| Leaving Wonderland... in a Fit of Rage | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | 2009 | |||
| Recorded | Mushroom Studios | |||
| Genre | Alternative rock | |||
| Length | 37:16 | |||
| Label | WOZ Records [1] | |||
| Producer | Jeff Dawson, John Wozniak | |||
| Marcy Playground chronology | ||||
| ||||
Leaving Wonderland... in a Fit of Rage is the fourth and most recent studio album by the American alternative rock band Marcy Playground, released in 2009. [2] [3] It was begun as a John Wozniak solo album. [4] The album's first single was "Blackbird". [5]
A remix album, Indaba Remixes from Wonderland, followed in 2010. [6] [7]
Production
The album was produced by Jeff Dawson and John Wozniak; Wozniak had appreciated Dawson's production work at Mushroom Studios. [8] [9] Its lyrics were inspired by a difficult period in the singer's life. [10] [11] Leaving Wonderland... in a Fit of Rage was recorded in part with original band member Dylan Keefe. [12] The band added drummer Shlomi Lavie after the album was completed. [13]
Critical reception
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |  
[14] |
| Toronto Sun |
[15] |
Exclaim! called the album "a tribute to the opiate-inspired, alt-rock tradition [the band] once popularized." [16] The Star Tribune deemed it "a slightly rootsier update of the group's quirky style." [17] The Star-News labeled it "sonically diverse and intensely personal." [18]
The Pittsburgh Tribune-Review determined that "the music still has a dark aspect and it's still pop; it's just radio that has stopped paying attention." [19] The Toronto Sun considered the album to be "a fairly enjoyable and varied set of mellow Beatle-pop and roots, peppered with surprisingly crunchy guitar-rockers." [15] The Intelligencer Journal concluded that "all 12 songs on Leaving Wonderland ... are excellent, driven by Wozniak's gift for melody." [20]
AllMusic wrote that "it deserves to be heard by a wider audience as it proves that there's more to Marcy Playground and Wozniak than one grunge-era hit." [14]
Track listing
All songs written by John Wozniak.
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Blackbird" | 3:13 |
| 2. | "Devil Woman" | 3:04 |
| 3. | "Gin and Money" | 3:44 |
| 4. | "Star Baby" | 2:49 |
| 5. | "I Burned the Bed" | 2:37 |
| 6. | "Irene" | 2:42 |
| 7. | "Emperor" | 3:39 |
| 8. | "Good Times" | 3:15 |
| 9. | "I Must Have Been Dreaming" | 2:34 |
| 10. | "Memphis" | 2:48 |
| 11. | "Thank You" | 3:33 |
| 12. | "Down the Drain" | 3:18 |
Personnel
Marcy Playground (Touring members)
- John Wozniak - all vocals, guitar, band, dobro
- Dylan Keefe - bass
- Shlomi Lavie - drums (does not play on album)
Additional personnel (in studio only)
- Niko Friesen - drums, percussion
- Brendan Ostrander - drums, "Devil Woman" and "Thank You"
- Chris Copeland - drums, "Gin and Money"
- Simon Kendall - piano, Fender Rhodes, Wurlitzer
- Daniel Powter - piano, "Gin and Money"
- Jon Dryden - string programming, "Down the Drain"
- Jeff Dawson - keys, programming, guitar, "Thank You"
- Dave Pickell - piano, "Blackbird"
- Marc Wild - guitar, "Blackbird"
Production
- John Wozniak - production
- Jeff Dawson - production, recording, mixing
- Bob Ludwig - mastering
Recorded at
Mushroom Studios, Vancouver, BC
Mixed at Harbourside Studios, N. Vancouver, BC
Mastered at Gateway Mastering, Portland, Maine
References
- ^ "Life's a playground: This band's day job is to keep touring". Corpus Christi Caller-Times. 27 Aug 2010. p. W2.
- ^ "Marcy Playground Biography, Songs, & Albums". AllMusic.
- ^ Duckett, Richard (1 Oct 2009). "Marcy Playground: Back on tour to promote CD". Telegram & Gazette. Go!. p. 7.
- ^ "Marcy Playground". The Salt Lake Tribune. 8 Oct 2009.
- ^ Dubiel, Jean (August 14, 2009). "Marcy Playground sounds more like vacant lot: Boring". Fort Polk Guardian. Entertainment.
