Motel California
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Motel California is the third album by the American rock band Ugly Kid Joe, and released on October 22, 1996. Motel California was the last full-length studio album until 2015. The group disbanded in January 1997 and reformed 13 years later in January 2010. The album received indifferent reviews and was a commercial failure.
The title is a parody of the Eagles' album, Hotel California. The song "Rage Against the Answering Machine" is a pun on the name of the Los Angeles rock band Rage Against the Machine.
The re-recorded acoustic version of the song "Would You Like to be There" appears as a bonus track from 2012 EP Stairway to Hell.
Music videos for the songs "Bicycle Wheels" and "Sandwich" were previously unreleased for almost a decade. They were finally surfaced on the internet in 2006.
Production
The album was recorded with the Butcher Bros. in Philadelphia.
Reception
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic | |
| The Encyclopedia of Popular Music | |
| Rock Hard | 5/10 |
AllMusic wrote that Ugly Kid Joe "return to their roots, bashing out grungy metal in their garage and recording it for posterity ... Motel California works a lot better than it should, sounding fiercer and more committed."
Track listing
All tracks written by Ugly Kid Joe.
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "It's a Lie" | 3:01 |
| 2. | "Dialogue" | 2:27 |
| 3. | "Sandwich" | 2:46 |
| 4. | "Rage Against the Answering Machine" | 1:40 |
| 5. | "Would You Like to Be There" | 3:18 |
| 6. | "Little Red Man" | 4:02 |
| 7. | "Bicycle Wheels" | 2:01 |
| 8. | "Father" | 3:31 |
| 9. | "Undertow" | 4:31 |
| 10. | "Shine" | 2:51 |
| 11. | "Strange" | 4:22 |
| 12. | "12 Cents" | 4:54 |
Personnel
Ugly Kid Joe
- Whitfield Crane – vocals
- Dave Fortman – guitars
- Klaus Eichstadt – guitars
- Cordell Crockett – bass
- Shannon Larkin – drums
Additional musicians
- Lemmy Kilmister – background vocals on "Little Red Man"
- Jennifer Barry – background vocals on "Would You Like to Be There"
- Angus Cooke – cello on "Undertow"
- Tim Wheater – flute on "12 Cents"
Technical personnel
- Phil Nicolo – mixing
- Jim Mitchell – engineer
- Jon E. Love – engineer
- Mark Casselman – second engineer
- Greg Fidelman – second engineer
- Mike Fasano – drum technician
- Craig Fujii – guitar technician
- Manny Lecuona – mastering