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

II
Studio album by The Presidents of the United States of America
Released	November 5, 1996
Recorded	Studio Litho, Seattle, Washington, August 1996
Genre	Alternative rock Power pop Grunge Rock
Length	39:47
Label	Columbia
Producer	Chris 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
"Mach 5" Released: 1996 "Supersonics (Reworked Version of Supermodel)" Released: 1996 "Volcano" Released: 1997 "Tiki God" Released: 1997

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic	[1]
The A.V. Club	(Unfavorable)[2]
Chicago Tribune	[3]
Entertainment Weekly	A−[4]
Los Angeles Times	[5]
Rolling Stone	[6]

II is the second studio album by The Presidents of the United States of America. It was released via Columbia Records on November 5, 1996, which was Election Day in the United States, which included voting for the President.

Background

The album included a few songs that originally appeared on Froggystyle, 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 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 track 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 (North America)

Year	Chart	Position
1996	The Billboard 200	31

Singles - Billboard (North America)

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. Thompson, Stephen (March 29, 2002). "The Presidents Of The United States Of America: II". The A.V. Club. Onion, Inc. Retrieved 4 February 2010.
3. Kot, Greg (November 8, 1996). "Presidents of the United States of America II (Columbia)". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved 25 February 2013.
4. Browne, David (November 8, 1996). "No. 1 with a Ballot (Page 2)". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved 25 February 2013.
5. Scribner, Sara (December 8, 1996). "Presidents of the United States of America, 'II'". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 25 February 2013.
6. 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.