''Fantastic Spikes Through Balloon'' is the debut studio album by the American

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

Skeleton Key A skeleton key (also known as a passkey) is a type of master keying, master key in which the serrated edge has been removed in such a way that it can open numerous Lock and key, locks, most commonly the warded lock. The term derives from th ...

, released in 1997 on

Capitol Records Capitol Records, LLC (known legally as Capitol Records, Inc. until 2007), and simply known as Capitol, is an American record label owned by Universal Music Group through its Capitol Music Group imprint. It was founded as the first West Coast-base ...

. It was co-produced by the band with

Dave Sardy David Stuart Sardy (born 1967), more commonly known as D. Sardy, is an American composer, musician, songwriter, and multiple Grammy winning record producer. He came to prominence as the leader of 1990s noise rock band Barkmarket before turning ...

, except "All the Things I've Lost" and "Big Teeth" produced by the band and Eli Janney, and "The Needle Never Ends" produced by the band only. The original album contains 11 songs, with 4 more songs released only on the Japanese edition. In 1998, a two-disc edition of the album was released in the United States, with the second disc containing alternative versions and remixes by

DJ Spooky Paul Dennis Miller (born September 6, 1970), known professionally as DJ Spooky, That Subliminal Kid, is an American Electronic music, electronic and experimental hip hop musician whose work is often called by critics "illbient" or "trip hop". ...

Mark Linkous Frederick Mark Linkous (September 9, 1962 – March 6, 2010) was an American singer, songwriter and musician, best known as leader of Sparklehorse. He was also known for his collaborations with such artists as Tom Waits, PJ Harvey, Daniel J ...

JG Thirlwell James George Thirlwell (born 29 January 1960), styled as JG Thirlwell and also known as Clint Ruin, Frank Want, and Foetus, among other pseudonyms, is an Australian musician, composer, and record producer known for Juxtaposition, juxtaposing a ...

and

Dan the Automator Daniel M. Nakamura (born August 29, 1966), better known by his stage name Dan the Automator, is an American record producer. He is the founder of the publishing company Sharkman Music and the record label 75 Ark. Early life Daniel M. Nakamura wa ...

. The packaging was designed by

Stefan Sagmeister Steve (born August 6, 1962) is an Austrian graphic designer, storyteller, and typographer based in New York City. In 1993, Sagmeister founded his company, Sagmeister Inc., to create designs for the music industry. He has designed album covers for ...

and features photographs by Tom Schierlitz. It was nominated for the

Grammy Award for Best Recording Package The Grammy Award for Best Recording Package is one of a series of Grammy Awards The Grammy Awards, stylized as GRAMMY, and often referred to as The Grammys, are awards presented by The Recording Academy of the United States to recognize out ...

Critical reception

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'' wrote: "With its raucous precision, Skeleton Key touches on punk and funk, constructing lean, clattery vamps. It also harks back to Captain Beefheart's down-home surrealism and tips its hat to the circus-band waltzes of Kurt Weill via Tom Waits." The ''

Dayton Daily News The ''Dayton Daily News'' (''DDN'') is a daily newspaper published in Dayton, Ohio. It is owned by Cox Enterprises, Inc., a privately held global conglomerate headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, United States, with approximately 55,000 employee ...

'' deemed the album "a quirky hodgepodge of megaphone vocals, tin-can percussion, jagged rhythms and bizarro sound effects."{{cite news , last1=Rollins , first1=Ron , title=Recordings in Brief , work=Dayton Daily News , date=28 Mar 1997 , department=Go! , page=20

Track listing

#"Watch the Fat Man Swing" – 3:27 #"Wide Open" – 2:36 #"Nod Off" – 3:19 #"All the Things I've Lost" – 2:55 #"The Only Useful Word" – 3:57 #"The World's Most Famous Undertaker" – 3:05 #"Vomit Ascot" – 1:53 #"Dear Reader" – 3:16 #"Scratch" – 2:37 #"Big Teeth" – 3:36 #"The Needle Never Ends" – 3:56 Japanese edition bonus tracks #

"Solitaire" – 3:18 #"You Might Drown" – 2:12 #"Hoboerotica" – 1:22 #"The Spreading Stain" – 3:36 Disc 2 (special edition) #

"You Might Drown (Transistor Remix)" – 4:27 #"All The Things I've Lost (Fast Version)" – 4:06 #"Wide Open (

's Full Spectrum Mix)" – 5:32 #"Nod Off" – 3:57 #"Dear Reader" – 5:11 #"Skeletons" – 5:01 #"The Needle Never Ends" – 4:06 #"Big Teeth" – 3:56 #"Dear Reader (Unwonted Mix)" – 3:25 #"Spreading Stain" – 5:13 #"You Might Drown (Drum & Bass Remix)" – 5:45 #"All The Things I've Lost (Slow Version)" – 3:52 #"Nod Off (Version 1)" – 2:50

Personnel

Erik Sanko Erik Sanko (born 27 September 1963) is an American bass player who has played in The Lounge Lizards, Skeleton Key and currently active in Knife Thrower and SQURL. Biography In the past he also worked with notable musicians including Marc Ribot, ...

*Stephen Calhoon *Chris Maxwell *Rick Lee

References

Skeleton Key (band) albums 1997 debut albums Capitol Records albums Albums produced by Dave Sardy