The last couple of years have been pretty exciting for Alternative Rock leaders Everclear. To start with, in 2023 they put out Live at the Whisky a Go Go. A great set captured for their first-ever live album, the release also featured a brand new song from the band called “Sing Away,” plus the 2022 single “Year of the Tiger” as a bonus. Giving hope that Everclear will potentially be releasing their first studio album since 2015’s Black Is the New Black sooner than later, in 2024 they continue to keep fans engaged with the first-ever vinyl pressing of their 2000 album Songs from an American Movie Vol. One: Learning How to Smile.
Something worth checking out, the vinyl release arrived on September 13th via Intervention Records amidst the band’s fall headlining tour with Marcy Playground and Jimmie’s Chicken Shack. A run of shows that wrapped up on November 2nd, Art Alexakis and Everclear will be out at sea starting January 31, 2025, when they set sail with The 90s Cruise out of Tampa, Florida. On top of this, while there are no plans for a new studio album in 2025, Everclear will be celebrating the 30th anniversary of their 1995 album Sparkle & Fade. Speaking of which, if you are a fan of the breakout Spark & Fade album, perhaps you should look back in the archives of Intervention Records to find its Deluxe Edition vinyl release.
Some of the very first titles of Intervention Records requested for reissue to vinyl before even starting the label, in 2016 their dreams came true when they put out vinyl presses of both Everclear’s Sparkle & Fade, as well as the epic 1997 album So Much for the Afterglow. Two extremely important albums in the history of Everclear, Sparkle & Fade were their introduction to the mainstream, featuring hits like “Santa Monica” and “Heartspark Dollarsign.” An album featuring a distinct Alternative Rock sound with classic Punk Rock energy, it went to the top of the Heatseekers Chart in January 1996, was certified Platinum by the RIAA in May 1996, and inevitably it would prove to be a launch point toward massive success with So Much for the Afterglow.
Speaking of So Much for the Afterglow, by and large, this is the album most fans identify with Everclear. Coming a little less than two years after Sparkle & Fade, So Much for the Afterglow was massive hit singles like “I Will Buy You a New Life” and “Father of Mine.” Two very different vibed tracks, each displayed Everclear’s forward thinking of interjecting more Pop elements into the music which paid off tremendously in years to follow.
However, to those who lived and breathed So Much for the Afterglow between 1997 and 1999, tracks like “Everything to Everyone,” “White Men In Black Suits,” and the razor-sharp instrumental “El Distorto de Melodica” are truly what define the record. In the end, So Much For The Afterglow was a defining Alternative Rock record of the late ‘90s, and to this date is Everclear’s best-selling album certified two times platinum.
This all proves that Sparkle & Fade and So Much for the Afterglow are paramount when discussing Everclear, and justifies why Intervention Records vinyl pressings are equally as important. Looking at them more closely, they put Sparkle and Fade on an extremely high-grade 180 gram vinyl, remastered from high-resolution archives. Done so for the first time at this level, the album sounds stunning in every regard. Add to this the attention to detail in the deluxe gatefold presentation by Stoughton, it does not get any better.
On the other hand, you have Intervention Records giving So Much for the Afterglow a similar, thoughtful treatment. Done so in 2016, synchronized with the album’s 25th anniversary, the packaging is gorgeous, while the sound itself could be the best you have ever experienced with these songs.
The best part about these two vinyl reissues from Intervention Records is that you can still purchase copies via their website interventionrecords.com. Perfect companions to the more recent release of an American Movie Vol. One: Learning How to Smile, Cryptic Rock highly recommends you seek these out today, giving all three classic Everclear album pressings 5 out of 5 stars.
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