Maybe You've Been Brainwashed Too

Maybe You've Been Brainwashed Too
Studio album by New Radicals
Released	October 20, 1998
Recorded	"all over the place and on Christmas day in Italy."[1]
Genre	Pop
Length	54:21
Label	MCA
Producer	Gregg Alexander
Singles from Maybe You've Been Brainwashed Too
"You Get What You Give" Released: November 10, 1998 "Someday We'll Know" Released: September 20, 1999

Maybe You've Been Brainwashed Too is the only album by the New Radicals, released in late 1998 by MCA Records. Two singles were released off it in 1998 and 1999, "You Get What You Give" and "Someday We'll Know".

The album reached #41 on the Billboard 200 and achieved Platinum status (1,000,000 copies sold) on October 14, 1999 in the United States. On the UK Albums Chart, the album reached a peak of #10.

Overview

The New Radicals' lead singer, Gregg Alexander, released two albums, Michigan Rain (1989) and Intoxifornication (1992), before signing with MCA Records in 1997 and allegedly receiving an $600,000 advance for Maybe You've Been Brainwashed Too.^[2] While the album was credited to New Radicals, many critics considered it more of a Gregg Alexander album,^[3] as he wrote and produced all songs (only the first two singles were co-written with other artists), played several instruments on it and is basically the only constant member of the band (save the possible exception of Danielle Brisebois).

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic	[4]
Q	[5]
Robert Christgau	(A-) [6]
Entertainment Weekly	(A-) [7]
NME	(6/10) [8]
Rolling Stone	[3]

The sound of Maybe You've Been Brainwashed Too has often been compared to a wide range of atypical influences for a modern pop-rock album, such as Todd Rundgren, World Party, Hall & Oates and the early work of Prince and Mick Jagger from The Rolling Stones.^{[citation needed]} And while even some unfavorable critics had to admit that—musically—the album, with its upbeat pop-rock and influences of funk and soul, was a "well-crafted project"^[9] and one of "the more promising releases of late 1998",^[4] others found that the record was "a contradictory mash-up of polemic, white funk, loved-up yelping and nasty AOR guitar solos that wallops pop music into genuinely heartstopping new shapes for a bit...And then freefalls like a shot duck."^[8]

The album's lyrics, with Alexander complaining about the commercialisation of Western society, media and religion, also divided critics. While some found that Alexander's social criticism and observations "would sound clichéd if they weren't [sic] so insightful and articulated with such uninhibited truth",^[10] others deemed these attacks "shallow posturing" and "empty social pronouncements".^[9]

Track listing

All songs written by Gregg Alexander, except where noted.

1. "Mother We Just Can't Get Enough" – 5:46
2. "You Get What You Give" (Alexander, Richard Nowels) – 5:02
3. "I Hope I Didn't Just Give Away the Ending" – 6:37
4. "I Don't Wanna Die Anymore" – 4:16
5. "Jehovah Made This Whole Joint for You" – 4:11
6. "Someday We'll Know" (Alexander, Danielle Brisebois, Debra Holland) – 3:39
7. "Maybe You've Been Brainwashed Too" – 5:21
8. "In Need of a Miracle" – 3:43
9. "Gotta Stay High" – 3:06
10. "Technicolor Lover" – 3:42
11. "Flowers" – 3:52
12. "Crying Like a Church on Monday" – 5:02

The Japanese release of the album, ブレインウォッシュ (Romaji: Bureinwosshu, or "Brainwash"), featured an additional track, "To Think I Thought", that also appeared as a B-side on the "You Get What You Give" single.

Credits

• Alessandro Alessandroni – strings
• Gregg Alexander – vocals, acoustic and electric guitar, synthesizer, drums, bass
• Rusty Anderson – guitar
• Tal Bergman – drums
• Danielle Brisebois – background vocals, piano
• Paul Bushnell – bass
• Lenny Castro – percussion
• Paolo Degregorio – synthesizer, guitar
• Gary Fergusson – drums
• Josh Freese – drums
• Paul Gordon – piano
• Michael James – electric guitar
• Stuart Johnson – drums
• Mitch Kaplan – piano
• Matt Laug – drums
• Lance Morrison – bass
• Rick Nowels (listed as Richard Knowels) – piano
• Phil Parlapiano – organ
• Greg Phillinganes – piano
• John Pierce – bass
• Richie Podler – percussion
• Juliet Prater – percussion
• Dan Rothchild – bass

References

1. ^ Maybe You've Been Brainwashed Too booklet
2. ^ Christgau, Robert (December 22, 1998). "The Sound of the City". The Village Voice. ISSN 0042-6180. http://www.robertchristgau.com/xg/music/scnewrad-98.php. Retrieved August 6, 2005. 
3. ^ ^{a b} Wild, David (November 17, 1998). "The New Radicals: Maybe You've Been Brainwashed Too". Rolling Stone (Wenner Media) (RS 801). ISSN 0035-791X. http://www.rollingstone.com/artists/1150/albums/album/322317/rid/5942078. Retrieved September 10, 2011. 
4. ^ ^{a b} Henderson, Alex. "The New Radicals: Maybe You've Been Brainwashed Too > Review" at Allmusic. Retrieved September 10, 2011.
5. ^ Q (United Kingdom: Bauer Media Group). May 1, 1999. 
6. ^ Christgau, Robert. "New Radicals". robertchristgau.com. http://www.robertchristgau.com/get_artist.php?name=New+Radicals. Retrieved September 10, 2011. 
7. ^ Sinclair, Tom (October 30, 1998). "Maybe You've Been Brainwashed Too: New Radicals". Entertainment Weekly (#456). ISSN 1049-0434. http://www.ew.com/ew/article/review/music/0,6115,285465_4_0_,00.html. Retrieved September 10, 2011. 
8. ^ ^{a b} "Maybe You've Been Brainwashed Too". NME (IPC Media). March 13, 1999. ISSN 0028-6362. http://www.nme.com/reviews/new-radicals/883. Retrieved March 13, 1999. 
9. ^ ^{a b} Wright, Rickey. "Maybe You've Been Brainwashed Too". Amazon.com. Editorial Reviews. http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00000DF6J/#productDescription. Retrieved August 6, 2005. 
10. ^ Warren, Bruce. "New Radicals - Maybe You've Been Brainwashed Too". WXPN.org. Archived from the original on February 10, 2005. http://web.archive.org/web/20050210023622/http://xpn.org/feature1998_1122.php. Retrieved August 6, 2005. 

External links

• MaybeYou've Been Brainwashed lyrics at unofficial New Radicals forum
• NewRadicals.Us. The unofficial NR forum covering New Radicals, Gregg Alexander and Danielle Brisebois.