Same as It Ever Was is the second album by American hip hop group House of Pain. It was released in 1994 and peaked at number 12 on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums and Billboard 200.[1] To record the album, the group had to work around Everlast's house arrest for a gun charge.[2]

Reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[3]
Christgau's Consumer Guide: Albums of the '90sA−[4]
Entertainment WeeklyA[5]
NME4/10[6]
RapReviews7/10[7]
(The New) Rolling Stone Album Guide[8]
Select[9]
Sputnikmusic2.5/5[10]

Same as It Ever Was did not reach the same commercial heights as the group's previous album; however, Same as It Ever Was peaked at No. 12 on the Billboard 200 chart (their highest position to date) and also reached gold status by Recording Industry Association of America.[11]

AllMusic gave it four out five stars.[3] Matt Carlson of The Michigan Daily found the album quite good and noted "the music is laid back with some heavy driving forces underlying and strengthening it".[12] Andrew Love of The Ocala Star-Banner gave it four stars saying "this is a band that has definitely progressed over the course of one album".[2] J.D. Constantine of The Baltimore Sun did not like the album and found it monotonous and unimaginative.[13] Roger Catlin of the Hartford Courant said that while finding the continuity monotonous it's "hard and compelling" as well as a "strong outing".[14] Music critic Robert Christgau gave the album an A− and described it as "the hardest hip hop of the year."

Track listing

No.TitleProducer(s)Length
1."Back from the Dead"3:32
2."I'm a Swing It"DJ Lethal3:43
3."All That"DJ Lethal1:26
4."On Point"DJ Lethal3:48
5."Runnin' up on Ya"DJ Muggs3:17
6."Over There Shit"DJ Muggs3:33
7."Word Is Bond" (featuring Diamond D)Diamond D4:02
8."Keep It Comin'"DJ Muggs3:43
9."Interlude"DJ Lethal0:46
10."Same as It Ever Was"DJ Muggs3:27
11."It Ain't a Crime"
  • DJ Muggs
  • DJ Lethal
3:27
12."Where I'm From"DJ Lethal4:01
13."Still Got a Lotta Love" ("All My Love" Part 2)DJ Lethal2:53
14."Who's the Man?"DJ Lethal4:03
15."On Point" (Lethal Dose Remix)DJ Lethal3:33
Total length:49:24

Personnel

  • Eric Francis Schrody – vocals (tracks 1–2, 4–8, 10–15), mixing (tracks 12, 14)
  • Daniel O’Connor – vocals (tracks 2, 4, 10, 14–15), art direction
  • Leor Dimant – vocals (tracks 4, 15), production (tracks 2–4, 9, 11–15), mixing (tracks 3, 9, 12, 14, 15)
  • Lawrence Muggerud – executive production, production (tracks 1, 5–6, 8, 10–11), mixing (tracks 1–2, 4–6, 8, 10–11, 13, 15)
  • Joseph Kirkland – vocals, production and mixing (track 7)
  • Nick Vidal – production (track 1)
  • Eric Vidal – production (track 1)
  • Tom Coyne – mastering
  • Jason Roberts – engineering
  • Erwin Gorostiza – art direction
  • Butch Belair – photography
  • Ron Jaramillo – design
  • Kenton Parker – logo design

Charts

Chart (1994) Peak
position
Australian Albums (ARIA Charts)[15] 97
U.S. Billboard 200[16] 12
U.S. Billboard Top Current Albums[17] 12
U.S. Billboard Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums[18] 12
U.S. Billboard Top Album Sales[19] 12
U.S. Billboard R&B/Hip-Hop Album Sales[20] 12

Certifications

Region Certification Certified units/sales
United States (RIAA)[21] Gold 500,000^

^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

References

  1. ^ "House of Pain - Chart history | Billboard". Billboard. Retrieved March 21, 2017.
  2. ^ a b Love, Andrew (August 8, 1994). "Latest release is full-blown Pain". Ocala Star-Banner. Retrieved March 21, 2017.
  3. ^ a b Henderson, Alex. "Same as It Ever Was - House of Pain | Album | AllMusic". AllMusic. Retrieved March 20, 2024.
  4. ^ Christgau, Robert (2000). Christgau's Consumer Guide: Albums of the '90s. St. Martin's Press. ISBN 0-312-24560-2.
  5. ^ Ehrlich, Dimitri (July 8, 1994). "Same as It Ever Was". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved March 20, 2024.
  6. ^ Udo, Tommy (July 16, 1994). Dee, Johnny (ed.). "Long Play". NME. p. 37. Retrieved October 1, 2023.
  7. ^ Juon, Steve 'Flash' (August 9, 2022). "House of Pain Same as It Ever Was". RapReviews. Retrieved March 20, 2024.
  8. ^ Brackett, Nathan; Hoard, Christian David (2004). (The New) Rolling Stone Album Guide. Simon and Schuster. p. 396. ISBN 978-0-7432-0169-8.
  9. ^ Marsh, Tim (August 1994). "New Albums". Select. p. 82. Retrieved December 20, 2024.
  10. ^ "House of Pain - Same As It Ever Was (album review) | Sputnikmusic". Sputnikmusic. January 15, 2009. Retrieved March 20, 2024.
  11. ^ "Gold & Platinum - RIAA". RIAA. Retrieved March 21, 2017.
  12. ^ Watts, Ted (September 8, 1994). "Ted Watts review". The Michigan Daily. Retrieved March 21, 2017.
  13. ^ Considine, J.D. (July 8, 1994). "House of Pain the 'Same,' over and over". The Baltimore Sun. pp. Maryland Live 5.
  14. ^ Catlin, Roger (July 14, 1994). "Same as It Ever Was". Hartford Courant. pp. Entertainment Guide 4 - 5.
  15. ^ Ryan, Gavin (2011). Australia's Music Charts 1988–2010 (PDF ed.). Mt Martha, Victoria, Australia: Moonlight Publishing. p. 132.
  16. ^ "House of Pain Chart History | Billboard". Billboard. Archived from the original on October 28, 2019. Retrieved October 7, 2019.
  17. ^ "House of Pain Chart History | Billboard". Billboard. Archived from the original on October 28, 2019. Retrieved October 7, 2019.
  18. ^ "House of Pain Chart History | Billboard". Billboard. Archived from the original on October 28, 2019. Retrieved October 7, 2019.
  19. ^ "House of Pain Chart History | Billboard". Billboard. Archived from the original on October 28, 2019. Retrieved October 7, 2019.
  20. ^ "House of Pain Chart History | Billboard". Billboard. Archived from the original on October 28, 2019. Retrieved October 7, 2019.
  21. ^ "American album certifications – House of Pain – Same as It Ever Was". Recording Industry Association of America.


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