FUN FACTS: The album title originated from a jovial discussion by the band regarding greatest hits albums. They thought it would be funny to release a first album then subsequently release a "greatest hits" album containing the exact same songs, ensuring it would truly be all the greatest hits. It was then decided to just skip the first step and name their first album "Greatest Hits." This is ironic because the first album was basically planned as an extended single, meaning that the album consists almost entirely of B-sides. For the album cover, Jonathan hired what is assumed to be a homeless man to play the role of the "dead guy". He was paid in cash and beer, and was significantly inebriated during the shot. Jonathan was planning to offer a particular golf course free advertising for the use of its facilities for the shot, but the preferred course had been damaged by a hurricane. Bryan suggested sneaking onto another course. Therefore the band, with props, photography equipment, aforementioned "dead guy", beer, and the photographer, snuck onto a course from an adjoining strip mall parking lot and shot the cover. They even managed to get away without getting caught.
1. Opus I
Written August 10, 1992
Music by Jonathan Stone and Bryan Lamb
Recorded 2002, 2006-January 4, 2007
Arranged by Jonathan Stone and Bryan Lamb
Jonathan Stone - Percussion, Acoustic bass, Acoustic 6-string guitars, Acoustic 12-string guitar, Nylon string guitars, Keyboards, Programming, Sampling
This song has actually been around longer than Stoned Lamb. Jonathan started making up the bass line loosely based on Pink Floyd's "Comfortably Numb". Bryan added some chords, and a song was born that was considered a new beginning for the group. Therefore, Jonathan decided to call the song "Opus I" and to make sure it was the first song publicly released by the band. The song reminds the two of some crappy 60's songs, thus Bryan can't stand the song. This version was developed from the band playing the song acoustically at campsites, hotels, etc. The orchestral part was initially written on computer and later embelished. This "Opus I" has also been called "Open Spages (Part I)" or "Open Spages I".
FUN FACTS: The audience heard at the beginning of the song is actually Jonathan and his wife, Eve, reciting several of Jonathan's lyrics for future albums and other projects. Jonathan used a chopstick for the sound of the conductor's wand. A professional flautist once auditioned for the woodwind solo. The 12-string guitar was used to represent the flanged guitar of the original song. The first few notes of the nylon-string guitar solo were a remake of Bryan's original solo. Jonathan had recorded the solo for an earlier version of the song at a friend's house using the friend's classical guitar. (Thank you, Colin McLaughlin!) Although it never materialized, Colin was also considered for performing some of the solo parts. The segue to "The Things I Do" has been around for at least 11 years before this recording, and the two songs together have been planned as the first two songs of a Stoned Lamb album since 1996. The colors on the DVD during this song represent the box seats and curtains of a concert hall and later, the campfire around which the song used to be played.
2. The Things I Do
Written 1993-1995
Music by Jonathan Stone and Adam Lamb
Lyrics by Adam Lamb and Jonathan Stone
Recorded 1997-1999, 2002-2003, February 26-May 28, 2007
Arranged by Jonathan Stone and Adam
Lamb
Jonathan Stone - Drums, Upright bass, Rhythm guitar, Keyboard, Backing vocals,
Programming, Sampling
Adam Lamb - Lead guitar, Lead vocals
Although many lousy songs preceded it, this is considered the first real song that Jonathan and Adam wrote together. Jonathan had written the rhythm part and was playing it at Adam's house. Adam, who had just recently starting playing guitar, started playing the lead guitar part. At that time, they wrote the first verse and chorus and recorded them on tape. Since the band had chosen their new name during that trip, that demo is actually the first recording by the band as Stoned Lamb. The very first part of the demo has Jonathan playing the song on the Lamb’s piano. He was actually writing the lead guitar part for the choruses, an extension of the verse lead guitar figures Adam had written. The rest of the lyrics were written by Adam and Jonathan a couple years later. While playing guitar one day, Jonathan segued the acoustic version of "Opus I" and "The Things I Do", and the songs have been together practically ever since.
FUN FACTS: The album version of this song is the second recording of this song by the band. However, portions of the first recording were used on the second, namely, Jonathan’s "Homer Simpson" impressions and Adam's cough. The latter was from Adam's vocal track from the first version, albeit a later take, which was recorded outside in the Lamb's carport (with chirping birds and all). The a cappella ending was written in individual parts on the guitar. This resulted in the odd harmonies heard. Originally, the pitch shifts of the part were done vocally, but near the end of production, Jonathan changed them to being done by computer. The upright bass part on the first version (as well as the one on the outro of the electric version of Opus I) was originally recorded in a storage room at Leitz Music in Panama City, Florida using a bass from their showroom. (Thanks again, Phillip!) However, for the album version, the part had to be rerecorded, so Jonathan borrowed a friend's upright bass. (Thanks yet again, Colin!) The sound effects for the weight room and pool were recorded by Jonathan with his wife's assistance at the rec center where Jonathan went to college. Jonathan also recorded the traffic sounds on or near his campus. The horn is from Jonathan's Kia Spectra hatchback (his favorite car ever). He also filled the backseat with plastic bags for the "ransacking" sounds, but it sounded too "crinkly" so he filled it with newspaper instead. A catalog featuring Laetitia Casta was used as inspiration while Adam and Jonathan were recording parts of the song. The colors on the DVD during this song were captured from Laetitia’s swimsuit.
