''Fear'' (commonly stylized as ''fear'') is the third studio album by American
alternative rock
Alternative rock (also known as alternative music, alt-rock or simply alternative) is a category of rock music that evolved from the independent music underground of the 1970s. Alternative rock acts achieved mainstream success in the 1990s w ...
band
Toad the Wet Sprocket
Toad the Wet Sprocket is an American alternative rock band formed in Santa Barbara, California, in 1986. The band at the time consisted of vocalist/guitarist Glen Phillips, guitarist Todd Nichols, bassist Dean Dinning, and drummer Randy Guss, ...
. The album is their second album for
, and was released on August 27, 1991. It became the first commercially successful album for the band, selling over a million copies and was certified platinum three years after release, on September 1, 1994.
The album debuted at number 49 on
''Billboard'' 200 a year after its release. Two of the album's singles peaked within the
''Billboard'' Hot 100's top 40: "
All I Want" and "
Walk on the Ocean
"Walk on the Ocean" is a song by American alternative rock group Toad the Wet Sprocket from their third studio album, ''Fear'' (1991). Two different versions of the song were released: the album version with a cold ending (timed at 2:59) and the ...
", which peaked at numbers 15 and 18 on the
''Billboard'' Hot 100, respectively.
Background
Toad the Wet Sprocket's first album, ''
Bread & Circus'', was financed and recorded by the band in eight days for $650 in 1989. The band sold copies of the album on cassette, eventually signing with
after recording their second album, ''
Pale
Pale may refer to:
Jurisdictions
* Medieval areas of English conquest:
** Pale of Calais, in France (1360–1558)
** The Pale, or the English Pale, in Ireland
*Pale of Settlement, area of permitted Jewish settlement, western Russian Empire (179 ...
''. Despite an offer from Columbia to restart the sessions for ''Pale'', the band decided to continue to record the album by themselves at a cost of $6,000, and re-release it with Columbia.
Recording
The songs for the album were recorded at Granny's House,
Reno, Nevada
Reno ( ) is a city in the northwest section of the U.S. state of Nevada, along the Nevada–California border. It is the county seat and most populous city of Washoe County, Nevada, Washoe County. Sitting in the High Eastern Sierra foothills, ...
.
''fear'' was produced, recorded and mixed by Gavin MacKillop, a role he would reprise for the band's next two releases, 1994's ''
Dulcinea'' and 1997's ''
Coil.''
Columbia financed the mixing of fourteen songs for the album, with twelve to be released. The two songs left off the album, "Good Intentions" and "All in All", were both released on the 1995 rarities collection ''
In Light Syrup'', along with several other tracks recorded during the ''fear'' sessions. The band members were in disagreement over "All in All" and "All I Want", and eventually "All I Want" was chosen to complete the record.
Track listing
Personnel
Musicians
*
Glen Phillips – lead vocals, guitars, mandolin
*Todd Nichols – guitars, mandolin
*Dean Dinning – bass, keyboards
*
Randy Guss – drums, percussion
*Laurel Franklin – spoken word, additional vocals
Production
*Produced by Gavin MacKillop
*Engineered by Don Evans, Gavin MacKillop & Bjorn Thorsrud
*Mixed by Gavin MacKillop
Charts
Certifications
References
{{Authority control
1991 albums
Toad the Wet Sprocket albums
Columbia Records albums
Pop rock albums by American artists