Don't Give Me Names

Don't Give Me Names
Studio album by
Guano Apes
Released2 May 2000
Recorded1999–2000
Studio
GenreFunk metal, nu metal, alternative metal, alternative rock
Length45:09 (standard edition)
57:27 (digipak version)
LabelBMG/GUN/Supersonic Records
Producer
Guano Apes chronology
Proud Like a God
(1997) 		Don't Give Me Names
(2000) 		Walking on a Thin Line
(2003)
Singles from Don't Give Me Names
  1. "Big in Japan"
    Released: 20 March 2000
  2. "No Speech"
    Released: 14 June 2000
  3. "Living in a Lie"
    Released: 2 October 2000
  4. "Dödel Up"
    Released: 29 January 2001
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
Blabbermouth.net9/10[1]
laut.de[2]
RockHard9/10[3]

Don't Give Me Names is the second studio album by the German band Guano Apes, released in 2000. It includes the hit single "Big in Japan" (a cover of the Alphaville song), which peaked at #9 on the German charts and remains one of Guano Apes' most popular songs.

The album was certified gold in Germany[4] and in Switzerland.[5]

Background

After the success of their debut album Proud Like a God, the members of Guano Apes felt pressed to come up with a new album that could hold its own against its predecessor, and spent a lot of time on writing and demoing new songs. According to Dennis Poschwatta in the 2005 documentary Planet of the Apes, the band was determined "not to let anybody trick [them]. The album had to be awesome. It had to be out of sight.”

Recording for Don’t Give Me Names began in October 1999 and was done at three different studios: Horus Studio in Hannover, Vox Klangstudio in Bendestorf, and Galaxy Studios in Mol, Belgium. Wanting to achieve maximum result, the band tried to handle as much tasks as possible themselves, with the working process soon becoming chaotic, costly and time-consuming. Henning Rümenapp related how, eventually, producers Fabio Trentini and Wolfgang Stach were instrumental in “[getting] us all into the groove, bringing four oddballs together and focusing our ideas.”

A number of songs featured on Don't Give Me Names, including “Innocent Greed”, “I Want It” and “Dödel Up”, had already been performed live by the band by the time they were recorded, with a few of them dating back to the period before the release of Proud Like a God.[6][7] "Big in Japan", the first single, was initially recorded for a compilation album called Pop 2000, released to celebrate 50 years of German pop and rock music.[8] The band originally intended to include “Don't You Turn Your Back on Me” (released as a standalone single in March 1999) on the album as well, but eventually decided against it due to the song's low chart ratings and overall fan feedback.

Four tracks from Don’t Give Me Names were released as singles: “Big in Japan”, ”No Speech", "Living in a Lie" and "Dödel Up".

Track listing

All tracks are written by Guano Apes, except "Big in Japan", written by Marian Gold, Bernhard Lloyd and Frank Mertens

No.TitleLength
1."Innocent Greed"3:52
2."No Speech"3:30
3."Big in Japan" (Alphaville cover)2:49
4."Money & Milk"2:39
5."Living in a Lie"4:33
6."Dödel Up"3:38
7."I Want It"3:19
8."Heaven"4:59
9."Mine All Mine"3:49
10."Too Close to Leave"3:33
11."Gogan"2:48
12."Anne Claire"5:42
Total length:45:09
  • European and Japanese editions contain "Big in Japan" music video
Japanese bonus tracks
No.TitleLength
13."Open Your Eyes" (live)3:21
Total length:48:30
Super audio CD bonus track
No.TitleLength
13."Ain't Got Time"2:42
Total length:47:51
Bonus tracks on digipak version
No.TitleLength
13."Ain't Got Time"2:43
14."Living in a Lie" (unplugged)4:27
15."Anne Claire" (unplugged)5:09
Total length:57:27

Personnel

  • Sandra Nasić – vocals
  • Henning Rümenapp – guitars
  • Stefan Ude – bass
  • Dennis Poschwatta – drums, vocals

