''Don't Be Happy... Just Worry'' is the second

extended play An extended play (EP) is a Sound recording and reproduction, musical recording that contains more tracks than a Single (music), single but fewer than an album. Contemporary EPs generally contain up to eight tracks and have a playing time of 1 ...

(EP) by British

rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wale ...

band

the Wildhearts The Wildhearts are an English Rock music, rock band, formed in 1989 in Newcastle upon Tyne. The band's sound is a mixture of hard rock and melodic pop music, often described in the music press as combining influences as diverse as the Beatl ...

. Released on 23 November 1992 by East West and

Bronze Records Bronze Records was an independent English record label founded in 1971 by record producer Gerry Bron on Oxford Street in London, eventually relocating to Chalk Farm. History Bron had been producing Uriah Heep (band), Uriah Heep for Vertigo Reco ...

, it consists of remixed versions of all four tracks from the band's first EP '' Mondo Akimbo a-Go-Go'' alongside four new tracks recorded at

Rockfield Studios Rockfield Studios is a residential recording studio located in the Wye Valley just outside the village of Rockfield, Monmouthshire, Wales. It was founded in 1963 by brothers Kingsley and Charles Ward. Recording studios Rockfield is a two-stu ...

in Rockfield, Wales with producer

Robert Musso Robert Musso is a New York City-based guitarist, composer, engineer, and producer. He is the founder of the independent record label MuWorks as well as the record label - MussoMusic.com. Over the course of a 40 - year career, Musso has produced, mix ...

. The EP was the band's first release to chart, reaching number 91 on the

UK Albums Chart The Official Albums Chart is the United Kingdom's industry-recognised national record chart for album, albums. Entries are ranked by sales and audio streaming. It was published for the first time on 22 July 1956 and is compiled every week by the O ...

Background

After touring in promotion of their debut EP '' Mondo Akimbo a-Go-Go'', the Wildhearts recorded four new tracks at

Rockfield, Monmouthshire Rockfield is a small village in the community of Whitecastle, Monmouthshire, Southeast Wales. It is located beside the River Monnow, about north-west of Monmouth, at the junction of the B4233 to Abergavenny and the B4347 to Grosmont. Rockfield ...

, Wales in the summer of 1992. For the sessions, the band worked with American producer

and mixing engineer

Terry Date Terry Date (born January 31, 1956) is an American record producer and audio engineer specializing in rock genres, especially heavy metal. He is well known for his work with Metal Church, Dream Theater, Soundgarden, Overkill, Pantera, Dark Ang ...

. In addition to the new songs, ''Don't Be Happy... Just Worry'' also features all four tracks from ''Mondo Akimbo a-Go-Go'', newly remixed by Date and dubbed the "Anti-Dance Mixes". The EP was released on 23 November 1992 by East West and

, on double CD and double

12" vinyl The twelve-inch single (often written as 12-inch or 12) is a type of vinyl (polyvinyl chloride or PVC) gramophone record that has wider groove spacing and shorter playing time with a "single" or a few related sound tracks on each surface, compar ...

. A single-disc

mini album A mini-LP or mini-album is a short record album or LP, usually retailing at a lower price than an album that would be considered full-length. It is distinct from an EP due to containing more tracks and a slightly longer running length. A mini- ...

version was issued on 25 April 1994.

Reception

Commercial

''Don't Be Happy... Just Worry'' was the Wildhearts' first release to chart, registering at number 91 on the

Critical

''Don't Be Happy... Just Worry'' received mixed reviews from critics. In a brief feature for ''

Music Week ''Music Week'' is a trade publication for the UK record industry distributed via a website and a monthly print magazine. It is published by Future. History Founded in 1959 as ''Record Retailer'', it relaunched on 18 March 1972 as ''Music We ...

'' around the time of its initial release, Andy Martin gave the EP a rating of two out of five. Martin later reviewed the EP for ''Music Week'' upon its 1994 reissue, this time awarding it three out of five and hailing it as being "brimful of topping

pop rock Pop rock (also typeset as pop/rock) is a fusion genre and form of rock music characterized by a strong commercial appeal, with more emphasis on professional songwriting and recording craft, and less emphasis on attitude than standard rock musi ...

songs". In a retrospective review for the website

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...

, Eduardo Rivadavia gave the EP two and a half out of five stars, describing it as a "much-improved second effort" by the band. Rivadavia praised the release for "prov ngjust how far the Wildhearts had come in those six months", highlighting "Splattermania", "Dreaming in A" and "Something Weird (Going on in My Head)". ''

Music & Media ''Music & Media'' was a pan-European magazine for radio, music and entertainment. It was published for the first time in 1984 as ''Eurotipsheet'', but in 1986 it changed name to ''Music & Media''. It was originally based in Amsterdam, but later m ...

'' praised "Turning American" and "Crying Over Nothing" as "the right pacemakers for rock radio".

Track listing

Personnel

The Wildhearts *

Ginger Wildheart Ginger Wildheart (born David Leslie Walls; 17 December 1964), sometimes known simply as Ginger, is an English rock guitarist, singer, and songwriter. He began his professional career as a guitarist in the Quireboys, but is best known as the fo ...

– lead vocals, guitar, production *

CJ Wildheart Christopher Paul Persaud-Jagdhar (born 27 December 1967), known professionally as CJ Wildheart, is an English musician of Guyanese and Seychellois descent. He is a solo artist and also a founding member of the rock band the Wildhearts. He was ...

– guitar, backing vocals, production *

Danny McCormack Danny McCormack (born 28 February 1972) is an English rock musician, best known for several tenures as the bassist and backing vocalist for The Wildhearts. Biography McCormack became the bass player for The Wildhearts at age 19 in 1991, enjoy ...

– bass, production *Bam Ross – drums, production Additional personnel *Dan Priest – production and engineering on tracks 1–4 *Doug Cook – engineering on tracks 1–4 *

– production on tracks 5–8 *Paul Cobbold – engineering on tracks 5–8 *

– mixing on tracks 5–8, remix on tracks 1–4

Charts

References

External links

* {{The Wildhearts 1992 EPs The Wildhearts EPs East West Records EPs Bronze Records EPs