonators. The bars are struck with mallets to produce musical tones. The keys are arranged as those of a piano, with the accidentals raised vertically and overlapping the natural keys ...
featured throughout the entire song and a solo at the end. "Two Ways to Play" is a hard rock
Hard rock
Hard rock is a loosely defined genre of rock music which has its earliest roots in mid-1960s garage rock, blues rock and psychedelic rock...
-inspired track in which Billy Gibbons' guitar is tuned down a whole step
Steps and skips
In music, a step, or conjunct motion, is a linear or successive interval between two pitches which are consecutive scale degrees. Any larger interval is called a skip , or disjunct motion...
from standard pitch
Standard tuning
In music, standard tuning refers to the typical tuning of a string instrument. This notion is contrary to that of scordatura, i.e. an alternate tuning designated to modify either the timbre or technical capabilities of the desired instrument.-Bowed strings:...
. "Alley-Gator" made use of the accordion
Accordion
The accordion is a box-shaped musical instrument of the bellows-driven free-reed aerophone family, sometimes referred to as a squeezebox. A person who plays the accordion is called an accordionist....
and a 1955 Gibson Les Paul Goldtop played by Gibbons. "Buck Nekkid" is a moderate swing
Swing (jazz performance style)
In jazz and related musical styles, the term swing is used to describe the sense of propulsive rhythmic "feel" or "groove" created by the musical interaction between the performers, especially when the music creates a "visceral response" such as feet-tapping or head-nodding...
, while "Goin' So Good" is a slow ballad, the latter of which Gibbons used a 1949 Fender Telecaster
Fender Telecaster
The Fender Telecaster, colloquially known as the Tele , is typically a dual-pickup, solid-body electric guitar made by Fender.Its simple yet effective design and revolutionary sound broke ground and set trends in electric guitar manufacturing and popular music...
prototype and played Steve Cropper
Steve Cropper
Steve Cropper , also known as Steve "The Colonel" Cropper, is an American guitarist, songwriter and record producer. He is best known as the guitarist of the Stax Records house band, Booker T...
-tinged licks
Lick (music)
In popular music genres such as rock or jazz music, a lick is "a stock pattern or phrase" consisting of a short series of notes that is used in solos and melodic lines...
; he traded phrases
Phrase (music)
In music and music theory, phrase and phrasing are concepts and practices related to grouping consecutive melodic notes, both in their composition and performance...
in call and response
Call and response (music)
In music, a call and response is a succession of two distinct phrases usually played by different musicians, where the second phrase is heard as a direct commentary on or response to the first...
form with a pedal steel guitar
Pedal steel guitar
The pedal steel guitar is a type of electric guitar that uses a metal bar to "fret" or shorten the length of the strings, rather than fingers on strings as with a conventional guitar. Unlike other types of steel guitar, it also uses pedals and knee levers to affect the pitch, hence the name "pedal"...
. "Me So Stupid" is a moderate rock featuring a clip of Gibbons' voice remaining constant throughout the track. Dusty Hill sang lead vocals on "Piece."
Touring
Following Mescaleros release, ZZ Top embarked on the Beer Drinkers and Hell Raisers TourBeer Drinkers and Hell Raisers Tour
The Beer Drinkers and Hell Raisers Tour was a concert tour by American rock band ZZ Top. Presented by Clear Channel Communications and promoted by Beaver Productions, the tour supported their fourteenth studio album, Mescalero, released on April 15, 2003...
(April–November 2003). The tour spanned three months in the US, with a European leg visiting twelve countries and included a concert in Helsinki
Helsinki
Helsinki is the capital and largest city in Finland. It is in the region of Uusimaa, located in southern Finland, on the shore of the Gulf of Finland, an arm of the Baltic Sea. The population of the city of Helsinki is , making it by far the most populous municipality in Finland. Helsinki is...