Additional musicians

  • Marc Steylaerts - violin
  • Veronique Gilis - violin
  • Marc Tooten - viola
  • Hans Vandaele - cello
  • Alberto Manzanedo Alvarez - flamenco guitar, palmas (on "Mine All Mine")
  • Michael Wolpers - percussion
  • Dra Diarra - percussion (on "Dodel Up")
  • Dirk Riegner - samples, programming
  • Christian Wolff - string arrangements
  • Markus Stollenwerk - string conductor

Other staff

  • Gert Jacobs – Engineer, Mixing, Mixing Assistant
  • Bob Ludwig – Mastering
  • Clemens Matznick – Engineer
  • Friedel Muders – Artwork, Mastering, Design Coordinator
  • Ronald Prent – Mixing
  • Dirk Riegner – Programming, Sampling
  • Dirk Schelpmeier – Photography
  • Wolfgang Stach – Producer, Engineer
  • Fabio Trentini – Producer

Charts

Certifications

Region Certification Certified units/sales
Germany (BVMI)[20] Gold 150,000^
Switzerland (IFPI Switzerland)[21] Gold 25,000^

^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

References

  1. ^ Krgin, Borivoj (17 December 2001). "Don't Give Me Names - GUANO APES". Blabbermouth.net. Retrieved 4 August 2020.[permanent dead link‍]
  2. ^ Cordas, Alexander. "Volle Punktzahl für das Gesellenstück der Göttinger!". laut.de (in German). Archived from the original on 21 September 2014. Retrieved 4 August 2020.
  3. ^ Mühlmann, Wolf-Rüdiger. "GUANO APES - Don´t Give Me Names". Rock Hard (in German). Retrieved 4 August 2020.
  4. ^ "Gold-/Platin-Datenbank (Guano Apes; 'Don't Give Me Names')" (in German). Bundesverband Musikindustrie. Retrieved 23 August 2009.
  5. ^ "The Official Swiss Charts and Music Community: Awards ('Don't Give Me Names')". IFPI Switzerland. Hung Medien. Retrieved 23 August 2009.
  6. ^ "Guano Apes - Live at Rockpalast 1997". YouTube. 27 March 2015. Archived from the original on 21 December 2021. Retrieved 24 May 2018.
  7. ^ "Guano Apes @ Bizarre Festival 1998". YouTube. 29 June 2012. Retrieved 24 May 2018.
  8. ^ "Pop 2000 - Das Gibt's Nur Einmal". Discogs. Retrieved 25 August 2020.
  9. ^ "Austriancharts.at – Guano Apes – Don't Give Me Names" (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved 12 September 2020.
  10. ^ "Ultratop.be – Guano Apes – Don't Give Me Names" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 12 September 2020.
  11. ^ "Dutchcharts.nl – Guano Apes – Don't Give Me Names" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 12 September 2020.
  12. ^ "Guano Apes: Don't Give Me Names" (in Finnish). Musiikkituottajat – IFPI Finland. Retrieved 12 September 2020.
  13. ^ "Offiziellecharts.de – Guano Apes – Don't Give Me Names" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved 12 September 2020.
  14. ^ "Italiancharts.com – Guano Apes – Don't Give Me Names". Hung Medien. Retrieved 12 September 2020.
  15. ^ "Music & Media, vol. 17, issue 21" (PDF). 20 May 2000. Retrieved 21 April 2021.
  16. ^ "Swisscharts.com – Guano Apes – Don't Give Me Names". Hung Medien. Retrieved 12 September 2020.
  17. ^ "Jahreshitparade Alben 2000". austriancharts.at. Retrieved 12 September 2020.
  18. ^ "Top 100 Album-Jahrescharts" (in German). GfK Entertainment. Retrieved 12 September 2020.
  19. ^ "Schweizer Jahreshitparade 2000". hitparade.ch. Retrieved 12 September 2020.
  20. ^ "Gold-/Platin-Datenbank (Guano Apes; 'Don't Give Me Names')" (in German). Bundesverband Musikindustrie. Retrieved 16 April 2020.
  21. ^ "The Official Swiss Charts and Music Community: Awards ('Don't Give Me Names')". IFPI Switzerland. Hung Medien. Retrieved 16 April 2020.