American Standard (album)

Overview

The album's biggest hit single was "Cumbersome" (#1 on Billboard's Hot Mainstream Rock Tracks, #7 on Hot Modern Rock Tracks, and #39 on the Billboard Hot 100). Other Billboard-charting singles were "Water's Edge" (#7 on Hot Mainstream Rock Tracks and #37 on Hot Modern Rock Tracks), and "My My" (#19 on Hot Mainstream Rock Tracks).

Additionally, the song "Roderigo" was inspired by the novel One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel García Márquez.

Future albums by the group would see shifts in musical style and would ultimately fail to match the success of American Standard. "We made American Standard when we were fresh out of college, and it represented that time" said Giti Khalsa in an interview with Rolling Stone. Regarding the album's overall style, Jason Ross explained:

"I think there's a basic theme through the whole work. . . Everything that's depicted is a human relationship, but it's all about forgiveness. There is definitely a hint of guilt in many of the songs. Many of our families have gone through divorce, and fidelity is a big issue for this band."

Track listing

All songs written by Jason Ross and Jason Pollock, except where noted.

1. "Water's Edge" – 3:52
2. "Cumbersome" – 3:59
3. "Roderigo" – 4:24
4. "Devil Boy" – 4:24
5. "My My" – 2:52
6. "Lame" – 4:52
7. "Headstrong" (Ross/Daniel/Pollock) – 4:46
8. "Anything" – 3:40
9. "Margaret" – 3:42
10. "Punch In Punch Out" (Ross/Khalsa) – 2:48
11. "Favorite Dog" – 6:51

Album credits

Jason Ross – Lead vocals, guitars

Jason Pollock – Lead guitars, vocals

Casey Daniel – Bass

Giti Khalsa – Drums

Production

Producers: Jason Ross, Jason Pollock, and Tom Morris

Engineering: Tom Morris and Brian Benscoter

Mixing: Tom Morris

Mastering: Tom Morris

Art Direction: Lane Wurster and Seven Mary Three

Graphic Design: Chris Eselgroth

Photography: Ben Gray

Additional Photography: Alex Tremi

Cover Photograph: Suzanne Opton/Swanstock