Hello Rockview is the third studio album by ska punk band Less Than Jake, released on October 6, 1998. Produced by Howard Benson, it is the band's second and final album on Capitol Records, and recorded at Mirror Image Studios in Gainesville, Florida. The album is the first to feature trombonist Pete Anna, who joined the band during its recording. The album is dedicated in memory of Niki Wood.
The album yielded two singles, "History of a Boring Town" and "All My Best Friends Are Metalheads", with "History of a Boring Town" reaching #39 on the Billboard Modern Rock Tracks Chart.[2]
Writing and composition
The lyrics of Hello Rockview follow four years of drummer and lyricist Vinnie Fiorello's life when arranged in a non-studio order and is named after one of Vinnie's oldest friends who was imprisoned at Rockview State Correctional Institution.[3]
Artwork
The CD booklet had the unorthodox format of a comic book. It was illustrated by Steve Vance, who would later illustrate the song artwork for "The Ghosts of Me and You" on Anthem. Stylistically, it is similar to Dick Tracy. Each page is a separate song, with all dialog, thoughts, and captions being the lyrics to each song. The lyrics themselves all appear in proper order, but the order of the individual songs is different from that of the track list.
Reception
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [4] |
| Ox-Fanzine | Favorable[5] |
| Wall of Sound | 67/100[6] |
NME listed the album as one of "20 Pop Punk Albums Which Will Make You Nostalgic", saying that it is "A soundtrack to shoving your friends, listening to 'All My Best Friends Are Metalheads' and wondering how you ever liked pop punk which didn't have a trombone."[7]
Track listing
- "Last One Out of Liberty City" – 2:01
- "Help Save the Youth of America from Exploding" – 2:53
- "All My Best Friends Are Metalheads" – 3:31
- "Five State Drive" – 2:48
- "Nervous in the Alley" – 2:54
- "Motto" – 3:14
- "History of a Boring Town" – 3:22
- "Great American Sharpshooter" – 1:28
- "Danny Says" – 2:51
- "Big Crash" – 2:43
- "Theme Song for H Street" – 2:43
- "Richard Allen George... No, It's Just Cheez" – 1:46
- "Scott Farcas Takes It on the Chin" – 2:34
- "Al's War" – 3:04
(some versions of "Hello Rockview" came with a bonus disc of Less Than Jake's 1996 release "Losing Streak")
Personnel
- Less Than Jake
- Chris Demakes - vocals, guitar
- Roger Manganelli - bass, guitar, vocals
- Vinnie Fiorello - drums, lyrics
- Buddy Schaub - trombone
- Pete Anna - trombone
- Derron Nuhfer - saxophone
- Additional musicians
- Howard Benson - additional keyboards
- Production
- Howard Benson - producer, editing
- Less Than Jake - producer
- Steve Kravac - engineer
- Ronny Cates - assistant engineer
- Chris Lord-Alge - mixing
- Mike - assistant mixing engineer
- Terry - assistant mixing engineer
- Bob Ludwig - mastering
- Danny O'Bryan - production coordination
- Steve Vance - illustration and design
- Less Than Jake - art direction
Chart positions
| Chart (1998) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| US Billboard 200[8] | 80 |
References
- ^ https://loudwire.com/greatest-pop-punk-albums/
- ^ AllMusic Charts: Less Than Jake singles Accessed 1 June 2008
- ^ "Vinnie Talks About Hello Rockview". YouTube. 2011-06-23. Retrieved 2012-02-21.
- ^ Allmusic review
- ^ Brunner, Simon (June–August 2000). "Reviews: Less Than Jake / Hello Rockview CD". Ox-Fanzine (in German). Retrieved May 26, 2019.
- ^ Gulla, Bob. "Review: Hello Rockview". Wall of Sound. Archived from the original on April 15, 2001. Retrieved October 30, 2020.
- ^ "20 Pop Punk Albums Which Will Make You Nostalgic". NME.com. June 9, 2014. Retrieved October 3, 2018.
A soundtrack to shoving your friends, listening to 'All My Best Friends Are Metalheads' and wondering how you ever liked pop punk which didn't have a trombone.
- ^ "Less Than Jake Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved October 13, 1998.