Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic
Chicago Tribune
The Encyclopedia of Popular Music
Los Angeles Times
The Rolling Stone Album Guide
St. Petersburg Times

Wake Me When It's Over is the second album by Faster Pussycat, released in 1989. The band moved away from the glam metal of their first album to a more blues-influenced sound.

Music videos were produced for "Poison Ivy" and "House of Pain". "House of Pain" reached No. 28 on the Billboard Hot 100, and the video, which was directed by future film director Michael Bay, was in rotation on MTV.[citation needed] The album peaked at No. 48 on the Billboard 200. The album has been certified gold by the RIAA.

Production

The album was produced by John Jansen. It is marked by a heavier, less glam metal sound.

Critical reception

Spin wrote that "side one is terrible, crammed with constipated glam-metal boogie, "but praised side two's "Slip of the Tongue" and "Tattoo". The St. Petersburg Times wrote that "by smoothing out the rough edges and tightening up the loose performances, Faster Pussycat has traded in its identity for a faceless, albeit commercial, sound." The Calgary Herald thought that "a pleasant surprise is "House of Pain", which is devoid of the syrupy mush that tends to dominate a lot of ballads that crack the charts." Kirk Blows of Music Week called Wake Me When It's Over worthwhile, and noticed that the album gives listeners "more adventure, variety and depth than its predecessor while retaining just enough of the reckless spirit."

Track listing

No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Where There's a Whip, There's a Way"Taime Downe, Brent Muscat, Greg Steele6:44
2."Little Dove"Downe, Muscat5:05
3."Poison Ivy"Downe, Eric Stacy4:24
4."House of Pain"Downe, Steele5:47
5."Gonna Walk"Downe, Muscat, Steele4:24
6."Pulling Weeds"Downe, Muscat4:35
7."Slip of the Tongue"Downe4:32
8."Cryin' Shame"Downe, Steele4:51
9."Tattoo"Downe, Muscat, Steele4:56
10."Ain't No Way Around It"Downe, Muscat, Steele4:31
11."Arizona Indian Doll"Downe, Steele4:40
12."Please Dear" (not on all vinyl)Downe, Muscat6:25
Total length:60:42

Personnel

Faster Pussycat

  • Taime Downe – lead vocal
  • Greg Steele – guitar, piano, backing vocal
  • Brent Muscat – guitar, percussion, backing vocal, talk box on "Little Dove"
  • Eric Stacy – electric and fretless bass
  • Mark Michals – drums, percussion

Additional musicians

Production

  • Produced and mixed by John Jansen
  • Recorded and engineered by Ryan Dorn, Ross Hogarth, John Jansen and Rod O'Brien
  • Assistant engineers: Nelson Ayres, Kyle Bess, Michael Bosley and David Knight
  • Mastered by Greg Calbi
  • Artwork: Tony Redhead [Electric Paint]

Charts

Chart (1989–1990)Peak position
UK Albums (OCC)35
US Billboard 20048

Certifications

RegionCertificationCertified units/sales
United States (RIAA)Gold500,000^
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

See also