II (The Presidents of the United States of America album)

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II
The Presidents of the United States of America- II.jpg
Studio album by
The Presidents of the United States of America
ReleasedNovember 5, 1996
RecordedStudio Litho, Seattle, Washington, August 1996
Genre
Length39:47
LabelColumbia
ProducerChris Ballew, Dave Dederer, Jason Finn, Craig Montgomery
The Presidents of the United States of America chronology
The Presidents of the United States of America
(1995) 		II
(1996) 		Rarities
(1997)
Singles from II
  1. "Mach 5"
    Released: 1996
  2. "Supersonics (Reworked Version of Supermodel)"
    Released: 1996
  3. "Volcano"
    Released: 1997
  4. "Tiki God"
    Released: 1997
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic3/5 stars[1]
The A.V. Club(Unfavorable)[6]
Chicago Tribune2/4 stars[2]
Entertainment WeeklyA−[3]
Los Angeles Times2.5/4 stars[4]
Rolling Stone2/5 stars[5]

II is the second studio album by the American alternative rock band The Presidents of the United States of America. It was released via Columbia Records on November 5, 1996, coinciding with the United States presidential election.

Background[]

The album included a few songs that originally appeared on , a self-released cassette that was recorded before their debut album, The Presidents of the United States of America. These songs, which were re-recorded for this album, were "L.I.P", then known as "Little Indian Princess", "Lunatic to Love" and "Puffy Little Shoes". Also, "Twig" was re-recorded, as it was previously recorded as a b-side to a "Lump" single, where it was known as "Twig in the Wind". That version was later released on Rarities as "Twig (Semi Acoustic Version)".

Track listing[]

All songs by The Presidents of the United States of America.

  1. "Ladies and Gentlemen, Part 1" – 1:39
  2. "Lunatic to Love" – 2:57
  3. "Volcano" – 2:58
  4. "Mach 5" – 3:15
  5. "Twig" – 2:37
  6. "Bug City" – 3:05
  7. "Bath of Fire" – 2:57
  8. "Tiki God" – 2:58
  9. "L.I.P." – 3:20
  10. "Froggie" – 3:10
  11. "Toob Amplifier" – 1:22
  12. "Supermodel" – 2:49
  13. "Puffy Little Shoes" – 4:59
  14. "Ladies and Gentlemen, Part 2" – 3:03
  15. "Basketball Dream" – 0:55 (hidden track)

"Basketball Dream" features a boy, Tony Ballew (a relative of Chris Ballew), describing a dream he had about Magic Johnson - for this reason, the track is often mislabeled "Magic Johnson Dream". Chris Ballew can be heard faintly whispering the lyrics underneath the boy. The recording of Tony's voice, with a different musical backing, previously appeared on Feel Good, an album by Ballew's pre-PUSA band Egg, in 1987.

Personnel[]

The Presidents of the United States of America
  • Chris Ballew – basitar, bass, lead vocals, keyboards
  • Dave Dederer – guitbass, guitar, background vocals
  • Jason Finn – drums, percussion, background vocals
Additional personnel
  • Dave Thiele
  • Tony Ballew – baby voice on "Basketball Dream"
  • Mark Sandman – tritar on "Froggie"
  • S. Craig Montgomery – co-producing, engineering
  • Wally Traugott – mastering
  • Lance Mercer – photography
  • Jerry Finn – mixing
  • Doug Erb – art directing
  • Tom Smurdon – assistant engineering

Charts[]

Album - Billboard (United States)

Year Chart Position
1996 The Billboard 200 31

Singles - Billboard (United States)

Year Single Chart Position
1996 "Mach 5" Modern Rock Tracks 11

References[]

  1. ^ Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "II - The Presidents of the United States of America". Allmusic. Macrovision Corporation. Retrieved 4 February 2010.
  2. ^ Kot, Greg (November 8, 1996). "Presidents of the United States of America II (Columbia)". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved 25 February 2013.
  3. ^ Browne, David (November 8, 1996). "No. 1 with a Ballot (Page 2)". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved 25 February 2013.
  4. ^ Scribner, Sara (December 8, 1996). "Presidents of the United States of America, 'II'". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 25 February 2013.
  5. ^ Cohen, Jason (November 28, 1996). "Presidents of the United States of America: II : Music Reviews". Rolling Stone. Jann Wenner. Archived from the original on November 13, 2007. Retrieved 4 February 2010.
  6. ^ Thompson, Stephen (March 29, 2002). "The Presidents Of The United States Of America: II". The A.V. Club. Onion, Inc. Retrieved 4 February 2010.
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