Track Listing

1. I Should've Known
2. Fifty Years After The Fair
3. 4th Of July
4. Could've Been Anyone
5. Put Me On Top
6. Stupid Thing
7. Say Anything
8. Jacob Marley's Chain
9. Mr. Harris
10. I Could Hurt You Now
11. I Know There's A Word
12. I've Had It
13. Way Back When

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #19576 in Music
• Released on: 1999-03-20
• Number of discs: 1
• Running time: 53 minutes

CD Description
Originally slated for release in 1992 on the Imago label, Aimee Mann's solo debut remained caught in contractual limbo until a year later. Already a 10-year veteran with a music-industry Purple Heart (see Til Tuesday), Mann used her brainy, pointed songcraft to hit new heights on WHATEVER, while also articulating more mature levels of disillusionment and disappointment.
Featuring classy production by Jon Brion, WHATEVER begins with "I Should've Known", a Lennon/McCartney-esque tune of romantic betrayal that became a minor hit months before the record's release via its inclusion on TV's MELROSE PLACE. On other tracks, Mann expresses the desire for success ("Put Me on Top"), sepia-tinged nostalgia ("Fifty Years After the Fair", with Roger McGuinn), and an affair with a much older man ("Mr. Harris"). The highlight of the album,however, is the gorgeously refined "4th of July", which stands as one of her loveliest compositions. Fans of Mann's previous work will be impressed with her ever-advancing lyricalskills, and any doubtful '80s pop aficionados who ever considered her a "one-hit wonder" will find their new heroine right here.

Customer Reviews

People have made careers out of ripping this album off!
I came to this album by an odd route - a good review in Q Magazine plus a nagging suspicion I'd seen the name somewhere before. Couldn't retrieve the source until after I'd bought the album, then suddenly...Yes! It was the woman I'd last heard singing haunting backing vocals on "Time Stand Still" by...Rush. WHAT?!! This is not usually thought of as a good career move by sensitive female singer/songwriters, but there's a great deal more to Aimee Mann than that. This album is an extraordinarily diverse brew of delicate ballads and bursts of wonderfully crunchy rock. How to describe? Well, let me put it this way. Although she sounds nothing like Del Amitri (being female, American and critically acclaimed), she somehow shares a kinship with them. Her songs tend toward introspective tales of doomed relationships sung in a breathy, breathtaking voice over delicious, rousing melodies that you simply cannot get out of your head. And just when all the relationship disasters might start to get a little too much, just when you find yourself thinking "Oh for goodness' sake, woman, find yourself a decent man for a change" she does exactly that with "Mr Harris", which is simply one of the sweetest, most un-cynical songs I have ever had the pleasure of listening to.
Oh, by the way, she's amazing live.

original,inspired and beautiful....great music too!
i bought this album purely on recommendation in late 1993, i had never heard of Aimee Mann before....it sounded so fresh, alive, loving, bitter just the type of melting pot i like to dive into.... come on treat yourself... buy it, love it ,treasure it..... its got the lot...jangly guitar, melodies that stick in your head, intelligent lyrics, sexy voice etc etc etc

A fantastic break from the trash in the UK charts
I brought this album because I loved the Magnolia soundtrack! Now I love this album too!

She has got a very distinctive sound, and the lyrics within her songs are very thoughtful.

If you liked the Magnolia soundtrack, you'll love this.

If you haven't heard of Aimee Mann before have a listen, you'll be singing along before you know it!