Is the Actor Happy? [Bonus Tracks] [Remaster]

Rating

Album: Is the Actor Happy? [Bonus Tracks] [Remaster]
#	Song Title		Time
1)	Gravity of the Situation	More Info...	0:04
2)	Sad Peter Pan	More Info...	0:03
3)	Strange Language	More Info...	0:03
4)	Untitled	More Info...
5)	Onion Soup	More Info...	0:04
6)	Doubting Woman	More Info...	0:03
7)	Wrong Piano	More Info...	0:03
8)	Free of Hope	More Info...	0:06
9)	Betty Lonely	More Info...	0:04
10)	Untitled	More Info...
11)	Thumbtack	More Info...	0:04
12)	Thailand	More Info...	0:04
13)	Guilty By Association	More Info...	0:04
14)	Assist (Bonus Track)	More Info...	0:03
15)	What Surrounds Me	More Info...	0:03
16)	Duck in a Tree	More Info...	0:03
17)	Parameters	More Info...	0:06
18)	Thailand (Early Version)	More Info...	0:04
19)	Fun Party/Shoestring Store	More Info...	0:04

Album: Is the Actor Happy? [Bonus Tracks] [Remaster]
#	Song Title		Time
1)	Gravity of the Situation	More Info...	0:04
2)	Sad Peter Pan	More Info...	0:03
3)	Strange Language	More Info...	0:03
4)	Untitled	More Info...
5)	Onion Soup	More Info...	0:04
6)	Doubting Woman	More Info...	0:03
7)	Wrong Piano	More Info...	0:03
8)	Free of Hope	More Info...	0:06
9)	Betty Lonely	More Info...	0:04
10)	Untitled	More Info...
11)	Thumbtack	More Info...	0:04
12)	Thailand	More Info...	0:04
13)	Guilty By Association	More Info...	0:04
14)	Assist (Bonus Track)	More Info...	0:03
15)	What Surrounds Me	More Info...	0:03
16)	Duck in a Tree	More Info...	0:03
17)	Parameters	More Info...	0:06
18)	Thailand (Early Version)	More Info...	0:04
19)	Fun Party/Shoestring Store	More Info...	0:04

Performer Notes

Personnel: Vic Chesnutt (vocals, guitar, harmonica); Vic Chesnutt; Michael Stipe (vocals); John Keane (guitar, 12-string guitar, pedal steel guitar); Alex McManus (guitar, concertina, kalimba); Andy Carlson (violin); David Henry , Kera Schaley (cello); Jimmy Davidson (piano, Hammond b-3 organ, synthesizer, drums); Tina W. Chesnutt (bass guitar); Liz Durrett (background vocals).
Audio Mixer: John Keane.
Audio Remasterer: Gavin Lurssen.
Liner Note Author: Forest Gander.
Recording information: Electric Lounge, Austin, TX (01/??/1993-10/01/1995); Gabriel Cohen's Apartment, Brooklyn, NY (01/??/1993-10/01/1995); Music Row Audio, Nashville, TN (01/??/1993-10/01/1995); Savannah, Barcelona, Spain (01/??/1993-10/01/1995).
Photographers: Jimmy Davidson; Lonnie Ambrosch; Jem Cohen.
Translator: Forest Gander.
Released just before his media profile was raised by the 1996 tribute/benefit CD Sweet Relief II: Gravity of the Situation, Vic Chesnutt's fourth solo album demonstrates his immense talents as both a singer and a songwriter. Integrating electric instruments into his low-key arrangements more fully and successfully than he had on the previous year's DRUNK, the Athens, Georgia auteur turns his songwriting focus on his lyrics, which are his sharpest yet.
Whether taking stock of his medical condition on "Gravity of the Situation" and the disturbing, despairingly powerful blues song "Free At Last," or gleefully imagining distant cultures in "Thailand," Chesnutt is a plainspoken, economical writer capable of evoking strong emotion and vivid images in the fewest words possible. John Keane's sympathetic, unobtrusive production supports Chesnutt's songs beautifully. IS THE ACTOR HAPPY? is a wonderful introduction to this underappreciated talent.

Professional Reviews

Q (5/95, p.100) - 4 Stars - Excellent - "...Chesnutt appears baffled but not displeased by his growing semi-celebrity, which is fortunate since this brazen, full-sounding tour-de-force promises something approaching stardom."

Dirty Linen (2-3/96, p.83) - "There's so much to listen for lyrically that Chesnutt would be interesting no matter what the musical content, but the music is quite solid, and again, unique....a disarming country influence, and a quirky, almost avante-garde one..."

Melody Maker (5/6/95, p.35) - "...an uncharacteristically consistent collection, both musically and emotionally. Whereas, before, Vic seemed to feel obliged to relieve his bleakness with glimpses of light relief. Here, happily, he's stark staring sad..."