Motel California

Ugly Kid Joe | Format: Audio Cassette

Product Details

• Audio Cassette (October 15, 1996)
• Label: Ziriguiboom Brasil
• ASIN: B000006JQ8
• Also Available in: Audio CD
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (23 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #807,042 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Track Listings

1. It's a Life

2. Dialogue

3. Sandwich

4. Rage Against the Answering Machine

5. Would You Like to Be There

6. Little Red Man

7. Bicycle Wheels

8. Father

9. Undertow

10. Shine

11. Strange

12. 12 Cents

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Worth checking out, November 2, 2005

By 

Daniel Maltzman (Arlington, MA, USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Motel California (Audio CD)

While Ugly Kid Joe enjoyed success in the early 90s with there "As Ugly as they Wanna Be," (1991) EP and their "America's Least Wanted" (1992) album, the group was more-or-less a lash in the pan. They were more-or-less one of the very last bands of the pop-metal genre to enjoy any success, with their heyday coinciding with the grunge/alt. movement.

1995's "Menace to Sobriety" failed to chart and the band was dropped from the Mercury roster. The band signed with Castle and in 1996 gave it one more try with "Motel California."

Had "Motel California" been released just three years later, it could have been a hit. It is an exciting and entertaining hybrid of rock and rap, or what would later be termed "nu-metal." "Motel California" sounds akin to Kid Rock's breakthrough smash "Devil Without a Cause,"(1998). Only "Motel California" is more lighthearted in nature and is more rock than rap.

This album just came out at the wrong time. Released three years earlier or three years later, with some promotion, it could have been a hit.

While, "Motel California" isn't a lost classic, it's definitely an enjoyable album that deserved more recognition than it got.

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Motel California - rocks yer world, March 19, 2002

By 

Paul Browne (England.....the hills.) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Motel California (Audio CD)

This is a real stepping stone for the ugly kid californians, unfortunately it was to be the last, the promo was little, but the sales were pretty good (except america). Clearly UKJ hit the world when they ventured out of santa barbara.

From start to finish, the whole 12 songs are diverse.Unlike the previosu 3, Motel takes a good few listens to breathe and encompass.....Something ukj have always done throughout their 4 releases they pack a cocktail of unusual and highly infectious rock sounds...Motel is hard to sum up as a whole, there's trippy songs like sandwich and bicycle wheels, agressive punchy titles like it's a lie and then laidback cool, dark californian rock numbers like undertow and would you like to be there...whatever you do, whatever you buy, you need this album.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars look inside and you'll find the gems, November 24, 2005

By 

.Richard "Rich" (england) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Motel California (Audio CD)

well this not being the greatest album ugly kid joe produced and sadly it was their last because it didn't get a warm review from fans and critics which was a bit harsh because it's not a bad album just an average one...nothing like america's least wanted they went for a darkier sound with "motel califonia"
includes my favorites "it's a lie" "dialogue" "would you like to be there"great chorus
other highlights include "12 cents" a nice acoustic ditty to end an average album from the pretty boy floyd beaters