Where Have All the Merrymakers Gone?

Where Have All the Merrymakers Gone? is the debut studio album by American rock band Harvey Danger. It was initially released by the independent record label the Arena Rock Recording Company on July 29, 1997. The second song on the album, "Flagpole Sitta", received extensive airplay in the United States and resulted in the band's fame. As the song gained national attention, the album was picked up and reissued by Slash Records, a label associated with London Records. On July 29, 2014, 17 years to the day after the album's initial release, Where Have All the Merrymakers Gone? was re-released, for the first time as a vinyl LP, by No Sleep Records. The album has been described by Fuse as "a definitive indie power pop punk record at a time and place where grunge reigned supreme".

The album title comes from a line in the song "Radio Silence", which itself may have been inspired by a line from the Paul Newman film Harper. "Private Helicopter" was released to radio on October 13, 1998.

Recording and production
Where Have All the Merrymakers Gone? was recorded over three different sessions with John Goodmanson at John & Stu's Place in Seattle, Washington. "Private Helicopter", "Terminal Annex", and "Carjack Fever" were recorded on March 16, 1996, and released on a commercially produced cassette tape, titled simply Harvey Danger, which was sold by the band at their shows and sent to music industry professionals. Three more songs ("Flagpole Sitta", "Woolly Muffler", and "Wrecking Ball") recorded at the June 1996 session, were sent on a one-off cassette tape to Slash/London Records at the request of Greg Glover, an intern who was convinced on the strength of the recordings that he should fund a full album. All of the recordings, except one ("Carjack Fever"), became Where Have All the Merrymakers Gone? The total cost of the recording was about $3,000. "Carjack Fever" was later reworked into "(Theme from) Carjack Fever" for the band's next album, King James Version (2000).

Critical reception
The Edmonton Journal deemed the album "an effortless fusion of crystalline Elvis Costello songcraft, roaring indie-rock guitars, a big rhythm section and smart, smart-ass lyrics."

Track listing

 * Notes

Personnel
Adapted credits from the album's media notes.

Band
 * Sean Nelson – vocals, keyboards
 * Jeff J. Lin – guitar, organ, violin, backing vocals
 * Aaron Huffman – bass, cover design
 * Evan Sult – drums

Additional and production


 * Abby Grush – Backing vocals
 * John Goodmanson – production, engineering, mixing
 * Harvey Danger – production
 * Greg Calbi – mastering
 * Chuck Robertson – photography