"Rise" was released as a single in 1991 via the Rise CD maxi-EP on Alias Records, which contained the non-album tracks "Chanel #5", "The Right Thing" and an alternate version of "Crabwalk". The music video for "Rise" received minor play on MTV's 120 Minutes late-night program.
On the strength of Everclear, Mark Eitzel was named Rolling Stone magazine's Songwriter of the Year in 1991. Rolling Stone also placed Everclear in their list of top five albums of the year.
In an article in the December 1994 – January 1995 issue of Addicted to Noise, the band recounted:
"I remember we were somewhere in Germany and we found out about the Rolling Stone poll," says Eitzel. "It made me feel really good. But for the next show there were about 20 people in the audience. And they were army guys and they thought American Music Club were some righteous American freedom-fighting, cool ass Springsteen-influenced Guns N' Roses kind of guys. And we did not rock." "They didn't know we'd made 'one of the best records of the year' and he was the 'best songwriter,'" adds bassist Dan Pearson. "They couldn't give a fuck about that shit," says Eitzel. "And they certainly didn't agree."
Eric Weisbard of Spin Alternative Record Guide (1995) wrote that Everclear marked American Music Club's failed attempt to "take over the world", adding that the album "was weirdly produced by Kaphan—imagine a pedal steelist's megalomanic fantasy—with the would-be modern rock hit 'Rise' especially cheesy." However, he praised several songs, including the mournful, AIDS-inspired "Sick of Food" and "The Dead Part of You".[7]Pitchfork's Chris Ott included Everclear in a list of albums common in second-hand stores.[1] He wrote: "Hideously produced for Alias-- the same label that fucked up Yo La Tengo's May I Sing with Me-- Everclear is an overstuffed, underdeveloped album drenched in a plate of reverb on par with Queensryche."[1]
Kyle Johnson – second engineer at Soma Sync Studios
Bruce Kaphan – production, mixing, recording
Norman Kerner – production, recording
Bob Ludwig – mastering
Artwork and design
Beth Herzhaft – photography
Jean Lowe – cover painting
Frank Weidemann – design
Production notes
All songs produced by Bruce Kaphan and American Music Club except "Rise" and "The Dead Part of You", produced by Norman Kerner and American Music Club.
All songs mixed by Joe Chiccarelli except "The Confidential Agent" and "What the Pillar of Salt Held Up", mixed by Bruce Kaphan.
All songs recorded by Bruce Kaphan and Tom Carr at Music Annex Studio A (Menlo Park, California) and at Soma Sync Studios (San Francisco), except "Rise" and "The Dead Part of You", recorded by Norman Kerner at Brilliant Studios (San Francisco) and Bruce Kaphan and Tom Carr at Soma Sync Studios.
All songs mastered by Bob Ludwig at Masterdisk in New York.
