Semi Crazy

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title: "Semi Crazy" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["1996-albums"] topic_path: "arts/music" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Semi_Crazy" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

::data[format=table title="Infobox album"]

Field	Value
name	Semi Crazy
type	studio
artist	Junior Brown
cover	Semi Crazy.jpg
released	1996
genre	Country, rock and roll
label	MCG/Curb
producer	Junior Brown
prev_title	Junior High EP
prev_year	1995
next_title	Long Walk Back
next_year	1998
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| name = Semi Crazy | type = studio | artist = Junior Brown | cover = Semi Crazy.jpg|border=yes | alt = | released = 1996 | recorded = | venue = | studio = | genre = Country, rock and roll | length = | label = MCG/Curb | producer = Junior Brown | prev_title = Junior High EP | prev_year = 1995 | next_title = Long Walk Back | next_year = 1998 Semi Crazy is an album by the American musician Junior Brown, released in 1996. It contains the crossover hit "Surf Medley", featuring three popular surf rock songs.

The album peaked at No. 32 on *Billboard'''s Top Country Albums chart. Brown supported *Semi Crazy'' by touring with the Mavericks. Its first single was "Venom Wearing Denim".

Production

The album was produced by Brown. "Semi-Crazy" is a duet with Red Simpson. "Hong Kong Blues" was written by Hoagy Carmichael. Brown's intention was to craft a mainstream album; he did not want to be considered a revivalist/traditionalist or an outsider artist.

Critical reception

|rev1 = AllMusic |rev1score = |rev2= The Austin Chronicle |rev2score = |rev3 = Robert Christgau |rev3score = |rev5 = Entertainment Weekly |rev5score = A− |rev6 = The Indianapolis Star |rev6score = |rev7 = Los Angeles Times |rev7score = |rev8 = Orlando Sentinel |rev8score = |rev9 = Rolling Stone |rev9score = Robert Christgau deemed the album "the essence of Western swing—jazzy picking, lousy singing, and a light heart." Entertainment Weekly wrote: "A virtuoso picker (guitar freaks will appreciate the jaw-dropping pyrotechnics of 'I Hung It Up', and his definitive 'Surf Medley'), Brown’s a casually irreverent humorist to boot." Rolling Stone thought that Brown "straddles the fence between Nashville airplay and Texas grit" on "Gotta Get Up Every Morning" and "Surf Medley". The Orlando Sentinel determined that the album "is chock full of the kind of catchy, clever, instantly memorable songs that used to be a staple of country radio."

Texas Monthly called "Semi-Crazy" "the first decent truckin’ song in more than a decade." The Chicago Reader stated that "while Brown and his band may look like Republican staffers, his witty, jaunty music is anything but conservative." The Los Angeles Times concluded that "by stretching stories of wayward lovers almost beyond believability—as Hank Williams himself often did—Brown magnifies and clarifies the very real emotions underlying them." The Indianapolis Star considered the album to be "a masterpiece" and "a collection of Ernest Tubb-meets-Jimi Hendrix country music."

AllMusic wrote that Brown's "clever lyrics, Ernest Tubb-like voice, and virtuoso guitar playing ... are once again intact and on the mark."

Track listing

All tracks written by Junior Brown except where noted.

1. "Gotta Get Up Every Morning" – 1:58
2. "Darlin' I'll Do Anything You Say" – 2:49
3. "I Hung It Up" – 3:33
4. "I Want to Hear It from You" (Fred Carter Jr.) – 3:11
5. "Semi-Crazy" (Junior Brown, Ron Avis) – 3:23

• duet with Red Simpson

1. "Hong Kong Blues" (Hoagy Carmichael) – 3:32
2. "Venom Wearing Denim" – 2:38
3. "Parole Board" – 3:40
4. "Joe the Singing Janitor" – 3:18
5. "Surf Medley" – 7:08

• medley of "Pipeline" (Brian Carman, Bob Spickard), "Walk, Don't Run" (Johnny Smith), and "Secret Agent Man" (Steve Barri, P. F. Sloan)

Musicians

• Junior Brown – vocals, guitar, steel guitar
• Tanya Rae Brown – rhythm guitar, harmony vocals
• Steve Lane – bass, harmony vocals
• Tommy Lewis – drums
• Danny Levin – piano on tracks 3, 4, 5, 6, 8, and 9
• Red Simpson – vocals on track 5

References

References

1. "Junior Brown".
2. "Junior Brown Biography, Songs, & Albums".
3. Buja, Ben. (July 5, 1996). "Semi Crazy".
4. "Junior Brown".
5. (11 Sep 1996). "Junior Brown one of a kind". The Province.
6. (31 May 1996). "COUNTRY MUSIC'S NEW TRAILBLAZERS: MAVERICKS, JUNIOR BROWN EXPAND HORIZONS IN NASHVILLE". Los Angeles Daily News.
7. (Jun 8, 1996). "Semi Crazy".
8. Ching, Barbara. (July 19, 2001). "Wrong's What I Do Best: Hard Country Music and Contemporary Culture". Oxford University Press.
9. (Jul 1996). "Semi-Crazy". Stereo Review.
10. (9 May 1996). "Junior Brown: Hip Country". Austin American-Statesman.
11. "Semi-Crazy - Junior Brown | Songs, Reviews, Credits | AllMusic".
12. "Record Reviews".
13. "Robert Christgau: CG: Junior Brown".
14. "Semi-Crazy".
15. (19 May 1996). "Junior Brown 'Semi- Crazy'". The Indianapolis Star.
16. (19 May 1996). "JUNIOR BROWN, 'Semi-Crazy'". Los Angeles Times.
17. (18 Oct 1996). "JUNIOR BROWN". Orlando Sentinel.
18. (Jun 13, 1996). "Semi-Crazy: Junior Brown".
19. Patoski, Joe Nick. (June 1, 1996). "Junior Achievement".
20. Margasak, Peter. (July 4, 1996). "Mavericks/Junior Brown".

::callout[type=info title="Wikipedia Source"] This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page. ::