To mark 40 years of Camper Van Beethoven’s beloved second album, II & III returns in a deluxe double‑CD edition pairing the original studio record with the previously unreleased live set Live in Nebraska 1986. Originally released in 1986, II & III took the folk‑punk energy of Telephone Free Landslide Victory and pushed it into a wilder mix of alt‑country, Eastern European folk instrumentals, psychedelic detours, and off‑kilter pop songs, including standouts like “Sad Lovers’ Waltz,” “No Krugerrands for David,” and their bluegrass‑Americana reimagining of Sonic Youth’s “I Love Her All the Time.” The 40th Anniversary CD restores the full album with new attention to detail, highlighting the band’s “coherently incoherent” blend of styles and their sly, literate sense of humor. The second disc, Live in Nebraska 1986, captures Camper Van Beethoven on the Life’s Rich Pageant tour supporting R.E.M., recorded primarily at the Lincoln, Nebraska show on October 10, 1986 and augmented by performances from other dates. It’s a raw, energetic document of the band at full tilt, turning the studio tracks inside out on stage and offering fans a definitive snapshot of this era in one essential package.

To celebrate 40 years of Camper Van Beethoven’s groundbreaking debut, this 40th Anniversary edition of Telephone Free Landslide Victory brings the album back to vinyl in a fresh, collectible yellow pressing. Originally released in 1985, the record introduced the band’s singular blend of folk, punk, ska, and absurdist wit, and quickly became a college‑radio classic on the strength of songs like “Take the Skinheads Bowling,” “Where the Hell Is Bill?” and “Ambiguity Song.” This anniversary reissue features a new remaster of the original album and highlights the band’s playful, off‑kilter approach, from Eastern European‑flavored instrumentals to jangly guitar anthems and left‑field lyrical turns. Pressed on eye‑catching yellow vinyl and housed in artwork that nods to the original release, it is designed both for longtime fans who wore out their early copies and for new listeners discovering Camper Van Beethoven’s world for the first time. A landmark of American indie and alternative music, Telephone Free Landslide Victory still sounds weird, warm, and wonderfully out of step with any one genre—making this limited yellow edition a standout piece in any collection.

To the uninitiated Cracker might seem to be just another ’90s alternative rock band. However, fans recognize that the band is much more than that, having skillfully explored a wide array of styles over nearly 35 years. Regrettably, when newcomers hear a Cracker song and wish to learn more about the band, they often start with algorithmic streaming playlists. These playlists are typically limited to the dozen or so tracks with the most streams. As a result, these playlists are dominated by a few albums from the early 1990s, the heyday of alternative rock radio. There are also a few “greatest hits” compilations for Cracker available, but these, at best, cover only the first third of the band’s 35-year career. Both of these sources overlook some of the band’s most critically acclaimed and fan-favorite work.

In response to this, the band started a discussion with Cooking Vinyl to see if they could rectify the situation by producing a retrospective that would encompass the band’s entire career. Unfortunately, it became apparent that the cost of licensing tracks from the Virgin and Concord catalogs would be prohibitive. Undeterred, the band began to catalog the recordings they controlled, and a more promising idea emerged. They realized they had a collection of re-recordings, demos, outtakes, collaborations, and live tracks that told an alternate history of the band. And this collection would not only serve as an introduction to the band for new fans, but also provide long-time, hardcore fans with access to some rare and unreleased recordings. Thus, “Alternative History” was born.

What’s in this collection? Well, it starts with a mellow country-rock reinterpretation of “Sick of Goodbyes.” The recording features members of Drive-By Truckers, Brad Morgan and Jay Gonzales.

Next is the 2005 re-record of “Teen Angst” from the Redux album. This stays pretty true to the original because, like all the tracks on the Redux album, they were re-recorded so that when the band receives licensing requests, they can use their own masters.

“Mr. Wrong” is from a collaboration with Leftover Salmon in 2003, a reinterpretation of the song with a sort of bluegrass feel.

“I See The Light” is also from the Redux album and thus stays quite true to the original, except the end has more of a rave-up because, after years of performing this song live, that’s how the band plays it.

“Almond Grove” is a re-record with John Keane engineering, mixing, and playing a number of instruments. The story is that David was never totally happy with his vocals and banjo playing on the original version of the song. After the album was released, he initiated a new recording with John, who lives just down the street. This recording has some cool little arrangement quirks not in the original.

“Low” is a re-record from the Redux album. If you’ve heard the song in a film or TV show lately, it’s likely this is the version. The tonality of the song owes a lot to the Middle Eastern music David, Johnny, and Davey were listening to on the first Cracker tour. On this recording, Kenny Margolis further amplifies this with a short Middle Eastern accordion solo.

“Merry Christmas Emily” is a new recording, a reimagining of the song featuring Megan Slankard and Jeremy Lawton (Big Head Todd and the Monsters). Megan adds an ‘Emily’ counterpoint to the song, making the already unreliable narrator even more unreliable.