3. Gettin' The Bends
Written c.1998
Music by Jonathan Stone
Recorded 2002, 2007
Arranged by Jonathan Stone and Bryan Lamb
Jonathan Stone - Drums, Percussion, Keyboards, Sampling
Bryan Lamb - Guitar
This song was written while Jonathan was playing on Bryan's keyboard. Originally played with Bryan on lead guitar, Jonathan later replaced the guitar with the "sonar drums". However, he later had Bryan add a guitar part again, which Jonathan edited to more closely match the original, while keeping the "sonar drums" intact.
FUN FACTS: The segue from the inhale of the a cappella part of "The Things I Do" to the crashing waves and the dive underwater predates Gettin' The Bends by several years. Instead of Gettin' The Bends, it was originally planned to segue into a cover of Faith No More's "Underwater Love." However, after Gettin' The Bends was written, it was realized that it could be a less problematic alternative. Jonathan recorded the ocean waves with the help of the photographer, Jeremiah Richards. They actually hooked up some of the studio equipment to a battery pack and walked out into the ocean while holding the equipment above the waves, thus risking the loss of expensive equipment for the sake of art. The underwater sounds are produced by two keyboard parts. The colors on the DVD during this song represent (what else?) being underwater.
4. You Don't Wanna Know
Written August 10, 1992, c. 1998
Music by Jonathan Stone and Bryan Lamb
Lyrics by John Stone and Jonathan Stone
Recorded c. 1998, 2002-2003, 2007
Arranged by Jonathan Stone, Bryan Lamb, John Stone and Adam Lamb
Jonathan Stone - Drums, Bass, Rhythm guitars, Lead guitar, Vocals, Effects
Bryan Lamb - Rhythm guitars, Lead guitar, Vocals
Adam Lamb - Vocals
This song is a further development of "Opus I," with this version being most like the original. John Stone began writing the chorus lyrics not long after the original song was written. He would mainly improvise the verses until he and Jonathan finalized them about 6 years later. The music of the first recording of this version was extremely close to the original. However, the chord progression never changed in the original and Bryan felt there should be a key change for the solo to give it some extra punch. Therefore, Jonathan went back and wrote the interlude and the band rerecorded the music as it is now. On the first version, John sang the lead vocals, with Bryan, Adam and Jonathan interjecting some backing vocals. On the second version, a four-part harmony was attempted. Even with effects, this didn’t work, so a three-part harmony with just Adam, Bryan and Jonathan was tried. This also didn’t sound up to par, so, with a nod to Prince's "1999", the harmony vocals were used in a "relay" fashion, with Adam's, Bryan's and Jonathan's parts taking turns, then effects were added to provide more consistency. This "Opus I" has also been called "Open Spages (Part II)."
FUN FACTS: Jonathan had originally
envisioned recording "Opus I" either as the original version, an
acoustic version, or a heavier version. It was John who suggested putting all
three on an album. It was this suggestion that led to the development of the
entire EP on which these songs appear, with one version in the middle and the
other two acting as bookends for the album. Before the suggestion the album
would simply have been a single for “U-Stink-But-I-Luv-U” instead of an EP. One
of the original vocal tracks contains the purring and screaming of "Jack,"
a psychotic cat owned by Ryan Shade, a friend of Jonathan's who allowed
Jonathan to set up the studio in his house. The colors on the DVD during this
song represent one of Jonathan’s guitars, which, incidentally, was never
actually used on the original nor the album version.
5. Electroplexy Of Pulchritude
Written c.1997
Music by Bryan Lamb
Recorded c.1999
Arranged by Bryan Lamb and Jonathan Stone
Bryan Lamb - Keyboard, Vocals
Jonathan Stone - Bass, Effects, Sampling
This song was originally recorded during a jam session. It was rerecorded as a solo keyboard part for the album. Jonathan had initially included the buzzing and popping sounds during the keyboard playing, which more closely resembled the original. However popular opinion was that this was too bizarre, so he decided to put all sound effects before and after the keyboard part.
FUN FACTS: Jonathan had bought a keyboard and Bryan took up playing it not long before composing this song. While Bryan was playing the keyboard part, Jonathan was setting up effects for his bass. Cable noise provided some "shocking" sounds, hence Jonathan provided the "electroplexy," while Bryan's keyboard provided the "pulchritude." The bass with feedback and some of the line noise heard on the album version, as well as Bryan talking about the noise, are sampled from the original jam session. The high-pitched feedback is sampled from a very early jam session in 1989, not long after the band got together. The colors on the DVD during this song represent an electrical arc.
