Teenager of the Year
Studio album by
Frank Black
ReleasedMay 23, 1994 (1994-05-23)
Studio
  • American Recording Co. (Calabasas, California)
  • Castle Oaks (Calabasas, California)
  • The Clubhouse (Burbank, California)
  • The Chapel (Los Angeles, California)
  • Can-Am (Los Angeles, California)
GenreAlternative rock
Length62:51
Label
Producer
Frank Black chronology
Frank Black
(1993) 		Teenager of the Year
(1994) 		The Cult of Ray
(1996)
Singles from Teenager of the Year
  1. "Headache"
    Released: 1994
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[1]
Chicago Tribune[2]
Encyclopedia of Popular Music[3]
Entertainment WeeklyA−[4]
Mojo[5]
NME8/10[6]
Rolling Stone[7]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide[8]
Select4/5[9]
Spin Alternative Record Guide8/10[10]
"Freedom Rock"
A sample of "Freedom Rock"
Problems playing this file? See media help.

Teenager of the Year is the second solo studio album by American musician Frank Black. The album was released in 1994 by 4AD in the United Kingdom and Elektra Records in the United States. It was co-produced by Eric Drew Feldman, who also played keyboards and bass guitar on the album.[11] Teenager also features work by several backing musicians, including Lyle Workman, Moris Tepper and Black's Pixies bandmate Joey Santiago.

The album reached No. 2 on Billboard's Heatseekers chart and No. 131 on the Billboard 200 chart in 1994.[12][13] The single "Headache" reached No. 10 on Billboard's Modern Rock Tracks chart that year.[14]

Although not originally well-received, the record is now widely praised by both critics and fans.[15] The album is often cited as the high-point of Francis' post-Pixies catalogue,[1][11][15] and was ranked No. 94 on Pitchfork's "Top 100 Albums of the 1990s".[15] The album is included in the book "1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die "[16]"

Track listing

All tracks are written by Frank Black

No.TitleLength
1."Whatever Happened to Pong?"1:34
2."Thalassocracy"1:33
3."(I Want to Live on an) Abstract Plain"2:17
4."Calistan"3:22
5."The Vanishing Spies"3:37
6."Speedy Marie"3:33
7."Headache"2:52
8."Sir Rockaby"2:54
9."Freedom Rock"4:16
10."Two Reelers"3:01
11."Fiddle Riddle"3:29
12."Olé Mulholland"4:41
13."Fazer Eyes"3:36
14."I Could Stay Here Forever"2:27
15."The Hostess with the Mostest"1:56
16."Superabound"3:10
17."Big Red"2:41
18."Space Is Gonna Do Me Good"2:22
19."White Noise Maker"2:42
20."Pure Denizen of the Citizens Band"2:20
21."Bad, Wicked World"1:57
22."Pie in the Sky"2:13

Personnel

Musicians
Technical

Charts

Chart (1994) Peak
position
Australian Albums (ARIA Charts)[17] 76
Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)[18] 45
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[19] 60
New Zealand Albums (RMNZ)[20] 35
UK Albums (OCC)[21] 21
US Billboard 200[12] 131
US Heatseekers Albums (Billboard)[13] 2

References

  1. ^ a b Phares, Heather. "Teenager of the Year – Frank Black". AllMusic. Retrieved September 5, 2017.
  2. ^ Kot, Greg (June 9, 1994). "Frank Black: Teenager of the Year (4AD)". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved December 19, 2018.
  3. ^ Larkin, Colin (2011). "Black, Frank". The Encyclopedia of Popular Music (5th concise ed.). Omnibus Press. ISBN 978-0-85712-595-8.
  4. ^ Flaherty, Mike (June 3, 1994). "Teenager of the Year". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved September 5, 2017.
  5. ^ Cameron, Keith (September 2019). "Perfectly Frank". Mojo. No. 310. p. 39.
  6. ^ "Frank Black: Teenager of the Year". NME. May 28, 1994. p. 34.
  7. ^ Weisel, Al (August 25, 1994). "Frank Black: Teenager of the Year". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on August 21, 2003. Retrieved December 30, 2017.
  8. ^ Wolk, Douglas (2004). "Frank Black". In Brackett, Nathan; Hoard, Christian (eds.). The New Rolling Stone Album Guide (4th ed.). New York: Simon & Schuster. pp. 74–75. ISBN 0-7432-0169-8.
  9. ^ Wilkinson, Roy (June 1994). "King Tubby!". Select. No. 48. p. 87. Retrieved September 5, 2017.
  10. ^ Weisbard, Eric (1995). "Pixies". In Weisbard, Eric; Marks, Craig (eds.). Spin Alternative Record Guide. Vintage Books. pp. 301–02. ISBN 0-679-75574-8.
  11. ^ a b "Music Review: Teenager of the Year by Frank Black". All-reviews.com. Retrieved 2020-01-25.
  12. ^ a b "Frank Black Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved June 6, 2020.
  13. ^ a b "Frank Black Chart History (Heatseekers Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved June 6, 2020.
  14. ^ "Frank Black Chart History (Alternative Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved June 6, 2020.
  15. ^ a b c "Top 100 Albums of the 1990s". Pitchfork. November 17, 2003. p. 1. Retrieved April 3, 2019.
  16. ^ 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die
  17. ^ Ryan, Gavin (2011). Australia's Music Charts 1988–2010 (pdf ed.). Mt. Martha, VIC, Australia: Moonlight Publishing. p. 32.
  18. ^ "Dutchcharts.nl – Frank Black – Teenager of the Year" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved June 6, 2020.
  19. ^ "Offiziellecharts.de – Frank Black – Teenager of the Year" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved June 6, 2020.
  20. ^ "Charts.nz – Frank Black – Teenager of the Year". Hung Medien. Retrieved June 6, 2020.
  21. ^ "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved June 6, 2020.
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