The Anatomy of the Tongue in Cheek (often shortened to Anatomy) is the second full-length album released by the Christian rock band Relient K. It was released on August 28, 2001, and peaked at No. 158 on the Billboard 200. On June 26, 2006, the album was certified Gold by the RIAA for sales in excess of 500,000 units in the United States. The cover of the original release is similar to that of the 1999 Ramones release Hey Ho! Let's Go: The Anthology.
| The Anatomy of the Tongue in Cheek | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | August 28, 2001 | |||
| Studio | Yellow Studios (Canton, Ohio) | |||
| Genre | Christian pop punk[1] | |||
| Length | 55:01 | |||
| Label | Gotee | |||
| Producer | Mark Lee Townsend | |||
| Relient K chronology | ||||
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| Alternative cover | ||||
 The Gold Edition of the album, with the special gold slip cover | ||||
| Singles from The Anatomy of the Tongue in Cheek | ||||
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| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [2] |
| Cross Rhythms |   [3] |
| Jesus Freak Hideout |  [4] |
| Melodic | [5] |
The album continues the band's liberal use of pop culture references (such as the song "I'm Lion-O," which is about the popular TV series Thundercats).[6] Song themes range from pop culture to Christian themes—growth in faith ("Pressing On"), backsliding ("What Have You Been Doing Lately?"), worship ("Those Words Are Not Enough," "For the Moments I Feel Faint," and "Less Is More")[6]—and social themes—such as racism and persecution ("Failure to Excommunicate"), judgementalism ("Down in Flames")—to making excuses or blaming others for one's own faults ("Maybe It's Maybeline").[6] There is also a song about one's experiences in high school ("Sadie Hawkins Dance").
Gotee Records released a "Gold Edition" of this album on October 31, 2006, along with the release of a "Gold Edition" of Two Lefts Don't Make a Right...but Three Do on the same day. The Gold Edition of this album has remixed and remastered in a style similar to Mmhmm (the album was remixed by the same people who mixed Mmhmm) and it has a music video for the song "Pressing On".
Track listing
editAll tracks are written by Matthew Thiessen, except "Those Words Are Not Enough", written by Matthew Hoopes
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Kick-Off" | 0:39 |
| 2. | "Pressing On" | 3:29 |
| 3. | "Sadie Hawkins Dance" | 3:07 |
| 4. | "Down in Flames" | 4:07 |
| 5. | "Maybe It's Maybeline" | 3:14 |
| 6. | "Breakdown" | 3:45 |
| 7. | "Those Words Are Not Enough" | 4:39 |
| 8. | "For the Moments I Feel Faint" | 3:47 |
| 9. | "Lion Wilson" | 0:36 |
| 10. | "I'm Lion-O" | 2:55 |
| 11. | "What Have You Been Doing Lately?" | 3:23 |
| 12. | "May the Horse Be with You" | 2:17 |
| 13. | "My Way or the Highway..." | 3:47 |
| 14. | "Breakfast at Timpani's" | 0:22 |
| 15. | "The Rest Is Up to You" | 4:04 |
| 16. | "Failure to Excommunicate" | 3:35 |
| 17. | "Less Is More[a]" | 7:17 |
| Total length: | 54:53 | |
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 18. | "Operation" | 2:33 |
| 19. | "Jefferson Airplane (Demo)" | 3:57 |
| 20. | "Pressing On (Back Porch Acoustic)" | 6:58 |
- Track 2 & 7, and all "First Three Gears" bonus tracks, originally from The Creepy EP.
Credits
editRelient K
- Matt Thiessen – lead vocals, guitars, acoustic piano
- Matt Hoopes – guitars, backing vocals
- Brian Pittman – bass
- Dave Douglas – drums, backing vocals
Additional personnel
- Rob Roy Fingerhead – nylon guitar, slide guitar
- Madalena Burle Marx – cello
- Ann Smith – viola
- Cory Smith – violin
- Heather Walker – violin
- Crystal Brezovsky – French horn
- Scott Cannon – gang vocals
- Kyle Hudson – gang vocals
- Kevan Peden – gang vocals
Production
edit- Joey Elwood – executive producer
- Toby McKeehan – executive producer
- Mark Lee Townsend – producer, recording
- F. Reid Shippen – mixing at The Castle (Nashville, Tennessee)
- Dan Shike – mix assistant
- Randy LeRoy – editing and assembling at Final Stage (Nashville, Tennessee)
- Ted Jensen – mastering at Sterling Sound (New York City, New York)
- Mike McGlaflin – A&R
- Aaron Marrs – creative design
- John Falls – photography
- Alabaster Arts – management
References to popular culture
editThe last line of "Pressing On" is from The Mary Tyler Moore Show theme.[6] "Maybe It's Maybeline" (deliberately misspelled, much like the band's name) refers to the popular Maybelline line of beauty products and its tag line.[6]
Notes
edit- ^ original version included "Skittles and Combos" as a hidden track; Gold edition included "The Ballad of Tim Eddings" as a hidden track. LP contains both tracks.
References
edit- ^ Kielich, Kris (November 30, 2015). "Relient K Endures with Catchy Pop-Punk Sound". The Buffalo News. The Buffalo News. Retrieved January 23, 2016.
- ^ AllMusic review
- ^ Cross Rhythms review
- ^ Jesus Freak Hideout review
- ^ Winberg, Pär (April 18, 2002). "Relient K - The Anatomy of the Tongue in Cheek". Melodic. Retrieved July 18, 2017.
- ^ a b c d e Powell, Mark Allan (2002). Encyclopedia of Contemporary Christian Music (First printing ed.). Peabody, Massachusetts: Hendrickson Publishers. pp. 750–751. ISBN 1-56563-679-1.