Charmed Life (Half Japanese album)

Charmed Life is an album by the punk rock group Half Japanese, released in 1988.^[6] It is their second studio album released on their label, 50 Skidillion Watts.

Charmed Life
Studio album by Half Japanese
Released	1988
Genre	Indie rock, lo-fi, twee pop
Length	51:18
Label	50 Skidillion Watts[1]
Half Japanese chronology
Music to Strip By (1987) Charmed Life (1988) The Band That Would Be King (1989)

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[2]
Robert Christgau	B+[3]
Pitchfork	8.9/10[4]
Spin Alternative Record Guide	9/10[5]

The eighth song, "Bright Lights, Big City," was originally sung and recorded by the American blues musician Jimmy Reed, in 1961.

Critical reception

The Quietus wrote: "Less whiny and needy than Music To Strip By, the lyrics are spouted from a lip with more curl and less pucker ... as accessible as Half Japanese get."^[7] Trouser Press called the album "a guileless burst of optimism that mutes the shriller frequencies considerably, replacing them with an unaffected, exuberant guitar/harmonica backdrop played by a band."^[8]

Track listing

No.	Title	Length
1.	"Said and Done"	2:53
2.	"Penny in the Fountain"	1:58
3.	"Evidence"	2:04
4.	"Vietnam"	2:00
5.	"Roman Candles"	2:22
6.	"Love at First Sight"	2:43
7.	"Snake Line"	2:08
8.	"Bright Lights, Big City"	2:10
9.	"Face Rake"	0:59
10.	"Later in a Magazine"	1:28
11.	"Red Dress"	2:16
12.	"Charmed Life"	1:47
13.	"Day and Night"	2:53
14.	"1,000,000,000,000 Kisses"	1:55
15.	"Terminator"	1:58
16.	"I'll Change My Style"	2:18
17.	"Charmed Life"	1:59
18.	"Trouble in the Water"	3:00
19.	"Miracles Happen Every Day"	2:20
20.	"Fortunate"	2:05
21.	"Poetic License"	2:08

Bonus tracks

No.	Title	Length
22.	"Day and Night"	3:51
23.	"1,000,000 Kisses"	2:06
24.	"Madonna Nude"	1:35
25.	"I'll Change My Style"	2:35
26.	"George Steele"	1:57
27.	"Real Cool Time"	8:54
28.	"How Many More Years"	2:13
29.	"King Kong Bundy"	1:53
30.	"Something New in the Ring"	1:15
31.	"Terminator"	1:56

Personnel

• Jad Fair - guitar, harmonica, vocals
• David Fair - guitar, harmonica, vocals
• Don Fleming - guitar, vocals^[8]
• John Dreyfuss - organ, saxophone
• Rick Dreyfuss - composer
• Mark Jickling - bass guitar, guitar
• John Moremen - guitar
• Jay Spiegel - drums
• Don Zientara - engineer, mixing