- ^ Thrasher, Don (10 Sep 2010). "Marcy Playground: ROCKERS LEAVE WONDERLAND WITH A REMIX ALBUM". Dayton Daily News. Go!. p. 6.
- ^ Maimann, Kevin (15 Apr 2011). "Strangers with candy: Long-distance collaboration with Marcy Playground". Edmonton Sun. p. E11.
- ^ Long, Michael (9 Aug 2009). "Catching Up With Marcy Playground". Sunday News. p. H1.
- ^ Spalding, Derek (29 Oct 2009). "Marcy Playground adapts to the changing music scene". Nanaimo Daily News. p. D8.
- ^ Thomas, Rob (6 January 2011). "'SEX AND CANDY' MAKERS HEADLINE ANNEX SHOW". The Capital Times. p. 12.
- ^ Courter, Barry (31 July 2009). "Marcy Playground's Wozniak gets personal on new CD". Chattanooga Times Free Press. p. H6.
- ^ "Marcy Playground due at Frankie's". The Blade. 11 Feb 2010. p. D9.
- ^ Ward, Coley (August 27, 2009). "Marcy Playground to perform at the Rock on Saturday". Arizona Daily Star. CALIENTE. p. 6.
- ^ a b "Leaving Wonderland...In a Fit of Rage - Marcy Playground | Songs, Reviews, Credits | AllMusic" – via www.allmusic.com.
- ^ a b Sterdan, Darryl (25 July 2009). "Marcy Playground Leaving Wonderland ... In a Fit of Rage". Toronto Sun. p. E18.
- ^ "Marcy Playground Leaving Wonderland... In a Fit of Rage | Exclaim!". exclaim.ca.
- ^ Riemenschneider, Chris (20 Aug 2009). "Marcy Playground". Star Tribune. VITA.MN. p. 12.
- ^ Staton, John (26 Jan 2010). "Marcy Playground given new life in reunion". Star-News.
- ^ "Music: Altar 'Playground'". Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. 9 Mar 2011.
- ^ Ferguson, Jon (14 Aug 2009). "Turning Unhappiness Into Artistic Fulfillment". Intelligencer Journal. p. A5.
| Leaving Wonderland... in a Fit of Rage | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
| ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | 2009 | |||
| Recorded | Mushroom Studios | |||
| Genre | Alternative rock | |||
| Length | 37:16 | |||
| Label | WOZ Records [1] | |||
| Producer | Jeff Dawson, John Wozniak | |||
| Marcy Playground chronology | ||||
| ||||
Leaving Wonderland... in a Fit of Rage is the fourth and most recent studio album by the American alternative rock band Marcy Playground, released in 2009. [2] [3] It was begun as a John Wozniak solo album. [4] The album's first single was "Blackbird". [5]
A remix album, Indaba Remixes from Wonderland, followed in 2010. [6] [7]
Production
The album was produced by Jeff Dawson and John Wozniak; Wozniak had appreciated Dawson's production work at Mushroom Studios. [8] [9] Its lyrics were inspired by a difficult period in the singer's life. [10] [11] Leaving Wonderland... in a Fit of Rage was recorded in part with original band member Dylan Keefe. [12] The band added drummer Shlomi Lavie after the album was completed. [13]
Critical reception
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |
[14] |
| Toronto Sun |
[15] |
Exclaim! called the album "a tribute to the opiate-inspired, alt-rock tradition [the band] once popularized." [16] The Star Tribune deemed it "a slightly rootsier update of the group's quirky style." [17] The Star-News labeled it "sonically diverse and intensely personal." [18]
The Pittsburgh Tribune-Review determined that "the music still has a dark aspect and it's still pop; it's just radio that has stopped paying attention." [19] The Toronto Sun considered the album to be "a fairly enjoyable and varied set of mellow Beatle-pop and roots, peppered with surprisingly crunchy guitar-rockers." [15] The Intelligencer Journal concluded that "all 12 songs on Leaving Wonderland ... are excellent, driven by Wozniak's gift for melody." [20]
AllMusic wrote that "it deserves to be heard by a wider audience as it proves that there's more to Marcy Playground and Wozniak than one grunge-era hit." [14]
Track listing
All songs written by John Wozniak.