“The World is Mine” is another re-record from the Redux album, worth it just for the moment drummer Frank Funaro kicks into double time.

This “Sweet Potato” recording is from the 2003 collaboration with Leftover Salmon. Many fans prefer this to the original.

“Turn On, Tune In, Drop Out With Me” is a live version from the legendary German concert TV show Rockpalast. This performance predates the album version and has a fairly different feel.

“Seven Days” recorded live at Teatro Lara in Madrid is a barn burner.

“Big Dipper” is also a re-record from the Redux album. It sticks very close to the original because it’s a damn near perfect recording.

“Eurotrash Girl” is redone as a bluegrass waltz featuring Leftover Salmon.

Then, a recent mostly acoustic performance of “King of Bakersfield” with some nice Southwestern accordion work by Jeremy Lawton follows.

There’s nothing new about “I Need Better Friends.” It’s a hidden gem from an often overlooked album, and people need to hear it.

“Father Winter” is a demo that David Lowery recorded for Johnny Hickman before they formed Cracker. In some ways, it’s the Cracker ur-song.

Next are a couple of fantastic live performances from Cracker’s appearance on the Rockpalast TV show: “One Fine Day” and “Gimme One More Chance.”

Then there’s a live performance of “Sunrise in the Land of Milk and Honey,” slowed down and stripped down.

“River Euphrates” is a track from the out-of-print Tucson EP. This recording is a live performance from a show in Germany.

“I Want Everything” is from the live show in Madrid 2021.

And to showcase the bands punkier material “Movie Star” and “Don’t F*ck Me Up With Peace and Love” from that same Madrid show.

“Ain’t Gonna Suck Itself” is also from the Redux album, but it’s an original track, not a re-record. It was meant to be the ultimate record company ‘kiss-off’ song. Essentially, the meta-meaning is, “Hey, we re-recorded our greatest hits, so screw you, Virgin Records.” – Boo Haggerty, Tybee Island, GA

Will begin shipping Dec 12. Numbered limited edition CD recorded live at the Yaamava' Casino and Resort in Highland California November 4th 2023.

01 Been Around The World (Live at Yaamava') [5:29] -
02 Seven Days (Live at Yaamava') [4:29] -
03 Teen Angst (Live at Yaamava') [4:15] -
04 The World is Mine (Live at Yaamava') [3:41] -
05 100 Flower Power Maximum (Live at Yaamava') [2:45] -
06 Time Machine (Live at Yaamava') [2:04] -
07 Band Introductions (Live at Yaamava') [0:40] -
08 Ambiguity Song (Live at Yaamava') [2:22] -
09 Take The Skinheads Bowling (Live at Yaamava') [2:22] -
10 Loser (Live at Yaamava') [6:31] -
11 Hey Brett (Live at Yaamava') [4:46] -
12 California Country Boy (Live at Yaamava') [3:24] -
13 This is Cracker Soul (Live at Yaamava') [4:28] -
14 Low (Live at Yaamava') [4:33] -
15 Pictures of Matchstick Men (Live at Yaamava') [4:41] -
16 The San Bernardino Boy (Live at Yaamava') [3:48] -
17 Mr. Wrong (Live at Yaamava') [5:01]

SOLD OUT. Will begin shipping in early December. Limited edition 600 copies.

Title: Live in Madrid Artist: Cracker Catalog number PAT-2022-01

Cracker live at Teatro Lara in Madrid Spain, November 30th 2021. Recorded by Jose Lanot. Concert tour arranged by David Jimenez-Zumalacarregui at Heart of Gold Spain. Mixed by Sloan Simpson Mastered by David Lowery

Tracks 1. Seven Days (Hickman/Lowery/Rupersberg) 2. Teen Angst (Faragher/Hickman/Lowery) 3. 100 Flower Power Maximum (Hickman/Lowery/Rupersberg) 4. Sunrise In The Land Of Milk And Honey (Funaro/Hickman/Lowery/Maida) 5. Waiting For You Girl (Hickman/Lowery) 6. Hey Brett You Know What Time It Is (Funaro/Hickman/Lowery/Maida) 7. The World Is Mine (Hickman/Lowery) 8. I Want Everything (Faragher/Hickman/Lowery) 9. Sweet Thistle Pie (Hickman/Lowery) 10. Movie Star (Faragher/Lowery/Hickman) 11. Don't Fuck Me Up With Peace And Love (Faragher/Lowery/Hickman) 12. Show Me How This Thing Works (Funaro/Hickman/Lowery/Maida) 13. Time Machine (Funaro/Hickman/Lowery/Maida) 14. Low (Faragher/Hickman/Lowery) 15. Dr. Bernice (Faragher/Hickman/Lowery) 16. Another Song About the Rain (Hickman/LeRoy)