Written 1987
Music and lyrics © by Berke Breathed
Recorded 1997, 2002-2003
Arranged by Jonathan Stone, Adam Lamb and Bryan Lamb
Jonathan Stone - Drums, Bass, Guitar, Keyboard, Backing vocals
Bryan Lamb - Backing vocals
Adam Lamb - Lead vocals
Jonathan has been a huge fan of Bloom County since he was in 5th grade. As a result, he had wanted to record a cover of "U-Stink-But-I-Luv-U" for many years. Fortunately, Adam was also a fan of Bill 'N Opus. Jonathan recorded the music at the Lamb's house in the middle of a week-long recording session while everyone else was asleep. The next day, he had vocal parts recorded.
FUN FACTS: Bryan, not knowing that this was not a Stoned Lamb original, can be heard to say during his vocal part, "I'm glad you guys finally did something cool!" The original version of this song had several whammy bends and dives. Jonathan had recorded the song using the Lambs' guitar, which didn’t have a whammy bar, so he had to emulate the whammy techniques using string bends and slides. As it was the practice in many 1980's guitar solos, Jonathan recorded the guitar solo in a series of short takes. The colors on the DVD during this song are from the cover of Berke Breathed’s Bloom County book, Billy and the Boingers Bootleg.
7. Opus I
Written August 10, 1992
Music by Jonathan Stone and Bryan Lamb
Recorded c. 1998, c. 2001, March 2007, December 1, 2007
Arranged by Jonathan Stone, Adam Lamb and Bryan Lamb
Jonathan Stone - Maracas, Upright bass, Electric bass, Rhythm guitar, E-bow
guitar, Lead guitar, Keyboards, Ukulele, Vocals, Programming, Sampling
Adam Lamb - Vocals
Bryan Lamb – Vocals
This is Jonathan's adaptation of "Opus I" based on the style of Joe Satriani's "The Bells Of Lal (Part Two)." One day he tried playing the rhythm guitar part on ukulele and got the idea for the segue into the Caribbean outro. Originally, Adam had performed the lead guitar as an improvisation, but a more complex solo was written several years later, which Jonathan performed, this guitar track being the last take recorded for the completion of the album. This "Opus I" has also been called "Open Spages (Part III)" or "Open Spages II".
FUN FACTS: Jonathan had planned to start the guitar solo with a whammy technique used often by Steve Vai, but Adam, who was originally performing the solo, hated using the whammy bar so he did the section differently; however, Jonathan's solo restored the concept, using a facsimile of the technique. Jonathan was unable to get the arpeggiated part of the solo polished enough before deadline, so he programmed the part on a computer and played it through a guitar synth. Jonathan was staying with the Lambs at a hotel where a steel drum band was performing in the poolside courtyard below the room's balcony. This gave Jonathan the idea for the ambient sounds at the end of the song. Jonathan and Adam later recorded parts of the outro (with Jonathan on the ukulele and Adam on the maracas) on the very same stage at the hotel where the steel drum band had performed. The quality of these parts was not high enough, so they were rerecorded in the studio, but Jonathan returned about 3 years later and recorded the ambient sounds from the hotel stage again, this time with assistance from Kris Wright. The colors on the DVD during this song represent the lights of a rock concert and later, the thatched roof and pool in the hotel courtyard. The drums were played on keyboard for reference purposes only, but Jonathan like the beat so well that he ended up keeping the keyboard drums and never recorded actual drums for the song. The steel drum part was also performed on keyboard. The vocals at the beginning of the song are a technique that Jonathan had discovered in which the guitar picks up vocals when one screams into the pickups. After Adam screamed into Jonathan's guitar, Jonathan then proceeded to play the guitar with an E-bow as heard. Adam is screaming, "Oh, my tail, my tail!," a reference to one of the tracks on "Señorita," which is the final track on Stoned Lamb's next album; Jonathan is screaming, "I know a worm!" (an approximation of "marijuana" pronounced backwards, courtesy of Colin McLaughlin), a reference to a scene by Colin and Jonathan in the short film "A Tribute to Ryan's Stuff". Bryan is screaming "Shut up, stupid-head!," probably a reference to Adam and Jonathan.
8. motivational song ("D. U. I.")
Written c. 1997
Music and lyrics by Bryan Lamb
Recorded c. 1997
Arranged by Bryan Lamb
Bryan Lamb - Guitar, Vocals
Jonathan found this little gem while he was traveling to a wedding with his friend, Justin Cole, while finally listening to a dubbed tape of The Eels that Adam had let him borrow some time before. To Jonathan's surprise, at the end of the music was an unknown recording of Bryan jamming on guitar and singing. On the recording, Bryan went into this little improvisation. Upon hearing the song, Jonathan and Justin cracked up and Jonathan knew that he had to include it on a CD. Originally he had planned to hide it as a .wav file accessible only from a computer. He later decided to make it an additional track after hearing so many people rave about the song when it was included on demos.
FUN FACTS: Adam says that Bryan gets embarrassed whenever someone plays this song. Although many people love it, Jonathan’s wife absolutely hates this song.
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