There was a sense of urgency surrounding the project of the follow-up
after the success of No Fuel Left For The Pilgrims. It was now D.A.D.
had to prove themselves in an international context – and not least to
Warner Brothers who had invested quite a lot of money in them.
Therefore, with no time to waste, they went straight back to rehearsing
and writing new material.
At first, coming up with new songs came a bit hard as the band felt the
high expectations weighing heavily on their shoulders. But as they
managed to concentrate on the creative process, the music began flowing
again, and nine months later the band would find themselves heading
back into the studio. The team in place was the duo of producer Nikolaj
Foss and technician Lars Overgaard who had proven to be a success with
the previous album – and pleasant to work with.
Recording took place in the Medley Studios in Copenhagen in the spring
of 1991. Every song was carefully polished, a treatment that had only
been given to a few of the tracks on No Fuel Left For The Pilgrims, and
the original 14 songs were cut down to 10.
The album was named Riskin' It All
and released in Europe on October 10, 1991. The worldwide release came
in early 1992 and included a new rendition of the band's classic I
Won't Cut My Hair as a bonus track on the American edition. The title
of the album was hinted at the American record label's idea that this
album was a matter of all or nothing for the band in America; either
they would make it big – or they would not get another chance.
The cover of the album showed the band sitting in a huge sofa. The idea
stemmed from an early idea for an album title: Bone-hard In Soft
Surroundings. Thus the band ended up in a sofa and from then on the
ideas developed with a cross-stitch pillow and the stage set-up for the
following tour looking like a gigantic living room. The oversized
living room was also the set for the video for the first single, the
hit Bad Craziness, which was played a lot on Danish television as well as on MTV Europe.
Shortly after the release, the band embarked on what would be eight
months' of almost constant touring. Luckily, it was full-blown
excitement in Europe where D.A.D. toured through the spring and summer
of 1992, in sold out arenas and clubs, and in front of huge festival
crowds.
Back in November 1991, a Danish music magazine dubbed the band
“Denmark's only national team”, and although the Danish national
football team would surprisingly win the European Championship in the
summer of 1992, there was no doubt that D.A.D. had captured the hearts
and minds of most music-loving Danes that year – and had quite a lot of
people around the rest of the world on their side as well.
On the other side of the pond, however, things were not quite as hot as expected. Even with a minor radio hit with the single Grow or Pay,
the album did not make way for the big breakthrough in America that
everybody had hoped for. The U.S. sales figures were disappointing, and
consequently the plans for another U.S. tour were dropped. Finally, in
the summer of 1992, Warner declared that they did not wish to take the
option for releasing more D.A.D. records in America.
The Band
Discussion
