Pocket Full of Kryptonite

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Pocket Full of Kryptonite
File:Spindocs pocket kryptonite.JPG
Studio album by Spin Doctors
Released August 20, 1991
August 29, 2011 (Anniversary edition)
Recorded August–December 1990 at Power Station, NYC; RPM Studios, NYC and ACME Recording Studios Inc., Mamaroneck, NY
Genre
Length 50:30
Label Epic
ZK-47461
Producer Frank Aversa,
Peter Denenberg,
Frankie La Rocka,
Spin Doctors
Spin Doctors chronology
Up for Grabs...Live
(1991)Up for Grabs...Live1991
Pocket Full of Kryptonite
(1991)
Homebelly Groove...Live
(1992)Homebelly Groove...Live1992
Singles from Pocket Full of Kryptonite
  1. "Little Miss Can't Be Wrong"
    Released: October 5, 1992
  2. "Two Princes"
    Released: January 31, 1993
  3. "Jimmy Olsen's Blues"
    Released: 1993
  4. "What Time Is It?"
    Released: 1993
Professional ratings
Review scores
Source Rating
AllMusic 4/5 stars[1]
Q 4/5 stars[2]
Robert Christgau (1-star Honorable Mention)[3]

Pocket Full of Kryptonite is the first studio album (and second release) by American band Spin Doctors, released in August 1991. It peaked at #1 and #3 on Billboard's Heatseekers and Billboard 200 albums charts, respectively. It was the band's best selling album, and was certified 5x Platinum by the RIAA.[4]

It was remastered and reissued in 2011 as a twenty-year anniversary edition, with a bonus track added to the original album and a second disc of demos previously released only on cassette, plus two live tracks.

The album's title is a reference to Kryptonite, a fictional substance from the Superman comic book series. The title is taken from the album's opening track, "Jimmy Olsen's Blues", a reference to Superman supporting character Jimmy Olsen, who is attracted to Lois Lane and jealous of her romantic feelings for Superman. The cover, showing a phone booth, refers to Clark Kent frequently ducking into a nearby phone booth to change into his Superman attire.

Track listing

Original Album

All songs written and composed by Spin Doctors except as noted. 

No. Title Writer(s) Length
1. "Jimmy Olsen's Blues"     4:38
2. "What Time Is It?"     4:50
3. "Little Miss Can't Be Wrong"     3:54
4. "Forty or Fifty"     4:23
5. "Refrigerator Car"     4:46
6. "More Than She Knows"   Schenkman, Simon Lambert, Graham Clark, J.P. Fitting 2:12
7. "Two Princes"     4:18
8. "Off My Line"   John David Bell, Spin Doctors 3:58
9. "How Could You Want Him (When You Know You Could Have Me?)"     4:59
10. "Shinbone Alley/Hard to Exist"   Spin Doctors, Popper 12:42
Total length:
50:30
Bonus tracks for European edition (Epic 468250 9)[5]
No. Title Length
11. "Yo Mamas a Pajama" (live) 4:02
12. "Sweet Widow" (live) 11:38
13. "Stepped On A Crack" (live) 4:02
2011 Anniversary Edition Disc 1 Bonus track
No. Title Writer(s) Length
11. "Hard to Exist" (B-side of "How Could You Want Him" single) Barron, Schenkman, Popper, Comess 4:29

The live tracks on the European release also appear on the live album Homebelly Groove...Live (1992), and were recorded September 27, 1990, at Wetlands Preserve in New York.

Note: The track listing for the cassette release can be found inside the tape's inlay. Unlike the CD release of Pocket Full of Kryptonite, the cassettes did not feature a track listing on the back cover—only the black & white photography (as seen on the vinyl and CD releases) is depicted. The digital cassette release of Pocket Full of Kryptonite, however, featured a black & white photograph of the band instead (sans the track listing).

2011 Anniversary Edition Disc 2

All songs written and composed by Spin Doctors except as noted. 

1989 "Can't Say No" Demo, recorded Aug 1989 Greene Street Studios, New York City
No. Title Writer(s) Length
1. "Jimmy Olsen's Blues"     5:13
2. "Can't Say No"   Schenkman 2:20
3. "Hard to Exist"   Barron, Schenkman, Popper, Comess 4:30
4. "At This Hour"     5:37
5. "40 or 50"     4:39
6. "Big Fat Funky Booty"     4:00
1990 "Piece of Glass" Demo, recorded March 1990 RPM Studios, New York City
No. Title Writer(s) Length
7. "What Time Is It?"     4:08
8. "How Could You Want Him (When You Know You Could Have Me?)"     5:44
9. "Hungry Hamed's"     4:39
10. "House"     4:19
11. "Two Princes"     4:41
12. "Refrigerator Car"     4:05
13. "Rosetta Stone"     6:10
14. "Freeway of the Plains"   Gregg Buscaglia, Barron, Schenkman, Popper, Fogel 5:48
Live tracks
No. Title Length
15. "Turn it Upside Down" (Live July 19, 1993, Kingswood Music Theater, Toronto, Canada) 4:41
16. "Little Miss Can't Be Wrong" (Live September 25, 1990, Continental Divide, New York City) 4:05
Total length:
75:15

Members

Additional musicians

Production

  • Producers: Frank Aversa, Peter Denenberg, Frankie La Rocka, Spin Doctors
  • Engineers: Frank Aversa, Peter Denenberg, Marc Schwartz, Spin Doctors
  • Assistant engineers: Jeff Lippay, Motley
  • Mixing: Peter Denenberg, Frankie La Rocka, Spin Doctors
  • Mastering: Ted Jensen at Sterling Sound, NYC
  • Production Coordination: Jason J. Richardson
  • Guitar technician: Joseph Miselis
  • Equipment Manager: John Darren Greene
  • Art direction: Francesca Restrepo
  • Photography: Paul Aresu, Paul LaRaia
  • Cover art: Darren Greene, Chris Gross, Nicky Lindeman
  • Liner notes: Cree McCree

Charts

Album

Year Peak position
US

[6]

US HS

[6]

UK

[7]

NOR

[8]

AUS

[9]

1992 3 1
1993 2 2 1

Singles

Year Single Peak position
US MR

[10]

US

[10]

US AC

[10]

UK

[7]

IRE NOR

[11]

1992 "Jimmy Olsen's Blues" 8
"Little Miss Can't Be Wrong" 2 17 23 27
1993 "How Could You Want Him (When You Know You Could Have Me?)" 28 102
1993 "Jimmy Olsen's Blues" 34 78 40 2
1993 "Two Princes" 1 7 24 3 5
1993 "What Time Is It?" 26 56

End of decade charts

Chart (1990–1999) Position
U.S. Billboard 200[12] 95

References in popular culture

  • The song "Jimmy Olsen's Blues" was featured in the movies Beethoven's 2nd and Bye Bye Love.
  • The song "Little Miss Can't Be Wrong" was featured in the movie Son In Law.
  • The song "Two Princes" featured prominently in the episode "Maid to Border" of The Sarah Silverman Program, as the only song her friend and neighbor has on his iPod.
  • The song "Two Princes" was also featured in the animated sci-fi sitcom Futurama, in the episode "Love and Rocket", with the character Bender referring to it as "college rock".
  • During the "Death of Superman" event in Superman comics in 1992, the character Jimmy Olsen was drawn wearing a Spin Doctors shirt in several issues.

References

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Preceded by Australian ARIA Albums Chart number-one album
June 6–19, 1993
Succeeded by
janet. by Janet Jackson