| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |    [1] |
| Chicago Tribune | [2] |
| Entertainment Weekly | B+[3] |
| The Guardian | [4] |
| Los Angeles Times | [5] |
| NME | 8/10[6] |
| Q | [7] |
| Rolling Stone | [8] |
| Spin | 8/10[9] |
| Uncut | 8/10[10] |
Car Button Cloth is the seventh studio album by the Lemonheads, and the last under their contract with Atlantic Records. The band, as it were, consisted mostly of Dando himself playing many instruments, including his usual guitars and lead vocals, and Patrick Murphy on drums, along with a series of session musicians and producer Bryce Goggin filling in on other instruments. Following the recording of the album, Bill Gibson, who had played bass on several tracks, joined the band for the supporting tour along with Dando and Murphy.
Despite receiving lukewarm reviews and not being as commercially successful as the Lemonheads' previous two albums, It's a Shame About Ray and Come On Feel the Lemonheads, Car Button Cloth has gained a minor cult following in recent years. The tracks "It's All True," "If I Could Talk I'd Tell You" (cowritten by Eugene Kelly of the Vaselines), and "The Outdoor Type" were released as singles in the UK. "Purple Parallelogram," a song written by Dando and Oasis's Noel Gallagher, was originally included on promotional copies of Car Button Cloth between "Something's Missing" and "Knoxville Girl," but was reportedly removed at Gallagher's request.[11] The album would be the last studio release from The Lemonheads for a decade, when they released a long-awaited self-titled follow-up, while in the meantime the group's frontman and sole remaining original member, Evan Dando, issued his first official solo album, 2003's Baby I'm Bored (a live album and EP were released in Australia two years earlier).
Track listing
All songs by Evan Dando except where noted.
- "It's All True" – 2:15
- "If I Could Talk I'd Tell You" (Dando, Eugene Kelly) – 2:50
- "Break Me" – 3:34
- "Hospital" – 2:54
- "The Outdoor Type" (Tom Morgan) – 2:35
- "Losing Your Mind" – 5:36
- "Something's Missing" – 2:47
- "Knoxville Girl" (Traditional; arranged by Dando) – 3:53
- "6ix" – 2:39
- "C'mon Daddy" (Dando, Epic Soundtracks) – 3:32
- "One More Time" – 2:39
- "Tenderfoot" (Morgan, Adam Young) – 2:01
- "Secular Rockulidge" – 5:33
Personnel
- Evan Dando – bass, guitar, percussion, piano, drums on track 12, vocals, moog synthesizer, design, illustrations
- Darrin Ehardt – design
- Bill Gibson – bass, guitar, background vocals
- Rich Gilbert – pedal steel
- Bryce Goggin – organ, vocals, moog synthesizer, producer, engineer, mixing
- Scott Hull – mastering
- Sue Kapa – assistant engineer, photography
- Royston Langdon – bass, piano
- Erich Drew Luening – whistle
- Kenny Lyon – guitar, clapping
- Paul Marconi – mixing assistant
- Patrick Murphy – drums except track 12
- Dina Waxman – bass
References
- ^ Rabid, Jack. "Car Button Cloth – The Lemonheads". AllMusic. Retrieved April 11, 2020.
- ^ Caro, Mark (December 6, 1996). "Lemonheads: Car Button Cloth (Atlantic/Tag)". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved April 11, 2020.
- ^ Sinclair, Tom (October 18, 1996). "Car Button Cloth". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved December 7, 2016.
- ^ Sullivan, Caroline (October 4, 1996). "The Lemonheads: Car Button Cloth (Atlantic)". The Guardian.
- ^ Scribner, Sara (September 28, 1996). "The Lemonheads, 'Car Button Cloth,' TAG/Atlantic". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved April 11, 2020.
- ^ Kessler, Ted (September 29, 1996). "The Lemonheads – Car Button Cloth". NME. Archived from the original on August 17, 2000. Retrieved April 11, 2020.
- ^ Eccleston, Danny (November 1996). "The Lemonheads: Car Button Cloth". Q. No. 122. p. 126.
- ^ Hoskyns, Barney (October 30, 1996). "The Lemonheads: Car Button Cloth". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on June 30, 2009. Retrieved December 7, 2016.
- ^ Powers, Ann (November 1996). "Lemonheads: Car Button Cloth". Spin. Vol. 12 no. 8. p. 120. Retrieved April 11, 2020.
- ^ Deusner, Stephen (July 2017). "Buyers' Guide: Evan Dando & The Lemonheads". Uncut. No. 242. p. 59.
- ^ Kaufman, Gil. "Purple Parallelogram Pulled From Lemonheads' Album". MTV News. Retrieved 2020-10-17.