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Blackbird" | 3:13 |
| 2. | "Devil Woman" | 3:04 |
| 3. | "Gin and Money" | 3:44 |
| 4. | "Star Baby" | 2:49 |
| 5. | "I Burned the Bed" | 2:37 |
| 6. | "Irene" | 2:42 |
| 7. | "Emperor" | 3:39 |
| 8. | "Good Times" | 3:15 |
| 9. | "I Must Have Been Dreaming" | 2:34 |
| 10. | "Memphis" | 2:48 |
| 11. | "Thank You" | 3:33 |
| 12. | "Down the Drain" | 3:18 |
Personnel
Marcy Playground (Touring members)
- John Wozniak - all vocals, guitar, band, dobro
- Dylan Keefe - bass
- Shlomi Lavie - drums (does not play on album)
Additional personnel (in studio only)
- Niko Friesen - drums, percussion
- Brendan Ostrander - drums, "Devil Woman" and "Thank You"
- Chris Copeland - drums, "Gin and Money"
- Simon Kendall - piano, Fender Rhodes, Wurlitzer
- Daniel Powter - piano, "Gin and Money"
- Jon Dryden - string programming, "Down the Drain"
- Jeff Dawson - keys, programming, guitar, "Thank You"
- Dave Pickell - piano, "Blackbird"
- Marc Wild - guitar, "Blackbird"
Production
- John Wozniak - production
- Jeff Dawson - production, recording, mixing
- Bob Ludwig - mastering
Recorded at
Mushroom Studios, Vancouver, BC
Mixed at Harbourside Studios, N. Vancouver, BC
Mastered at Gateway Mastering, Portland, Maine
References
- ^ "Life's a playground: This band's day job is to keep touring". Corpus Christi Caller-Times. 27 Aug 2010. p. W2.
- ^ "Marcy Playground Biography, Songs, & Albums". AllMusic.
- ^ Duckett, Richard (1 Oct 2009). "Marcy Playground: Back on tour to promote CD". Telegram & Gazette. Go!. p. 7.
- ^ "Marcy Playground". The Salt Lake Tribune. 8 Oct 2009.
- ^ Dubiel, Jean (August 14, 2009). "Marcy Playground sounds more like vacant lot: Boring". Fort Polk Guardian. Entertainment.
- ^ Thrasher, Don (10 Sep 2010). "Marcy Playground: ROCKERS LEAVE WONDERLAND WITH A REMIX ALBUM". Dayton Daily News. Go!. p. 6.
- ^ Maimann, Kevin (15 Apr 2011). "Strangers with candy: Long-distance collaboration with Marcy Playground". Edmonton Sun. p. E11.
- ^ Long, Michael (9 Aug 2009). "Catching Up With Marcy Playground". Sunday News. p. H1.
- ^ Spalding, Derek (29 Oct 2009). "Marcy Playground adapts to the changing music scene". Nanaimo Daily News. p. D8.
- ^ Thomas, Rob (6 January 2011). "'SEX AND CANDY' MAKERS HEADLINE ANNEX SHOW". The Capital Times. p. 12.
- ^ Courter, Barry (31 July 2009). "Marcy Playground's Wozniak gets personal on new CD". Chattanooga Times Free Press. p. H6.
- ^ "Marcy Playground due at Frankie's". The Blade. 11 Feb 2010. p. D9.
- ^ Ward, Coley (August 27, 2009). "Marcy Playground to perform at the Rock on Saturday". Arizona Daily Star. CALIENTE. p. 6.
- ^ a b "Leaving Wonderland...In a Fit of Rage - Marcy Playground | Songs, Reviews, Credits | AllMusic" – via www.allmusic.com.
- ^ a b Sterdan, Darryl (25 July 2009). "Marcy Playground Leaving Wonderland ... In a Fit of Rage". Toronto Sun. p. E18.
- ^ "Marcy Playground Leaving Wonderland... In a Fit of Rage | Exclaim!". exclaim.ca.
- ^ Riemenschneider, Chris (20 Aug 2009). "Marcy Playground". Star Tribune. VITA.MN. p. 12.
- ^ Staton, John (26 Jan 2010). "Marcy Playground given new life in reunion". Star-News.
- ^ "Music: Altar 'Playground'". Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. 9 Mar 2011.
- ^ Ferguson, Jon (14 Aug 2009). "Turning Unhappiness Into Artistic Fulfillment". Intelligencer Journal. p. A5.