Description
Worldwide Favorites is a compilation album by the American alternative rock band Adam Again, released on KMG Records in 1999. Featuring “Sleepwalk,” a track previously available only on the multi-artist sampler Reflections: A Brainstorm Companion released in 1994.
Adam Again features Gene Eugene, Riki Michele, Greg Lawless, Paul Valadez, and Jon Knox. In the words of All Music Guide, “in the rock & roll arena Adam Again are simply one of the most inventive and artfully canny bands on any scene.”
This loose-knit collection of album tracks, B-sides, compilation one-offs, and rarities is supposed to serve not only as a look back at the previous 13 years, but as a way of coming to grips with the diversity and garage band politic inherent in the group’s sound. For the uninitiated, Adam Again walks the strangest line in popular music: somewhere between the open-ended hookiness of R.E.M. and the blistering white-boy funk rock of Dave Matthews without the sense of self-importance. Indeed, Adam Again’s sound has always walked on the apocalyptic shore as evidenced on the slow rocker «Worldwide», and especially «It’s Alright». The fractured funk ‘n’ roll inherent on «Bad News on the Radio» echoes the out jazz stylings of Flipper and A Certain Ratio as much as it does Matthews. The syncopation and flailing distortion in the guitars calls forth a spirit that touches both desolation and rage before it resigns itself to the knowledge that the world itself can only be changed from inside oneself. «Strobe» digs deep in the groove bag, pulling out a steady 4/4 mojo that calls down the rock side of soul, and on the soul side of funk, with its knotty Bernie Worrell-esque keyboard break. The disc closes with «Relapse», a near gothic rock tune that calls down the wrath of the spirits on the faltering self, abandoning that faulty construct to the absolute Mercy of the Divine. It’s so naked, so true, and so unflinchingly honest as the guitars drone their Zeppelin-esque riff that the listener begins to squirm in their seat and wonder if the Serenity Prayer shouldn’t be invoked here…In the rock & roll arena they are simply one of the most inventive and artfully canny bands on any scene. [Thom Jurek, AMG]
Two years after Adam Again released their fourth and best album, 1992’s ‘Dig‘, I picked it up from Word’s deletion list for a measly £2.99. Still one of my favourite listens, its throwaway price sums up the Californian five-piece’s British impact. Fiercely loved by fans and critics, Gene Eugene’s crew remained one of the Christian bands to stand shoulder to shoulder with their mainstream peers. But the frontman’s bleak (and often brilliant) lyrics scared off many zealous evangelicals and his divorce from backing singer/dancer Riki Michele, who then continued in the group, may also have raised eyebrows. This 16-track compilation (named after the band’s offbeat two-minute paean to the desensitized, «Worldwide») draws heavily from ‘Dig’ and the follow-up ‘Perfecta‘. Feedback-drenched funk, grunge, disco and rock shape Eugene’s thick, drawled vocals – there’s nothing stunted down here. The superb gut-stirring «Stone» and «River On Fire» (the best song REM ever wrote) lie alongside older tracks like «Homeboys» and «You Can Fall in Love». Adam Again haven’t released a studio album for almost five years, but, on the strength of this, let’s hope they’ve not given up the ghost just yet. [Peter Bate, Cross Rhythms, August 1999]
[ ALBUM LINER NOTES printed in the CD insert ]
Fascinating Song Notes from Gene
01. Worldwide
When we were approached about putting together a collection of hits, this was the only one we could come up with. Other than that, we’ve just tried to collect together some songs that have been in some way special to us over the 13 (or so) years that we’ve been playing together. I’m often asked about the Headman Shabalala line in the 3rd verse. He was a singer in Ladysmith Black Mambazo who was murdered while we were working on the Dig record, on which this song originally appeared.02. It’s All Right
This is from Perfecta, which was, for the most part, a big jam session with almost all the songs being written in the studio. We would get together every couple of months, set up and see what would happen. In some ways it was a mess. We ended up with somewhere in the neighborhood of 22 tracks without any lyrics, and it took around 3 years to finish the record. It was great writing songs that way.03. Hide Away
This is one of my favorites.04. Bad News on the Radio