, Finland
Finland
Finland , officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country situated in the Fennoscandian region of Northern Europe. It is bordered by Sweden in the west, Norway in the north and Russia in the east, while Estonia lies to its south across the Gulf of Finland.Around 5.4 million people reside...
as special guests with The Rolling Stones
The Rolling Stones
The Rolling Stones are an English rock band, formed in London in April 1962 by Brian Jones , Ian Stewart , Mick Jagger , and Keith Richards . Bassist Bill Wyman and drummer Charlie Watts completed the early line-up...
. After returning to the United States for another string of performances, ZZ Top appeared on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno
The Tonight Show with Jay Leno
The Tonight Show with Jay Leno is an American late-night talk show hosted by Jay Leno that initially aired from May 25, 1992 to May 29, 2009, and resumed production on March 1, 2010. The fourth incarnation of the Tonight Show franchise made its debut on May 25, 1992, three days following Johnny...
; they played at the Compaq Center (previously known as The Summit) and was the last event to ever be held in the venue. The band continued touring to support Mescalero throughout summer 2004
Summer North American Tour
The Summer North American Tour was a concert tour by rock band ZZ Top. Launched in support of the group's 2003 album, Mescalero, the tour's concerts were performed in festivals and casinos from June through September 2004. The tour's backdrop was made of multi-colored tinsel. Band members Billy...
and performed at the Crossroads Guitar Festival
Crossroads Guitar Festival
The Crossroads Guitar Festival is a music festival and benefit concert first held in 2004 and again in 2007 and 2010. The festivals benefit the Crossroads Centre founded by Eric Clapton, a drug treatment center located in Antigua. The concerts are also intended to be a showcase for a variety of...
.
Critical reception
Allmusic awarded the album two out of five stars, stating that "[a]part from the dreadful misstep of 1999's XXXXXX (album)
-Japan track listing:-ZZ Top:*Billy Gibbons – guitar, vocals*Dusty Hill – bass, keyboards, vocals*Frank Beard – drums, percussion-Production:*Producer: Billy Gibbons*Engineer: Joe Hardy*Assistant engineer: Gary Moon*Mixing: Joe Hardy*Mastering: Bob Ludwig...
, they showed signs of life on all their RCA labeled albums, and their fourth, 2003's long delayed Mescalero, is no exception to the rule. Billy Gibbons
Billy Gibbons
William Frederick "Billy" Gibbons is an American musician, actor and car customizer, best known as the guitarist of the Texas blues-rock band ZZ Top. He is also the lead singer and composer for many of the band's songs. Gibbons is known for playing his Gretsch Billy Bo guitar and his famous 1959...
' fat guitar tone really has some presence here, at least on some of the album, and there are enough rhythm tracks not performed to a didactic click track to provide some real swing."
The album peaked at number 57 on the Billboard 200
Billboard 200
The Billboard 200 is a ranking of the 200 highest-selling music albums and EPs in the United States, published weekly by Billboard magazine. It is frequently used to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of artists...
.
Track listing
Bonus tracks
Personnel
- Billy GibbonsBilly GibbonsWilliam Frederick "Billy" Gibbons is an American musician, actor and car customizer, best known as the guitarist of the Texas blues-rock band ZZ Top. He is also the lead singer and composer for many of the band's songs. Gibbons is known for playing his Gretsch Billy Bo guitar and his famous 1959...
– guitarElectric guitarAn electric guitar is a guitar that uses the principle of direct electromagnetic induction to convert vibrations of its metal strings into electric audio signals. The signal generated by an electric guitar is too weak to drive a loudspeaker, so it is amplified before sending it to a loudspeaker...
, vocalsSingingSinging is the act of producing musical sounds with the voice, and augments regular speech by the use of both tonality and rhythm. One who sings is called a singer or vocalist. Singers perform music known as songs that can be sung either with or without accompaniment by musical instruments...
, producerRecord producerA record producer is an individual working within the music industry, whose job is to oversee and manage the recording of an artist's music... - Dusty HillDusty HillJoseph Michael "Dusty" Hill is the bassist and vocalist with the American rock group ZZ Top.-History:Hill was in Dallas, Texas and grew up in the Lakewood neighborhood of East Dallas...
