Alcatraz (album)

Alcatraz
Studio album by The Mr. T Experience
Released	1999
Recorded	March–April 1999
Genre	Punk rock, pop punk
Label	Lookout!
Producer	Kevin Army
The Mr. T Experience chronology
Road to Ruin (1998) Alcatraz (1999) Yesterday Rules (2004)

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[1]
Pitchfork Media	6.7/10[2]

Alcatraz is an album by the Berkeley punk rock band the Mr. T Experience, released in 1999 by Lookout! Records.^[3][4] It was the band's last album to include bassist Joel Reader, who left the group after its release.^[5]

Production

The album was produced by Kevin Army.^[6] It was recorded at multiple studios around the Bay Area, to ensure that the songs were sonically distinct.^[6] The album's sound differed from the band's previous two efforts, incorporating organ, keyboards, and acoustic instrumentation.^[7][8]

Critical reception

The Dallas Observer deemed Alcatraz "a good, old-fashioned rock album."^[9] SF Weekly wrote: "Deliberately seeking out the sonically claustrophobic atmosphere of such '80s favorites as Elvis Costello's Armed Forces and Joe Jackson's I'm the Man, the album achieves a level of nearly paranoid musicianship, rife with extemporaneous fills and exceedingly tight instrumental interplay."^[6]

Track listing

All tracks are written by Dr. Frank

No.	Title	Length
1.	"I Wrote a Book About Rock and Roll"
2.	"Naomi"
3.	"Self-Pity"
4.	"Hey Emily"
5.	"Tomorrow is a Harsh Mistress"
6.	"Two of Us"
7.	"Our Days Are Numbered"
8.	"We're Not No One"
9.	"Re-Activate Your Heart"
10.	"Perhaps"
11.	"She's My Alcatraz"
12.	"I Feel for You"
13.	"We'll Get By"

Personnel

• Dr. Frank – vocals, guitar
• Joel Reader – bass
• Jim "Jym" Pittman – drums
• Eric Noyes – hammond organ on tracks 1, 3, 8, & 10, piano on tracks 1 & 4
• Gabe Meline – hammond organ on track 13, piano on track 10, ARP on track 5
• Kevin Army – piano solo on track 4
• Paige O'Donoghue – backwards laughing on track 9
• Todd Grady – trumpet on track 2

Album information

• Produced, engineered, and mixed by Kevin Army in March and April 1999
• Recorded at Foxhound Sound Studios, Roof Brothers Studios, Sharkbite Studios, and Studio 880 in Oakland, California, and at Laughing Tiger Studios in Marin County, California
• Tracks 1-12 mixed at Foxhound Sound, track 13 mixed at Roof Brothers
• Assistant engineers: Matthew Farina, Dave Simon-Baker
• Mastered by John Golden
• Photography by Jennifer Juniper Stratford
• Art by Chris Appelgren

References

1. "Alcatraz - The Mr. T Experience | Songs, Reviews, Credits | AllMusic" – via www.allmusic.com.
2. Byrd, Steven. "The Mr. T Experience: Alcatraz: Pitchfork Review". Pitchfork Media. Archived from the original on August 16, 2000. Retrieved June 5, 2024.
3. "Mr. T Experience". Trouser Press. Retrieved July 1, 2021.
4. "Sixpence None the Richer, Mr. T Experience ..." MTV News. Archived from the original on July 9, 2021.
5. "The Mr. T Experience | Biography & History". AllMusic.
6. "Growing Pains". SF Weekly. September 1, 1999. Archived from the original on July 9, 2021. Retrieved July 1, 2021.
7. Masley, Ed (October 15, 1999). "ARE YOU MR. T EXPERIENCED?". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT. p. 32.
8. "Show Business Is My Life". East Bay Express. Retrieved July 1, 2021.
9. Crain, Zac (March 9, 2000). "The Mr. T Experience". Dallas Observer.