A true crime story from our 3rd album, Homeboys, which was a theme record of sorts about living (as we all were) in a pretty rough area of Southern California. This song is built around an insane drum beat from Jon, who had just joined the band. He has been an integral part of everything we have done since. Doug Webb played tenor sax. He paid us our best compliment ever. On a break during his first rehearsal with us, I asked him what Coltrane’s music was like, and he looked at us and said, “Like this.”05. Strobe
This song has only one chord. We meant to go back and make up a real bass part, but we forgot.06. Eyes Wide Open
An early rave-up. Rhodes took me about two days.07. Dig
The Dig album came out perfectly for the most part. All the songs ended up just how we wanted them, and I was happy with all my lyrics. Riki’s harmonies on this title track are beautiful (as usual).08. Stone
One of our best songwriting moments. We all worked on the music together, and although it took me around two years to finish the lyrics, they came out just right. I remember the moment when we were trying to figure out how to get from the verse to the chorus, and Paul yelled out F minor, which, of course, was exactly it.09. Homeboys
Another city story. This one’s all about the street where Paul and I grew up. Jerry G (of the last verse), had a little brother when he died. The little brother was too young to have truly known Jerry. Not too long ago, I was on my old street and I offered Jerry’s brother a ride. He’s a gang banger now, has spent a jot of time locked up, and his other brother was also murdered. He wanted to know all about Jerry, and I told him all I could before dropping him off downtown.10. The 10th Song
The big finish of our 2nd album. Kind of a strange one. I remember that this song was being mixed in one studio, while another song was being mixed in a different studio. I was running back and forth.11. Deep
Greg had started a band of his own after Homeboys, and was writing some good songs for them. When it came time for Adam Again to get ready to record, we all holed up in a rehearsal studio for a couple weeks and wrote and rehearsed the songs that would make up Dig. About half of the tunes came from riffs Greg had been using in his songs for his own band. In a way, our musical direction followed after what he had been doing by himself; this song in particular.12. You Can Fall in Love
From our first album. I think we were trying to copy a Fela Kuti record.13. All You Lucky People
Recorded live, with only the vocals overdubbed. We only used one mic on the drums.14. Sleepwalk
A once-abandoned experiment from the Dig sessions where we messed around with turntables and a DJ (Cartoon from Freedom of Soul). It appeared only on a Brainstorm compilation.15. River on Fire
Our finest song. I believe that it’s one of the saddest songs ever.16. Relapse
A legend in our own minds epic from Perfecta. I decided to include it on this collection at the last minute. I honestly don’t know why. I hadn’t even listened to it for years. It seems to sum up something which I reserve the right to figure out later. Maybe we just like it. As for you… thanks for listening all these years. Thank you for getting it, even when we weren’t sure.Love, Gene
> Apple Music (https://music.apple.com/us/album/worldwide-favorites/384192370)
CD tracklist:
01. Worldwide – 2:07
02. It’s All Right – 4:33
03. Hide Away – 2:51
04. Bad News on the Radio – 3:54
05. Strobe – 2:30
06. Eyes Wide Open – 5:53
07. Dig – 3:27
08. Stone – 4:57
09. Homeboys – 3:41
10. The 10th Song – 5:32
11. Deep – 4:18
12. You Can Fall in Love – 5:46
13. All You Lucky People – 4:26
14. Sleepwalk – 3:50
15. River on Fire – 5:46
16. Relapse – 6:48
Rough Cut Worldwide Adam Again Documentary (Short Version)
Gene during a mixing session at his own studio The Green Room in Huntington Beach, California.
Adam Again has been called one of the very best bands in the world. Whereas that is quite likely true, at the very least they are Christendom’s tightest and funkiest outfits, as well as one of the most interesting. With only five albums from 1986 to 1995 to their credit, their overall output is hardly considerable, yet each of those albums is chock-ful of finely crafted songs ranging from outright rockers to brooding ballads. Worldwide Favourites offers an appropriately wide assortment of selections collected from each of their albums, plus one harder to find cut («Sleepwalk») previously only available on a Brainstorm compilation.