– bassBass guitarThe bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
, vocals - Frank BeardFrank Beard (musician)Frank Lee Beard is the drummer in the rock band ZZ Top. Beard was formerly with the bands The Cellar Dwellars, who originally were a three-piece band, The Hustlers, The Warlocks, and American Blues before starting to play and record with Billy Gibbons and Dusty Hill as ZZ Top.Beard was born in...
– drumsDrum kitA drum kit is a collection of drums, cymbals and often other percussion instruments, such as cowbells, wood blocks, triangles, chimes, or tambourines, arranged for convenient playing by a single person ....
, percussionPercussion instrumentA percussion instrument is any object which produces a sound when hit with an implement or when it is shaken, rubbed, scraped, or otherwise acted upon in a way that sets the object into vibration... - Marimbas de Chiapas – marimbaMarimbaThe marimba is a musical instrument in the percussion family. It consists of a set of wooden keys or bars with resonators. The bars are struck with mallets to produce musical tones. The keys are arranged as those of a piano, with the accidentals raised vertically and overlapping the natural keys ...
- Dan Dugmore – pedal steel guitarPedal steel guitarThe pedal steel guitar is a type of electric guitar that uses a metal bar to "fret" or shorten the length of the strings, rather than fingers on strings as with a conventional guitar. Unlike other types of steel guitar, it also uses pedals and knee levers to affect the pitch, hence the name "pedal"...
- James HarmanJames HarmanJames Harman is an American blues harmonica player, singer, and songwriter. Music journalist, Tony Russell, described Harman as an "amusing songwriter and an excellent, unfussy harp player".-Biography:...
– harmonicaHarmonicaThe harmonica, also called harp, French harp, blues harp, and mouth organ, is a free reed wind instrument used primarily in blues and American folk music, jazz, country, and rock and roll. It is played by blowing air into it or drawing air out by placing lips over individual holes or multiple holes... - Joe Hardy – engineerAudio engineeringAn audio engineer, also called audio technician, audio technologist or sound technician, is a specialist in a skilled trade that deals with the use of machinery and equipment for the recording, mixing and reproduction of sounds. The field draws on many artistic and vocational areas, including...
, mixingMixing engineerA mix engineer is the person responsible for incorporating all the different recorded elements of music to make the final version of a song. These mixing professionals have many years of experience and training with audio equipment which has enabled them to master the art of audio mixing... - Gary MoonGary MoonGary Moon is a bassist who has played for several bands, including Night Ranger and Three Dog Night. He has also recorded as a solo artist. Before joining Night Ranger, he was in a band called The Pack with Steve Isham of Autograph. Matt Sorum, later of Guns 'N Roses, The Cult and Velvet...
– masteringMastering engineerA mastering engineer is one skilled in the practice of taking audio that has been previously mixed in either the analog or digital domain as mono, stereo, or multichannel formats and preparing it for use in distribution, whether by physical media such as a CD, vinyl record, or as some method of... - Steve Ralbovsky – A&R
- Ryk Maverick – album cover designAlbum coverAn album cover is the front of the packaging of a commercially released audio recording product, or album. The term can refer to either the printed cardboard covers typically used to package sets of 10" and 12" 78 rpm records, single and sets of 12" LPs, sets of 45 rpm records , or the front-facing...
- Mike Waring – photographyPhotographyPhotography is the art, science and practice of creating durable images by recording light or other electromagnetic radiation, either electronically by means of an image sensor or chemically by means of a light-sensitive material such as photographic film...
Charts
Album – BillboardBillboard (magazine)
Billboard is a weekly American magazine devoted to the music industry, and is one of the oldest trade magazines in the world. It maintains several internationally recognized music charts that track the most popular songs and albums in various categories on a weekly basis...
(North America)
| Year | Chart | Position |
|---|---|---|
| 2003 | The Billboard 200 | 57 |