Whatever is the first solo album by the American singer-songwriter Aimee Mann, released in 1993. It earned positive reviews but did not meet sales expectations. It was included in the book 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die.
Background
In the 1980s, Mann co-founded the new wave band 'Til Tuesday. They released three albums and disbanded in 1990 when Mann left to pursue a solo career. She said later that her musical interests had changed, and that she was more interested in "acoustic guitar music". Epic Records did not release Mann from her record contract for another three years, which prevented her from releasing new material. It was the first of several disputes Mann had with record labels, which Hausman said had a lasting effect on her attitude to the music industry. Mann found working with Brion exciting and felt her songwriting improved with him. Mann wrote "I've Had It" about her frustrations with Epic when they would not release her from her record contract, and said it was influenced by Simon & Garfunkel.
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Whatever was released in 1993 on the independent label Imago. It earned positive reviews but did not meet sales expectations. As of February 2001, Whatever had sold 170,000 copies in United States.
Most praised her sense of melody and the wordplay of her lyrics, exemplified by Entertainment Weekly in "hooky songs" and "evocative lyrics". Robert Christgau cited "Mr. Harris" as a "choice cut".
In 2000, the songwriter Elvis Costello included Whatever in his list of 500 greatest albums for Vanity Fair. It was included in the book 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die and in Pitchforks "150 Best Albums of the 1990s". In 2003, the English writer Nick Hornby included "I've Had It" in Songbook, a list of songs that changed his life.
Track listing
Personnel
- Aimee Mann – vocals (all songs), electric guitar (1), bass (1–3, 5, 6, 10, 11), Dixie cup (1), acoustic guitar (3, 13), pump organ (4), Mellotron (5), percussion (7), lo-fi acoustic guitar (10), nylon-string guitar (12)
- Michael Hausman – drums (3, 10, 13), percussion (4), orchestral percussion (8), bass drum (12), tongue drum (12), congas (12), cymbals (12)
- Jim Keltner – drums (2, 5, 6)
- Milt Sutton – drums (7)
- Jon Brion – drums (1, 4, 11), bass (1, 4, 7, 13), electric guitar (1, 2, 5–7, 10, 12, 13), pump organ (1, 6, 8), Mellotron (1, 3, 4, 5, 7, 8, 10), Chamberlain (1, 4, 6, 8), vocals (1, 2, 4, 5, 7, 10, 13), Optigan (2, 4, 6, 12, 13), glockenspiel (2, 4, 10), tambourine (2, 10), vibraphone (3, 4), guitar (4), piano (4, 6, 7, 9, 10, 12, 13), harmonium (6, 8), acoustic guitar (7), acoustic bass (8), kazoo (8), woodwind arrangement (9), Hammond organ (10, 13), Indian harmonium (10), bass harmonica (10, 12), keyboards (11), cottage organ (12), B-3 organ (12), Wurlitzer organ (12), celesta (12), tack piano (12), piccolo flute (12), bottles (12), turtle guitar (13), toy piano (13), marimba (13), pipes (13)
- Buddy Judge – vocals (1, 10–13), acoustic guitar (5, 6, 8, 11, 13), hi-fi acoustic guitar (10), bottles (12), pipes (13)
- Todd Nelson – intro guitar (1)
- Randy Brion – euphonium (9), trombone (13)
- Mike Breaux – oboe (9), bassoon (12)
- Roger McGuinn – 12-string electric guitar (2), vocals (2)
- David Coleman – electric cello (10)
- The Sid Sharp Strings – Sid Sharp (9, 11), Joy Lyle (9, 11), Harry Shirinian (9, 11), Harry Shultz (9, 11)
- Jimmie Haskell – string arrangement (9)
Charts
Weekly charts
{| class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders"
|+Source
|-
!align="left"|Year
!align="left"|Chart
!align="left"|Position
|-
|align="left"|1993
|align="left"|Heatseekers
|align="left"|3
|-
|align="left"|1993
|align="left"|Billboard 200
|align="left"|127
|}
Singles
{| class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders"
|-
!align="left"|Year
!align="left"|Single
!align="left"|Chart
!align="left"|Position
|-
|align="left"|1993
|align="left"|"I Should've Known"
|align="left"|Modern Rock Tracks
|align="left"|16
|}