The creative force behind the talented band is Gene Eugene who earns his reputation as much these days as a crack album producer for other bands than he does as the front-man and principal songwriter for Adam Again. Like a true soul singer, Eugene is remarkably in touch with his melancholy. The emotional range of his songs is exemplary, whether he is bemoaning the dangerous state of his urban neighborhood or reflecting on personal disappointments, including marital woes with former wife and fellow band-member Riki Michele (contributor of lush harmonies and groovy dance-steps). Eugene is not so much the consummate tortured artist as he is one merely beset by enough burdens to positively affect his art. Consequently, the band’s fans have found him to be an honest and lucid communicator of the harsh realities of life and a sign of hope that even a fragile faith can and does triumph in shadowy valleys. But mostly they just love his incredibly funky side.
Back in 1986 with the release of In a New World of Time, Adam Again were part of a Southern California movement to make relevant Christian music in currently contemporary musical forms. Their debut album drew both favorable and unfavorable comparisons to quirky alt-pop bands like Talking Heads, but also established the band’s love of chunky rhythms and sheer creativity. Ten Songs by Adam Again followed in 1988, garnering even more praise for its funkier mix and danceable tracks on racism, lying, and the blessed nature of Christ’s sacrifice. Two years later, Homeboys showcased Adam Again’s love of Seventies sounds in what Eugene has called “a theme record of sorts about living (as we all were) in a pretty rough area of Southern California.” This album was also the first to feature Johnny Knox on the “high kick drum laying a groove so thick.” With a real and talented drummer as an official band member, the Adam Again sound continues to grew even more organic and intense.
Adam Again hit pay dirt in a manner of speaking with 1992’s Dig. Still their most celebrated album to date, Dig had a harder, more alternative edge which relied more on Greg Lawless’s and Eugene’s guitar work than the previous album’s affections for synths and organs. The result was a brilliant batch of songs that not only redefined their sound, but drew greater critical and fan-base acclaim. Their reputation as a great live act had also been proven by this time, and was solidified by various festival appearances. Their follow-up, Perfecta wasn’t released until 1995, and chronicled Eugene’s darkest hours in a collection of sturdy jams and solid songs like the infectiously funky «Strobe». A rare glimpse into Eugene’s very soul, Perfecta proved to be another highlight for fans. Rumors and reports of a yet another album (at one time tentatively titled Guadalupe) have been bandied about for years, but 1999 may find this highly anticipated album boldly breaking into the light of day.
Like the case with most beloved bands, diehard Adam Again afficionados are opinionated and vocal about their favorite tracks. Curiously, only a portion of those songs cited recently by the Gene Eugene email discussion list as their favorites actually made it onto this greatest hits collection. In particular, the absence of «Who Can Hold Us», which was listed as the fan’s #1 choice for absolute favorite pick, is a bit like Led Zeppelin releasing a greatest hits album without «Stairway to Heaven». Despite such other seemingly obvious oversights as leaving off «No Regrets», «Tree House», and their cover of Bill Wither’s «Ain’t No Sunshine» which rivals the original, Worldwide Favourites still provides an excellent glimpse into some of the band’s best material. Not all of the favorites are here, but enough of them to keep you busy boogieing and belting along.
Although there are no lyrics offered, the sleeve features a wonderful collection of band photos and other bits artfully displayed by long-time collaborator Anna Cardenas. The final page also features “Fascinating Song Notes from Gene” with little quips and insights into the selected song’s themselves.
True confessions: I have been a diehard Adam Again fan since their first album. Writing a review of their greatest hits collection is a bit like asking a child to play in a toy store. I’m hardly what you would call an objective source when it comes to critiquing their music. However, as a fan I can think of no better way for you to become acquainted with Adam Again’s music than to personally endorse this collection for your enjoyment and then urging you to pick up their other fine albums. [Steven S. Baldwin, The Phantom Tollbooth, 8/20/99]
Reviews
There are no reviews yet.