Pet Your Friends is the first album by the American alternative rock band Dishwalla.[1] It was released in 1995 on A&M Records. The album included the hit single "Counting Blue Cars" (the second single from the album), which was a Top 40 favorite. The album's fourth single, "Charlie Brown's Parents", was popular at concerts, although it was not very successful in terms of sales. An acoustic version of "Counting Blue Cars" with an extended bridge was also popular on radio.

Pet Your Friends
Studio album by
ReleasedAugust 22, 1995 (1995-08-22)
RecordedApril – September 1994
Genre
Length49:21
LabelA&M
Producer
Dishwalla chronology
Pet Your Friends
(1995)
And You Think You Know What Life's About
(1998)
Singles from Pet Your Friends
  1. "Haze"
    Released: 1995
  2. "Counting Blue Cars"
    Released: February 27, 1996
  3. "Charlie Brown's Parents"
    Released: 1996
  4. "Give"
    Released: 1996

The image used for the cover of the album is taken from the August 23, 1948, Life magazine cover. The cover story talks about a 17-year-old girl who became friends with a friend's pet deer while swimming one day.[2]

Critical reception

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Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic     [3]

The Chicago Tribune noted that, "individually, the songs on the quartet's Pet Your Friends CD make for passable radio ditties, but as a whole they amount to a rock-by-numbers sleepwalk."[4] Bass Player praised the "well-written alterna-pop tunes."[5]

Track listing

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All tracks are written by Dishwalla (J.R. Richards, Rodney Browning, Scot Alexander and George Pendergast), except where noted

No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Pretty Babies"Dishwalla, Kolanek5:30
2."Haze" 4:21
3."Counting Blue Cars (Tell Me Your Thoughts on God)"Dishwalla, Kolanek4:51
4."Explode" 3:02
5."Charlie Brown's Parents"Dishwalla, Kolanek5:15
6."Give" 5:25
7."Miss Emma Peel" 4:06
8."Moisture"Dishwalla, Kolanek5:23
9."The Feeder" 3:58
10."All She Can See"Dishwalla, Kolanek3:45
11."Only for So Long" 2:58
Total length:49:21
UK bonus track
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
13."It's Going to Take Some Time" (The Carpenters cover)Carole King, Toni Stern4:17

Personnel

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Dishwalla
  • J.R. Richards – lead vocals, keyboards, piano, organ, Hammond organ, Roland Juno 60
  • Rodney Browning – guitar, backing vocals
  • Scot Alexander – bass guitar, backing vocals, tabla, bells, Roland Juno 60
  • George Pendergast – drums, percussion, backing vocals
Additional personnel
  • Ian Cross - assistant engineer
  • Andy Kravitz - programming, additional production, engineer
  • Bob Ludwig - mastering
  • Phil Nicolo - programming, producer, engineer, mixing
  • David Young - executive producer
  • Dishwalla - programming, producer
  • Eric Flickinger - assistant engineer
  • Michael Lavine - photography
  • Dirk Grobelny - engineer
  • Mark Mazzetti - executive producer, A&R
  • Sunja Park - art direction
  • Tulio Torrinello, Jr. - assistant engineer
  • Jone Pedersen - cover model
  • Jon Brenneis - photography

Chart positions

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Chart (1996) Peak
position
Billboard 200 (US)[6] 89
Top Heatseekers (US) 1

Singles

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Year Title Chart Position
1996 "Counting Blue Cars" Billboard Hot 100 (US)[7] 15
Mainstream Rock Tracks (US)[8] 2
Alternative Songs (US)[9] 1
Adult Pop Songs (US)[10] 5
Pop Songs (US)[11] 4
"Charlie Brown's Parents" Mainstream Rock Tracks (US)[8] 24
1997 "Give" Adult Pop Songs (US)[10] 26

Certifications

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Region Certification Certified units/sales
United States (RIAA)[12] Gold 500,000^

^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

References

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  1. ^ Abrahams, Andrew (Sep 18, 1995). "Pet Your Friends by Dishwalla". People. Vol. 44, no. 12. p. 34.
  2. ^ "Bucky the Deer". Life: 53. August 23, 1948 – via Google Books.
  3. ^ AllMusic review
  4. ^ Reger, Rick (12 Jan 1996). "Dishwalla, Friday at the Double Door:". Friday. Chicago Tribune. p. P.
  5. ^ Leigh, Bill (Aug 1996). "Reviews: Records". Bass Player. Vol. 7, no. 8. p. 76.
  6. ^ "Dishwalla - Chart history". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved July 10, 2017.
  7. ^ "Dishwalla - Chart history". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved July 10, 2017.
  8. ^ a b "Dishwalla - Chart history". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved July 10, 2017.
  9. ^ "Dishwalla - Chart history". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved July 10, 2017.
  10. ^ a b "Dishwalla - Chart history". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved July 10, 2017.
  11. ^ "Dishwalla - Chart history". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved July 10, 2017.
  12. ^ "American single certifications – Dishwalla – Pet Your Friends". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved March 11, 2022.