Same as It Ever Was is the second album by American hip hop group House of Pain. It was released in 1994 and peaked at number 12 on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums and Billboard 200.[1] To record the album, the group had to work around Everlast's house arrest for a gun charge.[2] The clean version of the second song from the album, "I'm a Swing It", was featured in the 2001 skateboarding video game Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3.
Same as It Ever Was | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Studio album by | ||||
Released | June 28, 1994 | |||
Recorded | September 1992 – August 1993 | |||
Studio | Image Recording Studios (Hollywood, California) | |||
Genre | Hardcore hip hop | |||
Length | 49:22 | |||
Label | ||||
Producer | ||||
House of Pain chronology | ||||
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Singles from Same as It Ever Was | ||||
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Reception
editReview scores | |
---|---|
Source | Rating |
AllMusic | [3] |
Christgau's Consumer Guide: Albums of the '90s | A-[4] |
Entertainment Weekly | A[5] |
NME | 4/10[6] |
RapReviews | 7/10[7] |
Sputnikmusic | 2.5/5[8] |
The New Rolling Stone Album Guide | [9] |
Tom Hull | B[10] |
Same as It Ever Was did not reach the same commercial heights as the group's previous album; however, Same as It Ever Was peaked at No. 12 on the Billboard 200 chart (their highest position to date) and also reached gold status by Recording Industry Association of America.[11]
AllMusic gave it four out five stars.[3] Matt Carlson of The Michigan Daily found the album quite good and noted "the music is laid back with some heavy driving forces underlying and strengthening it".[12] Andrew Love of The Ocala Star-Banner gave it four stars saying "this is a band that has definitely progressed over the course of one album".[2] J.D. Constantine of The Baltimore Sun did not like the album and found it monotonous and unimaginative.[13] Roger Catlin of the Hartford Courant said that while finding the continuity monotonous it's "hard and compelling" as well as a "strong outing".[14] Music critic Robert Christgau gave the album an A− and described it as "the hardest hip hop of the year."
Track listing
editNo. | Title | Producer(s) | Length |
---|---|---|---|
1. | "Back from the Dead" | 3:32 | |
2. | "I'm a Swing It" | DJ Lethal | 3:43 |
3. | "All That" | DJ Lethal | 1:26 |
4. | "On Point" | DJ Lethal | 3:48 |
5. | "Runnin' up on Ya" | DJ Muggs | 3:17 |
6. | "Over There Shit" | DJ Muggs | 3:33 |
7. | "Word Is Bond" (featuring Diamond D) | Diamond D | 4:02 |
8. | "Keep It Comin'" | DJ Muggs | 3:43 |
9. | "Interlude" | DJ Lethal | 0:46 |
10. | "Same as It Ever Was" | DJ Muggs | 3:27 |
11. | "It Ain't a Crime" |
| 3:27 |
12. | "Where I'm From" | DJ Lethal | 4:01 |
13. | "Still Got a Lotta Love" ("All My Love" Part 2) | DJ Lethal | 2:53 |
14. | "Who's the Man?" | DJ Lethal | 4:03 |
15. | "On Point" (Lethal Dose Remix) | DJ Lethal | 3:33 |
Total length: | 49:24 |
Personnel
edit- Eric Francis Schrody – vocals (tracks 1–2, 4–8, 10–15), mixing (tracks 12, 14)
- Daniel O’Connor – vocals (tracks 2, 4, 10, 14–15), art direction
- Leor Dimant – vocals (tracks 4, 15), production (tracks 2–4, 9, 11–15), mixing (tracks 3, 9, 12, 14, 15)
- Lawrence Muggerud – executive production, production (tracks 1, 5–6, 8, 10–11), mixing (tracks 1–2, 4–6, 8, 10–11, 13, 15)
- Joseph Kirkland – vocals, production and mixing (track 7)
- Nick Vidal – production (track 1)
- Eric Vidal – production (track 1)
- Tom Coyne – mastering
- Jason Roberts – engineering
- Erwin Gorostiza – art direction
- Butch Belair – photography
- Ron Jaramillo – design
- Kenton Parker – logo design
Charts
editChart (1994) | Peak position |
---|---|
Australian Albums (ARIA Charts)[15] | 97 |
U.S. Billboard 200[16] | 12 |
U.S. Billboard Top Current Albums[17] | 12 |
U.S. Billboard Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums[18] | 12 |
U.S. Billboard Top Album Sales[19] | 12 |
U.S. Billboard R&B/Hip-Hop Album Sales[20] | 12 |
Certifications
editRegion | Certification | Certified units/sales |
---|---|---|
United States (RIAA)[21] | Gold | 500,000^ |
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone. |
References
edit- ^ "House of Pain - Chart history | Billboard". Billboard. Retrieved March 21, 2017.
- ^ a b Love, Andrew (August 8, 1994). "Latest release is full-blown Pain". Ocala Star-Banner. Retrieved March 21, 2017.
- ^ a b Henderson, Alex. "Same as It Ever Was - House of Pain | Album | AllMusic". AllMusic. Retrieved March 20, 2024.
- ^ Christgau, Robert (2000). Christgau's Consumer Guide: Albums of the '90s. St. Martin's Press. ISBN 0-312-24560-2.
- ^ Ehrlich, Dimitri (July 8, 1994). "Same as It Ever Was". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved March 20, 2024.
- ^ Udo, Tommy (July 16, 1994). Dee, Johnny (ed.). "Long Play". NME. p. 37. Retrieved October 1, 2023.
- ^ Juon, Steve 'Flash' (August 9, 2022). "House of Pain :: Same as It Ever Was – RapReviews". www.rapreviews.com. Retrieved March 20, 2024.
- ^ "House of Pain - Same As It Ever Was (album review) | Sputnikmusic". Sputnikmusic. January 15, 2009. Retrieved March 20, 2024.
- ^ Brackett, Nathan; Hoard, Christian David (2004). (The New) Rolling Stone Album Guide. Simon and Schuster. p. 396. ISBN 978-0-7432-0169-8.
- ^ Hull, Tom. "Grade List: House of Pain". tomhull.com. Retrieved March 20, 2024.
- ^ "Gold & Platinum - RIAA". RIAA. Retrieved March 21, 2017.
- ^ Watts, Ted (September 8, 1994). "Ted Watts review". The Michigan Daily. Retrieved March 21, 2017.
- ^ Considine, J.D. (July 8, 1994). "House of Pain the 'Same,' over and over". The Baltimore Sun. pp. Maryland Live 5.
- ^ Catlin, Roger (July 14, 1994). "Same as It Ever Was". Hartford Courant. pp. Entertainment Guide 4 - 5.
- ^ Ryan, Gavin (2011). Australia's Music Charts 1988–2010 (PDF ed.). Mt Martha, Victoria, Australia: Moonlight Publishing. p. 132.
- ^ "House of Pain Chart History | Billboard". Billboard. Archived from the original on October 28, 2019. Retrieved October 7, 2019.
- ^ "House of Pain Chart History | Billboard". Billboard. Archived from the original on October 28, 2019. Retrieved October 7, 2019.
- ^ "House of Pain Chart History | Billboard". Billboard. Archived from the original on October 28, 2019. Retrieved October 7, 2019.
- ^ "House of Pain Chart History | Billboard". Billboard. Archived from the original on October 28, 2019. Retrieved October 7, 2019.
- ^ "House of Pain Chart History | Billboard". Billboard. Archived from the original on October 28, 2019. Retrieved October 7, 2019.
- ^ "American album certifications – House of Pain – Same as It Ever Was". Recording Industry Association of America.