Tiny Days is the debut album by the American band Scruffy the Cat, released in 1987.[1][2] The band supported it with a North American tour.[3] "Mybabyshe'sallright", for which a video was shot, was released as a single.[4]Tiny Days was a success on the college radio chart, where it was a top five hit.[5] It sold more than 30,000 copies in its first six months of release.[6]
Production
Recorded in Hoboken, New Jersey, in January 1987, the album was produced by Chris Butler.[7][8] Scruffy the Cat enjoyed working with him, as they wanted a producer who would help with song structure and show them how to use the studio.[9][10] All five bandmembers contributed to the songwriting and vocals; they wanted the lyrics to be positive and humorous.[5] Scruffy the Cat's banjo player, Stona Fitch, left the band after the recording sessions.[11] Lead singer Charlie Chesterman considered the style of most of the songs to be "goofy, fun, fast pop".[12] The band used an accordion on "Hello Angel".[13] "Shadow Boy" employs a Bo Diddley beat.[14]
The Washington Post said that the album "demonstrates verve and fervor that few of its rootsy peers can match".[18]The Philadelphia Inquirer opined that "these prickly, rough-hewn rock songs are moody wonders, full of vivid, plainspoken language."[17]Spin panned the "trendy arrangements, the production that mooshes everything into sound-alike sludge, and the lyrics".[19]The Baltimore Sun called the album "sold, no-frills, rock 'n' roll" and praised the "sly twists the lyrics play on pop conventions".[20]The Morning Call concluded that "the song ideas, especially the ones about love, are a mite stale".[21]
