''Master of Styles'' is a

studio album An album is a collection of audio recordings (e.g., music) issued on a medium such as compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl (record), audio tape (like 8-track cartridge, 8-track or Cassette tape, cassette), or digital distribution, dig ...

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

The Urge The Urge is an heavy alternative rock band based in St. Louis, Missouri. Their music combines several genres, including hardcore punk, heavy metal, ska, reggae, funk, rock, and rhythm and blues. Consistent touring throughout the 1990s earned ...

, released in 1998. The album produced three singles (“Jump Right In”, “Straight to Hell”, and “Closer”) and sold 250,000 copies. “Jump Right In” featured guest vocals by

Nick Hexum Nicholas Lofton Hexum (born April 12, 1970) is an American singer, songwriter and rapper, currently the lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist for the multi-platinum alternative rock band 311 and The Nick Hexum Quintet. Early life Born in Madison, ...

of 311 and hit the #10 position on the Modern Rock list.

Critical reception

The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'', locally known as ''The'' ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'' or ''WP'', is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C., the national capital. It is the most widely circulated newspaper in the Washington m ...

'' wrote that "Urge seems to have a chameleonic talent for adapting to punk, ska, reggae, hip-hop and reggae trends without ever distinguishing itself."

MTV MTV (an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable television television channel, channel and the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group sub-division of the Paramount Media Networks division of Paramount Global. Launched on ...

wrote that "any group that can throw funk, ska, pop and metal into the old mixmaster (accent on old) without any discernible recipe for making it all work to their commercial benefit is nothing if not adaptable." ''

CMJ New Music Monthly CMJ Holdings Corp. is a music events, online media company and a distributor of up and coming music CDs, originally founded in 1978, which ran a website, hosted an annual festival in New York City, and published two magazines, ''CMJ New Music ...

'' opined that the band "combines sounds from funk to punk to reggae, and it's successful thanks in large part to the one constant: the mellifluous, adaptable voice of Steve Ewing."

Track listing

Personnel

;The Urge *

Steve Ewing The Urge is an heavy alternative rock band based in St. Louis, Missouri. Their music combines several genres, including hardcore punk, heavy metal, ska, reggae, funk, rock, and rhythm and blues. Consistent touring throughout the 1990s earned ...

- vocals *Karl Grable - bass, concept *Jerry Jost - guitars *John Pessoni - drums, background vocals *Bill Reiter - saxophone *Matt Kwiatkowski - trombone *Todd Painter - trombone, keyboard ;Additional musicians *

- vocals in "Jump Right In" ;Additional personnel *Mike Dillon - percussion *Doug Erb - art direction *

GGGarth Garth "GGGarth" Richardson, (born ), is a Canadian record producer and sound engineer. He is the son of music producer Jack Richardson. He has worked with such musical acts as Red Hot Chili Peppers, Motley Crüe, Nickelback, Rage Against the ...

- engineer, producer *Mr. Colson - engineer *Tom Gordon - assistant engineer *Steve Hupaylo - unknown contributor *Michael Lavine - photography *Bob Ludwig - mastering *Luke Partridge - design *Joe Gastwirt- Mastering on Jump right in. *Randy Staub - mixing *Joe Varkey - assistant engineer *Gary Winger - mixing assistant

Charts

References

{{Authority control The Urge albums Albums produced by Garth Richardson 1998 albums