Kissingsohard
{{Infobox album
| name = Kissingsohard
| type = studio
| artist = John Doe
| cover = Kissingsohard.jpg|border=yes
| alt =
| released = 1995
| recorded =
| venue =
| studio =
| genre =
| length =
| label = Forward/Rhino{{Cite news|url=https://www.npr.org/1995/12/11/1108713/a-stereo-concert-and-interview-in-the-fresh-air-studio-with-john-doe-former-bass|title=A Stereo concert and interview in the Fresh Air studio with John Doe, former bassist/vocalist...|agency=NPR}}
| producer = Don Gilmore, John Doe
| prev_title = Meet John Doe
| prev_year = 1990
| next_title = Freedom Is...
| next_year = 2000
}}
Kissingsohard is an album by the American musician John Doe, credited to the John Doe Thing.{{Cite news|url=https://www.westword.com/music/doe-boy-5055648|title=Doe Boy|first=John|last=Jesitus|work=Westword}}{{Cite news|url=https://www.nashvillescene.com/arts_culture/the-right-direction/article_f4ac1528-6f22-50cc-9953-e6280683177a.html|title=The Right Direction|first=Michael|last=McCall|work=Nashville Scene}} It was released in 1995.{{Cite web|url=https://www.allmusic.com/artist/john-doe-mn0000183430/biography|title=John Doe Biography, Songs, & Albums|website=AllMusic}} Doe promoted the album by touring with Juliana Hatfield, and then with Shane MacGowan.{{cite news |last1=DeLuca |first1=Dan |title=While X Still Marks His Spot, Doe Earns a Name for Himself |work=The Philadelphia Inquirer |date=9 Nov 1995 |page=E1}}{{cite news |last1=Lozaw |first1=Tristram |title=Boston Beat |work=Boston Herald |date=November 3, 1995 |page=S10}}
Production
The album was produced by Don Gilmore and Doe.{{cite magazine |last1=Bessman |first1=Jim |title=John Doe moves forward as solo artist with new set |magazine=Billboard |date=Jul 8, 1995 |volume=107 |issue=27 |page=11}} Doe desired to make an album in an alternative rock style, in contrast to country sound of his solo debut.{{cite news |last1=Bledsoe |first1=Wayne |title=Miller gets his due; Doe returns to East Tennessee |work=Knoxville News Sentinel |date=1 Oct 1995 |department=Showtime |page=2}} He considered many of the songs to be of a more personal nature, compared to the ones he wrote in X.{{cite news |last1=Burke |first1=David |title=Name shields relatives: Musician-actor John Doe, a Decaturite by birth, brings his band to the area |work=Herald & Review |date=October 6, 1995 |page=D4}}
"My Goodness" and "Love Knows" were cowritten with Exene Cervenka. Brad Houser, Chalo Quintana, Smokey Hormel, and Joey Waronker played on Kissingsohard; Sandra Bernhard and Cervenka contributed vocals.{{cite magazine |last1=Housman |first1=Danny |title=Reviews |magazine=CMJ New Music Monthly |date=Oct 1995 |issue=26 |page=32}}{{cite news |last1=McCarty |first1=Patrick |title=As an X band member John Doe may win the title for king of the busman's holiday... |work=Richmond Times-Dispatch |date=August 10, 1995 |page=D24}} "Willamette" was inspired by the lives of homeless people in Portland, Oregon.{{cite news |last1=Moorhouse |first1=Donnie |title=Guitarist paints exciting picture |work=The Republican |date=November 3, 1995 |page=C6}} Doe considered adding a cover of "Vigilante Man" to the album.{{cite news |last1=Martin |first1=Philip |title=The John Doe Thing, Kissingsohard |work=Arkansas Democrat-Gazette |date=September 1, 1995 |page=20W}}
Critical reception
{{album ratings
|rev1 = AllMusic
|rev1score = {{rating|2.5|5}}{{Cite web|url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/kissingsohard-mw0000175018|title=Kissingsohard|website=AllMusic}}
|rev2 = The Encyclopedia of Popular Music
|rev2score = {{rating|3|5}}{{cite book |last1=Larkin |first1=Colin |title=The Encyclopedia of Popular Music |date=2006 |publisher=MUZE |volume=3 |page=59}}
|rev3 = Entertainment Weekly
|rev3score = A−{{Cite magazine|url=https://ew.com/article/1995/08/18/kissingsohard/|title=Kissingsohard|work=Entertainment Weekly}}
|rev4 = Los Angeles Times
|rev4score = {{rating|3|4}}{{cite news |last1=Masou |first1=Sandy |title=In Brief |work=Los Angeles Times |date=13 Aug 1995 |department=Calendar |page=58}}
|rev5 = MusicHound Rock: The Essential Album Guide
|rev5score = {{rating|2|5}}{{cite book |title=MusicHound Rock: The Essential Album Guide |date=1999 |publisher=Visible Ink Press |page=1252}}
|rev6 = Orlando Sentinel
|rev6score = {{rating|4|5}}{{cite news |last1=Gettelman |first1=Parry |title=The John Doe Thing |work=Orlando Sentinel |date=1 Sep 1995 |department=Calendar |page=7}}
}}
No Depression wrote that "crash and burn guitars, string arrangements, and tape loops overwhelm some of the songs, and leave enough space for others to breathe."{{cite magazine |title=The John Doe Thing – Kissingsohard |url=https://www.nodepression.com/album-reviews/the-john-doe-thing-kissingsohard/ |work=No Depression |access-date=9 April 2022}} Entertainment Weekly thought that Doe's "bracing, sinewy vocals provide the perfect complement for these unsettling vignettes."
Trouser Press stated: "Avoiding the kind of sweeping statements that tend to bring such proceedings to a screeching halt, Doe zeroes in on the details of lives under extreme stress."{{cite web |title=X |url=https://trouserpress.com/reviews/x-band/ |website=Trouser Press |access-date=9 April 2022}} The Los Angeles Times determined that "the full-bodied songs, stained with tragic tears and sloshed beers, feature fine fretwork from Blasters guitarist Smokey Hormel and a distinct country twang." Newsday concluded that, "by filtering the downbeat ethos of hard country through a continually evolving post-punk consciousness, Doe has come up with rare album that reaches across the alternative and adventuresome adult markets."{{cite news |last1=Herndon |first1=David |title=Recordings |work=Newsday |date=13 Aug 1995 |department=Fanfare |page=21}}
AllMusic wrote that "no one seems to understand Doe's music like his old bandmates in X, and his strong vocals and lyrics just can't carry the record on their own."
Track listing
{{Track listing
| all_writing = John Doe; except where noted.
| title1 = Fallen Tears
| length1 = 2:39
| title2 = Safety
| length2 = 3:10
| title3 = Love Knows
| writer3=Doe, Exene Cervenka
| length3 = 3:38
| title4 = My Goodness
| writer4=Doe, Cervenka
| length4 = 3:12
| title5 = Tragedy by Definition
| length5 = 3:31
| title6 = Kissing
| length6 = 4:08
| title7 = Hits the Ground
| length7 = 4:30
| title8 = Going Down the Fast
| length8 = 4:00
| title9 = T.V. Set
| length9 = 4:49
| title10 = Beer. Gas. Ride Forever
| length10 = 2:46
| title11 = Field of Dirt
| length11 = 4:11
| title12 = Willamette
| length12 = 3:21
| title13 = Liar's Market
| length13 = 5:09
}}