Jamboree

Jamboree is the second album by American indie rock band Beat Happening, released in 1988 through K Records and Rough Trade Records. All songs were produced by Steve Fisk with assistance from Screaming Trees members Mark Lanegan and Gary Lee Conner (who plays a brief guitar solo on "Midnight a Go-Go"), except "Cat Walk," produced by Patrick Maley, and "The This Many Boyfriends Club," recorded live by Rich Jensen. Background Despite frequent appearances on compilation albums by K Records, the band did not release any releases of their own until 1987, with the arrival of the "Look Around" single. This was soon followed by the "Honey Pot" single in early 1988. Content The album marks a darker approach to the twee pop for which the band is known, due largely to a increased use of guitar distortion, more professional production, and increased emphasis on Calvin Johnson's deep voice than in the group's earlier recordings. The majority of the songs are sung by Calvin Johnson, while Heather Lewis only provides vocals on two songs, the uncharacteristically brash "In Between" and the more typically understated "Ask Me." At the time of the album's release, Johnson described Jamborees sound as "dark and sexy." Still, the band retained their emphasis on exuberance over musicianship, as Bret Lunsford stated in an interview that, while recording album opener "Bewitched," his guitar string got stuck on a protruding screw and he continued to play through the song, hitting the string a bit harder until it became unstuck. Author Dave Thompson, in his book Alternative Rock (2000), wrote that it "captur[es] the same aura of unamplified amplification" as on Rock 'n' Roll with the Modern Lovers (1977) by Jonathan Richman and the Modern Lovers. Release and reception