Wikipedia

Marcy Playground (album)

Marcy Playground is the debut studio album by American alternative rock band Marcy Playground, released on February 25, 1997, on EMI.[2] It was reissued later that year on October 7 on Capitol Records with a large amount of promotion for the single "Sex and Candy," which became the band's breakthrough single, spending a then-record 15 weeks at No. 1 on the Billboard Modern Rock Tracks chart.

Marcy Playground
Studio album by
Marcy Playground
ReleasedFebruary 25, 1997 (1997-02-25)
Recorded1996–1997
StudioSabella Recording Studio (Roslyn, New York)
Genre
Length34:37
LabelCapitol
ProducerJohn Wozniak
Marcy Playground chronology
Marcy Playground
(1997) 		Shapeshifter
(1999)
Singles from Marcy Playground
  1. "Poppies"
    Released: 1997
  2. "Saint Joe on the School Bus"
    Released: June 1997
  3. "Sex and Candy"
    Released: September 15, 1997[1]
  4. "Sherry Fraser"
    Released: 1998

The album also includes the singles "Saint Joe on the School Bus" and "Sherry Fraser" both of which received moderate radio and MTV2 airplay.

Critical reception

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Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic     [3]
Christgau's Consumer Guide [4]
NME7/10[5]
Pitchfork7.6/10[6]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide     [7]

Marcy Playground garnered a mixed reception from music critics. Ronan Munro of NME said that, "What is surprising is how enjoyable this window on Wozniak's soul is: his lazy drawl and gentle melodies coating his misery in a pop sheen... the mood remains resolutely downbeat but the angst is not imposing."[5] James P. Wisdom of Pitchfork stated that Marcy Playground was "the most soothingly mellow and pleasant thing [he] had heard in a long time."[6] AllMusic's Stephen Thomas Erlewine felt that "only a handful" of the album's tracks are as memorable as "Sex and Candy", while adding that "those moments are what make Marcy Playground a promising, albeit imperfect, debut."[3]

Robert Christgau graded the album as a "dud",[4] indicating "a bad record whose details rarely merit further thought."[8] Chuck Eddy of Rolling Stone heavily panned the album for its subpar musicianship, saying that it "sets icky new standards for commercial-post-alternative callowness."[9] Dan Weiss of LA Weekly deemed it the twelfth-worst album of the 1990s, opining that aside from the singles "Sex and Candy" and "Saint Joe on the School Bus," the album is "folksy, opiate-obsessed bullshit".[10]

Track listing

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All tracks are written by John Wozniak, except where noted

No.TitleLength
1."Poppies"2:49
2."Sex and Candy"2:53
3."Ancient Walls of Flowers" (John Wozniak, Sherry Fraser)3:16
4."Saint Joe on the School Bus"3:20
5."A Cloak of Elvenkind"2:59
6."Sherry Fraser"2:50
7."Gone Crazy"2:45
8."Opium"3:07
9."One More Suicide"2:39
10."Dog and His Master"2:12
11."The Shadow of Seattle"2:48
12."The Vampires of New York"2:55

Personnel

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Credits adapted from liner notes.[11]

Charts

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Certifications

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Region Certification Certified units/sales
Australia (ARIA)[20] Gold 35,000^
United States (RIAA)[21] Platinum 1,000,000^

^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

References

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  1. ^ Applefeld Olson, Catherine, ed. (September 27, 1997). "The Reel Thing: Mammoth Step" (PDF). Billboard. Vol. 109, no. 39. p. 22. Retrieved October 17, 2020.
  2. ^ "Marcy Playground by Marcy Playground". Apple Music. Retrieved May 19, 2020.
  3. ^ a b Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "Marcy Playground – Marcy Playground". AllMusic. Retrieved July 22, 2012.
  4. ^ a b Christgau, Robert. "CG: Marcy Playground". RobertChristgau.com. Retrieved July 22, 2012.
  5. ^ a b Munro, Ronan (May 23, 1998). "Marcy Playground – Marcy Playground". NME. Archived from the original on August 17, 2000. Retrieved May 19, 2020.
  6. ^ a b Wisdom, James P. "Marcy Playground: Marcy Playground". Pitchfork. Archived from the original on June 9, 2002. Retrieved February 6, 2018.
  7. ^ Harris, Keith (2004). "Marcy Playground". In Brackett, Nathan; Hoard, Christian (eds.). The New Rolling Stone Album Guide (4th ed.). Simon & Schuster. p. 513. ISBN 0-7432-0169-8.
  8. ^ Christgau, Robert (2000). "Key to Icons". Christgau's Consumer Guide: Albums of the '90s. St. Martin's Press. ISBN 0-312-24560-2. Retrieved August 11, 2016.
  9. ^ Eddy, Chuck (April 22, 1998). "Marcy Playground: Marcy Playground". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on October 1, 2007. Retrieved September 7, 2007.
  10. ^ "The 20 Worst Albums of the '90s: The Complete List". LA Weekly. March 7, 2013. Retrieved March 7, 2019.
  11. ^ Marcy Playground (liner notes). Marcy Playground. Capitol Records. 1997. 7243-8-53569-2-6.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  12. ^ "Australiancharts.com – Marcy Playground – Marcy Playground". Hung Medien. Retrieved May 20, 2020.
  13. ^ "Austriancharts.at – Marcy Playground – Marcy Playground" (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved May 20, 2020.
  14. ^ "Top RPM Albums: Issue 3513". RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved May 20, 2020.
  15. ^ "Charts.nz – Marcy Playground – Marcy Playground". Hung Medien. Retrieved May 20, 2020.
  16. ^ "Official Scottish Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved May 20, 2020.
  17. ^ "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved May 20, 2020.
  18. ^ "Marcy Playground Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved May 20, 2020.
  19. ^ "Top Billboard 200 Albums – Year-End 1998". Billboard. Retrieved September 21, 2020.
  20. ^ "ARIA Charts – Accreditations – 1999 Albums" (PDF). Australian Recording Industry Association. Retrieved December 27, 2021.
  21. ^ "American album certifications – Marcy Playground – Marcy Playground". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved November 7, 2021.
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