Happy Town (album)

Happy Town
Studio album by Jill Sobule
Released	March 18, 1997
Genre	Adult alternative
Length	46:23
Label	Atlantic
Producer	Robin Eaton, Mark Goldenberg, Brad Jones
Jill Sobule chronology
Jill Sobule (1995) Happy Town (1997) Pink Pearl (2000)

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic	[1]
Rolling Stone	[2]

Happy Town is the third album by the American singer-songwriter Jill Sobule, released in 1997. (see 1997 in music). The album contains the singles "Bitter" and "When My Ship Comes In" as well as the fan favorite "Half a Heart" and the satirical social commentary "Soldiers of Christ" where Sobule sings from the point of view of a Christian Conservative to illustrate the existence of homophobia in religion. "Love Is Never Equal" appeared in the 2005 Jenny McCarthy film, Dirty Love.

"Bitter" peaked at #74 on the Australian ARIA singles chart in June 1997.^[3] The album peaked at #83 on the Australian ARIA albums chart during the same month.^[3]

The album cover illustration, which initially featured a Prozac pill, was changed to show a pair of test tubes when Wal-Mart refused to carry the album in its stores. The company asserted that the original image promoted drug abuse The album's lead single, "Bitter", peaked at #74 on Australia's ARIA Top 100 Singles chart on its release.^[4]

Track listing

1. "Bitter" (Barone, Sobule) – 3:30
2. "Happy Town" (Goldenberg, Sobule) – 3:46
3. "Barren Egg" (Eaton, Sobule) – 3:37
4. "Half a Heart" (DeMain, Sobule) – 3:47
5. "When My Ship Comes In" (Eaton, Gaye, Hunter, Sobule, Stevenson) – 3:50
6. "Clever" (Eaton, Sobule) – 3:18
7. "I'm So Happy" (Eaton, Sobule) – 2:43
8. "Little Guy" (Sobule) – 3:24
9. "Underachiever" (Sobule) – 3:42
10. "Love Is Never Equal" (Eaton, Sobule) – 3:15
11. "Soldiers of Christ" (Eaton, Sobule) – 3:20
12. "Attic" (Sobule) – 2:10
13. "Sold My Soul" (Eaton, Sobule) – 3:35
14. "Super 8" (Galdston, Sobule) – 2:26

Personnel

• Jill Sobule – vocals, acoustic guitar, bass guitar, guitar, percussion, drums, keyboards, ebo, vibraphone
• Sam Bacco – percussion
• George Bradfute – electric guitar
• Louis Brown – tuba, cornet
• Chris Carmichael – strings
• Steve Earle – electric guitar, vocals
• Robin Eaton – guitar
• Phil Galdston – keyboards
• Mark Goldenberg – guitar, keyboards, vocals
• Mickey Grimm – percussion, drums
• Jim Hoke – clarinet, flute, harmonica, autoharp, bass clarinet, soprano saxophone
• Byron House – upright bass
• Brad Jones – organ, bass, piano, harmonium, keyboards, Moog synthesizer, vibraphone
• Viktor Krauss – upright bass
• Roger Moutenot – Moog synthesizer
• Al Perkins – pedal steel
• Ross Rice – bass, piano, drums, harmonium, Wurlitzer

Production

• Producers: Robin Eaton, Mark Goldenberg, Brad Jones
• Engineers: Brad Jones, Dominick Maita, Elijah Shaw
• Mixing: Roger Moutenot
• Mixing assistants: Rich Cohan, Sandy Jenkins, Chris Stone
• Programming: Mark Goldenberg
• Photography: Annette Aurell
• Arranger: Phil Galdston
• Production Coordination: Barbara Moutenot
• Cover design: Brad Talbott
• Illustrations: Brad Talbott
• Background vocals: Bob, Jim, Mary Ellen and Matthew Sobule

References

1. Allmusic review
2. Rolling Stone review
3. Ryan, Gavin (2011). Australia's Music Charts 1988-2010. Mt. Martha, VIC, Australia: Moonlight Publishing.
4. Sobule, Jill (August 25, 2010). "I'm in the Newseum as an example of dumb censorship. And a song where I play drums!". Jill's Journal. Retrieved August 26, 2010.