  Toad The Wet Sprocket consists
of Glen Phillips (vocals, keyboard and
guitar), Todd Nichols (guitars and vocals),
Randy Guss (drums), and Dean Dinning (bass,
vocals, and keyboard). The group members met
in high school and later formed the band in
1986 in California and named themselves after
a Monty Python sketch. The band started as 4
friends from high school having fun playing
music together with little intention of
striking it big or making a career out of
music.
 Toad's first LP, Bread
And Circus, was recorded independently
(for $650) as the band played local bars. The
band was soon signed with Columbia Records on
the condition that Bread
And Circus be released
"as-is" - and it was in August,
1989. The band then hit the road to promote
themselves and the LP.
 Toad The Wet Sprocket released Pale.
Phillips said of their luck,
"I think the thing that saved us a lot
of grief is that we fell into this by
accident... we got signed in the summer after
what was going to be our last year
together... when the summer ended, I was
suppose to go off to college."
 Toad's folk-influenced
alternative/rock style became successful to a
large audience with their third LP release, Fear. The band found
success on the radio with tracks such as the
Top 10, "All I Want" and "Walk On The Ocean." The LP also
features Glen Phillip's wife Laurel appearing
on the track "Butterflies."
 # 53
Singles Artist of the Year
Toad The Wet Sprocket hit the
Top 40 with "All I Want."
Toad The Wet Sprocket hit the Top 10 with "All I Want."
Toad The Wet Sprocket hit the
Top 40 with "Walk On The Ocean."
 # 91
Singles Artist of the Year
 # 65
Singles Artist of the Year
 Toad The Wet Sprocket released Dulcinea which
contained the hits "Fall Down" and "Something's Always
Wrong."
Q magazine said of the LP,
"...the quietly considered craftsmanship
that has earned them favorable comparisons
with R.E.M. and Crowded
House remains in evidence
here..."
Toad The Wet Sprocket recorded a
cover tune for a Kiss
tribute LP, Kiss
My Ass - "Rock And Roll All
Night."
Toad The Wet Sprocket topped
the Billboard Modern Rock Tracks chart for 6
weeks with "Fall Down."
 Toad The Wet Sprocket hit the
Top 40 with "Fall Down."
Toad The Wet Sprocket hit the
Top 40 with "Something's Always
Wrong."
 The band released In
Light Syrup - a collection of unreleased
material and b-sides.
Toad The Wet Sprocket hit the
Top 40 with "Good Intentions."
 Toad The Wet Sprocket released Coil (after many delays)
with the track "Come Down."
The band spent their summer
touring with the H.O.R.D.E. tour.
Toad The Wet Sprocket could be
heard on the soundtrack to I
Know What You Did Last Summer with their version of The
Beatles' "Hey Bulldog."
 Toad The Wet Sprocket decided to
go their separate ways and split up after 12
years of making music together.
"Emerging differences" was sites as
the reason for the breakup, and Glenn
Phillips stated, "in recent months it
became harder to keep everyone satisfied
within the confines of the band... it felt
like if we stayed together much longer, the
tensions would hurt both the music and our
friendships." Todd Nichols added:
"we were together longer than we ever
thought we'd be... we never thought it would
turn into a career but it did, and good one
at that... but after 12 years it was time for
a change."
 Toad The Wet Sprocket released a
greatest hits collection: P.S.
(A Toad Retrospective).
In
Light Syrup was certified gold.
Toad The Wet Sprocket reunited
to open for some Counting
Crows shows.
Toad The Wet Sprocket began
touring again.
# 362 on the Top Pop Artists
of the Past 25 Years chart.
Toad The Wet Sprocket released New
Constellation.
|
Bread And Circus
Released: August, 1989
Tracks: "Way
Away" - "Scenes From A Vinyl
Recliner" - "Unquiet" -
"Know Me" - "When We
Recovered" - "One Wind
Blows" - "Pale Blue" -
"Always Changing Probably" -
"One Little Girl" -
"Covered In Roses" |
|
Pale
Released: February, 1990
Tracks: "Torn"
- "Come Back Down" -
"Don't Go Away" - "High On
A Riverbed" - "I Think
About" - "Corporal Brown"
- "Jam" - "Chile" -
"Liars Everywhere" -
"Nothing Is Alone" - "She
Cried" |
|
Fear
Released: August, 1991
US: Platinum
Billboard
peak:
# 49
Tracks: "Walk On The Ocean" - "Is
It For Me" - "Butterflies"
- "Nightingale Song" -
"Hold Her Down" - "Pray
Your Gods" - "Before You Were
Born" - "Something To Say"
- "In My Ear" - "All I Want" -
"Stories I Tell" - "I Will
Not Take These Things For Granted" |
|
Dulcinea
Released: May, 1994
US: Platinum
Billboard
peak:
# 34
Tracks: "Fly From
Heaven" - "Woodburning" -
"Something's Always
Wrong" - "Stupid"
- "Crowing" -
"Listen" -
"Windmills" - "Nanci"
- "Fall Down" -
"Inside" - "Begin" -
"Reincarnation Song" |
|
In Light Syrup
Released: October, 1995
US: Gold
Billboard
peak:
# 37
Tracks:
"Brother" - "Little
Heaven" - "Good Intentions" -
"Hobbit On The Rocks" -
"Are We Afraid" - "So
Alive" - "All In All" -
"All Right" -
"Janitor" - "Chicken"
- "Hope" - "All She
Said" |
|
Coil
Released: May, 1997
Billboard
peak:
# 19
Tracks: "Whatever I
Fear" - "Come Down" -
"Rings" - "Dam Would
Break" - "Desire" -
"Don't Fade" - "Little Man
Big Man" - "Throw It All
Away" - "Amnesia" -
"Little Buddha" - "Crazy
Life" - "All Things In
Time" |
|
P.S. (A Toad
Retrospective)
Released: November, 1999
Tracks: "P.S."
(New Version) - "Come Down" -
"All I Want" (Remix) -
"Something's Always
Wrong" - "Good Intentions" -
"Crazy Life" - "Come Back
Down" - "Walk On The Ocean" - "Fall Down" - "I
Will Not Take These Things For
Granted" - "Way Away" -
"Jam" - "Hold Her
Down" (Remix) - "Whatever I
Fear" - "Eyes Open Wide" -
"Silo Lullaby" |
| Note: Song title and
position links lead you to the song's Top
40 chart run (from the ARC Weekly Top
40)
and LP links take you to Amazon.com for that LP (often
including track listings and sound
samples). |
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