Jill Sobule (album)
Jill Sobule is the second album by the American singer-songwriter Jill Sobule, released on April 7, 1995. The disc contained the singles "Good Person Inside", "Supermodel" and "I Kissed a Girl". The album sold 100,000 copies in the US, making it her most commercially successful record.
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [1] |
| Entertainment Weekly | A–[2] |
| Los Angeles Times | [3] |
| The New York Times | (favorable)[4] |
| The Village Voice |  [5] |
| Jill Sobule | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | April 7, 1995 | |||
| Recorded | Alex The Great Recording Nashville, Tennessee | |||
| Genre | Adult alternative | |||
| Length | 46:08 | |||
| Label | Lava / Atlantic | |||
| Producer | Brad Jones, Robin Eaton | |||
| Jill Sobule chronology | ||||
| ||||
Track listing
All tracks are written by Jill Sobule & Robin Eaton, except as noted.
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Good Person Inside" | Sobule | 3:12 |
| 2. | "Margaret" | Sobule, Nicky Holland | 3:18 |
| 3. | "(Theme From) The Girl in the Affair" | Sobule | 3:53 |
| 4. | "Karen by Night" | 3:58 | |
| 5. | "Houdini's Box" | 4:00 | |
| 6. | "Trains" | 3:44 | |
| 7. | "I Kissed a Girl" | 3:13 | |
| 8. | "The Jig Is Up" | 4:14 | |
| 9. | "Resistance Song" | Sobule | 2:59 |
| 10. | "Supermodel" | David Baerwald, David Kitay, Brian MacLeod, Kristen Vigard | 3:08 |
| 11. | "The Couple on the Street" | 3:24 | |
| 12. | "Vrbana Bridge" | 4:16 | |
| 13. | "Now That I Don't Have You" | 3:49 |
The first release of the album does not contain "Supermodel". After "Supermodel" appeared on the Clueless film soundtrack and was released as a single, the album was reissued with the song.
Katy Perry song
The singer Katy Perry used the title "I Kissed a Girl" for her own song, "I Kissed a Girl", which appeared on her 2008 album One of the Boys. The song received a mixed reception, and was unfavourably compared to Sobule's original by some commentators: Hiponline.com wrote that the song is "not nearly as interesting or exciting as you’d expect. It’s not even half as good as Jill Sobule’s song 'I Kissed a Girl'".[6] Glitterati Gossip wrote that Sobule's song "was ten times better, because there was actual emotional content to her lyrics".[7] Sobule shared her feelings about Perry's song and use of the title in a July 2009 interview with The Rumpus:
When Katy Perry's song came out I started getting tons of inquiries about what I thought. Some folks (and protective friends) were angry, and wondered why she took my title and made it into this kind of "girls gone wild" thing....
As a musician I have always refrained from criticizing another artist. I was, "Well, good for her." It did bug me a little bit, however, when she said she came up with the idea for the title in a dream. In truth, she wrote it with a team of professional writers and was signed by the very same guy that signed me in 1995. I have not mentioned that in interviews as I don't want to sound bitter or petty...
Okay, maybe, if I really think about it, there were a few jealous and pissed-off moments. So here goes, for the first time in an interview: Fuck you Katy Perry, you fucking stupid, maybe 'not good for the gays,' title-thieving, haven't heard much else, so not quite sure if you're talented, fucking little slut.
God that felt good.[8]
Sobule later said that the interview in The Rumpus was tongue in cheek. In an article for The Huffington Post, she wrote,
I thought maybe this time I would have fun with it and goof on what many of my fans were hoping to hear over the last year. I prefaced my reply with a wink, and then rambled on with a string of over the top dumb-ass profanities, purposely out of character and completely in jest ... I may be a touch cynical about the business, but I have never really been angry or had ill feelings towards Katy herself. I was actually in a small way happy to not be the "Kissed a Girl" girl anymore.[9]
Personnel
- Jill Sobule – guitar, sound effects, vocals, background vocals, tambo drums
- Sam Bacco – percussion, tympani
- Richard Barone – vocals, background vocals
- Pat Bergeson – harmonica
- J.D. Blair – snare drums
- Chris Carmichael – violin, cello
- Sue Davis – background vocals
- Robin Eaton – bass guitar, guitar, vocals, background vocals
- Buddy Emmons – pedal steel guitar
- Mac Gayden – banjo
- Byron House – bass guitar
- Brad Jones – organ, synthesizer, bass guitar, flute, guitar, mandolin, piano, keyboards
- Wayne Kramer – bass guitar
- Craig Krampf – drums
- Viktor Krauss – bass guitar
- Kenny Malone – percussion, drums
- Jerry Dale McFadden – accordion, sound effects
- Eric Moon – keyboards
- Al Perkins – pedal steel guitar
- Ross Rice – drums, electric piano
- Kirby Shelstad – drums, talking drum
- Jim Wizniewski – flute
Production
- Production: Brad Jones & Robin Eaton
- Engineering: Brad Jones
- Mixing: Roger Moutenot
- Mastering: Greg Calbi
Charts
Album
| Year | Chart | Position |
|---|---|---|
| 1995 | Heatseekers | 11 |
Singles
| Year | Single | Chart | Position |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1995 | "I Kissed a Girl" | Modern Rock Tracks | 20 |
| Billboard Hot 100 | 67 | ||
| Australian ARIA Singles Chart[10] | 36 | ||
| 1996 | "Supermodel" | Australian ARIA Singles Chart[11] | 53 |
References
- Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "Jill Sobule". AllMusic. Retrieved July 25, 2017.
- Frost, Deborah (April 7, 1995). "Jill Sobule". EW.com. Retrieved July 25, 2017.
- Gardner, Elysa (May 14, 1995). "In Brief". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved July 25, 2017.
- Altman, Billy (July 30, 1995). "A Storyteller With a Sensitive Wit". The New York Times. Retrieved July 25, 2017.
- Christgau, Robert (July 11, 1995). "Consumer Guide". The Village Voice. Retrieved July 25, 2017.
- Raegun (2008). "Katy Perry – One of the Boys – review", HipOnline.com. Posted: June 16, 2008. Retrieved June 22, 2008.
- "Katy Perry Irritates The Hell Out Of Me", Glitterati Gossip. March 24, 2008.
- "The Rumpus Interview with Jill Sobule". The Rumpus. July 30, 2009. Retrieved July 30, 2009.
- Sobule, Jill (August 19, 2009). "My "Feud" With Katy Perry". The Huffington Post. Retrieved February 27, 2011.
- "I Kissed a Girl – Australian chart run". Australian-charts.com. Retrieved January 17, 2010.
- Ryan, Gavin (2011). Australia's Music Charts 1988–2010. Mt. Martha, VIC, Australia: Moonlight Publishing.
