Is the Actor Happy? is an album by the American folk rock musician Vic Chesnutt, released in 1995.[2][3] The title of the album's first track was used as the subtitle to a 1996 benefit album, Sweet Relief II: Gravity of the Situation, recorded to raise funds for Chesnutt's health care.[4]
| Is the Actor Happy? | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | 1995 | |||
| Genre | Folk rock | |||
| Label | Texas Hotel Records[1] | |||
| Producer | John Keane | |||
| Vic Chesnutt chronology | ||||
| ||||
Chesnutt supported the album by touring with Friends of Dean Martinez.[5] The album was reissued by New West Records in 2004.[6]
Production edit
The album was produced by John Keane.[7] Michael Stipe contributed vocals to "Guilty by Association".[8] Chesnutt wrote the songs while opening for Live on a 1994 tour.[9]
Critical reception edit
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [10] |
| Pitchfork | 9.0/10[11] |
| (The New) Rolling Stone Album Guide |  [6] |
The Globe and Mail wrote that "there's a haunting, humble beauty and oddness that runs through these songs, delicately melodic ballads full of curious little observations and apologies, surreal non sequiturs and vivid imagery."[12] The Sunday Times deemed the album a "finely wrought and stylistically consistent masterpiece," writing that "Chesnutt finally learned to write for a band, brushed drums and ringing lead-guitar lines tumbling over his simple strumming."[13] The Press-Telegram called it "deep, poignant, almost always touching, with a fine edge of bitterness, sometimes even a cunning malice."[14]
The Guardian determined that Chesnutt "does quiet tunes with loud bits and quiet tunes without loud bits, all sung in a curmudgeonly little voice, none of them amounting to a great deal."[15] The Gazette listed Is the Actor Happy? as the best album of 1995; The Philadelphia Inquirer included it on its list of the year's 10 best.[16][17]
AllMusic wrote: "Heartbreakingly delicate folk rock arrangements are followed by crashing guitar crescendos as the perfect vehicles for taking Chesnutt's songs to places very few songwriters have been or can go."[10] Pitchfork called the album "not just arguably his finest release, but also his most extroverted ... His subject isn't just himself, but also his place among friends and amid the sprawl of the South."[11]
Track listing edit
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Gravity of the Situation" | |
| 2. | "Sad Peter Pan" | |
| 3. | "Strange Language" | |
| 4. | "Onion Soup" | |
| 5. | "Doubting Woman" | |
| 6. | "Wrong Piano" | |
| 7. | "Free of Hope" | |
| 8. | "Betty Lonely" | |
| 9. | "Thumbtack" | |
| 10. | "Thailand" | |
| 11. | "Guilty by Association" |
References edit
- ^ Thompson, Ben (16 July 1995). "Hell on wheels". The Independent. SUNDAY REVIEW. p. 28.
- ^ Buckley, Peter (December 10, 2003). "The Rough Guide to Rock". Rough Guides – via Google Books.
- ^ Hersh, Kristin (2015). Don't Suck, Don't Die: Giving Up Vic Chesnutt. University of Texas Press. p. 178.
- ^ Unterberger, Richie (1999). "Music USA".
- ^ Armstrong, Gene (September 29, 1995). "MUSIC BEAT". Arizona Daily Star. p. 6E.
- ^ a b Brackett, Nathan; Hoard, Christian David (December 10, 2004). "The New Rolling Stone Album Guide". Simon and Schuster – via Google Books.
- ^ "Vic Chesnutt". www.austinchronicle.com.
- ^ Moon, Tom (September 26, 2008). "1,000 Recordings to Hear Before You Die: A Listener's Life List". Workman Publishing – via Google Books.
- ^ Dollar, Steve (September 29, 1995). "PREVIEW Vic Chesnutt". Atlanta Journal-Constitution. p. P3.
- ^ a b "Is the Actor Happy? - Vic Chesnutt | Songs, Reviews, Credits | AllMusic" – via www.allmusic.com.
- ^ a b "Vic Chesnutt: Little / West of Rome / Drunk / Is the Actor Happy?". Pitchfork.
- ^ Dafoe, Chris (11 Nov 1995). "RECORDINGS POP Is The Actor Happy?". The Globe and Mail. p. C11.
- ^ Lee, Stewart (10 Nov 1996). "Enter Peter Pan". The Sunday Times. Culture. p. 27.
- ^ Grobaty, Tim (July 15, 1995). "Not the Top 10 List". Press-Telegram. p. C1.
- ^ Ellison, Mike (21 Apr 1995). "VIC CHESNUTT Is The Actor Happy?". The Guardian. p. T12.
- ^ Lepage, Mark (24 Dec 1995). "The best rock albums of '95". Edmonton Journal. ENTERTAINMENT. p. C1.
- ^ Moon, Tom (24 Dec 1995). "OUR CRITICS PICK THE BEST OF THE YEAR". The Philadelphia Inquirer. p. M1.