Underdogs is the second full-length studio album by the Canadian alternative rock group Matthew Good Band, released in 1997. In a 2000 poll by music magazine Chart, Underdogs was voted the 18th Greatest Canadian album of all time.[3]

Underdogs
Studio album by
ReleasedOctober 7, 1997
Recorded1997
StudioGreenhouse Studios, Burnaby, British Columbia
GenreAlternative rock
Length57:27
Label
ProducerWarne Livesey
Matthew Good Band chronology
Raygun (EP)
(1997)
Underdogs
(1997)
Lo-Fi B-Sides (EP)
(1998)
Singles from Underdogs
  1. "Everything Is Automatic"
    Released: November 9, 1997
  2. "Indestructible"
    Released: March 9, 1998
  3. "Apparitions"
    Released: June 1, 1998
  4. "Rico"
    Released: 1998
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[1]
Sputnikmusic[2]

Background

edit

In December 1996, Matthew Good Band signed a two-album deal with Private Music. In mid-January, on the first day of pre-production for Underdogs, the group was notified that BMG Entertainment North America was merging Private Music into Windham Hill/High Street Records, putting a halt to the production of the album. In mid-March, after negotiations, Windham Hill/High Street released the group from its contract.[4] Good was paid what he was owed for the two albums, and the group decided to record the new album regardless of label support, using the money received from the divorce of their contract with Windham Hill/High Street to fund it. According to Good, the album cost $100,000 to produce.[5] The group then agreed to release the album under a distribution agreement with PolyGram Group Canada.

Commercial performance

edit

Underdogs was the band's most successful album yet, being certified Platinum in Canada and being nominated for "Best Rock Album" at the 1999 Juno Awards.[6] By March 2003, the album had sold 200,000 units in Canada,[7] achieving Double Platinum status.

Track listing

edit

All words by Matthew Good, all music by Good and Dave Genn, except where noted.

No.TitleLength
1."Deep Six"3:32
2."Everything Is Automatic"4:17
3."Apparitions"5:11
4."My Out of Style Is Coming Back"3:16
5."Strangest One of All"4:41
6."Middle Class Gangsters"5:37
7."Rico" (Good, Genn, Lloyd, Browne)3:26
8."Prime Time Deliverance" (Good)5:33
9."The Inescapable Us" (Good)3:12
10."Indestructible"3:24
11."Invasion 1"4:04
12."Look Happy, It's the End of the World"3:47
13."Change of Season"7:21

Personnel

edit

References

edit
  1. ^ https://www.allmusic.com/album/r368040/review
  2. ^ "usurped title". Archived from the original on July 14, 2011. {{cite web}}: Cite uses generic title (help)CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  3. ^ "Top 50 Canadian Albums Of All-Time (20 To 11)". Chart. Archived from the original on 2000-10-18. Retrieved 2011-03-26.{{cite magazine}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  4. ^ "A&M Banks On Good's 'Underdogs'". Billboard. 11 October 1997. Retrieved September 3, 2018.
  5. ^ "Making Good with the Band". Archived from the original on 1999-08-26. Retrieved May 11, 2020.
  6. ^ "Awards". junoawards.ca. Retrieved 2016-06-09.
  7. ^ "Good Unleashes 'Avalanche In Canada". Billboard. 15 March 2003. Retrieved May 26, 2014.